Sakakibara Clan Branches
The fudai Sakakibara clan originated in the 16th century. Their elevation in status dates from 1586.
The family was descended from Nikki Sadanaga of the Seiwa Genji branch of the Minamoto clan. The first to take the name Sakakibara was Sadanaga's son, who resided in Sakakibara in Ise Province. He took the name Sakakibara Toshinaga.
Sakakibara Yasumasa (1548–1606) was an ally of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Sengoku period. After the Battle of Sekigahara, he was granted a special honor; and the name by which he is known today dates from that time. He was granted the right to use one of Ieyasu's name characters — Yasumasa. Along with Sakai Tadatsugu, Ii Naomasa and Honda Tadakatsu, he was known as one of the "four heavenly kings of the Tokugawa" (Tokygawa shi-tennō). The sobriquet described four men who were each famously known for their loyal support for the Tokugawa clan.
Yasumasa was granted the han (fief) of Tatebayashi (100,000 koku) in Kozuke Province. Yasumasa's sons would fight with the Tokugawa in the Siege of Osaka.
The Sakakibara daimyō were moved several times by the shogunate. In 1643, Sakakibara Tadatsugu and his clan was re-established at Shirakawa Domain (140,000 koku) in Mutsu province.
In 1649, the seat of the Sakakibara was moved to Himeji Domain in Harima province.
In last move of the shogunate, the clan was settled in 1741 at Takada domain (150,000 koku) in Echigo Province. Takada became a Tokugawa power center during the Boshin War; and afterwards, Takada became a detention center for defeated samurai of the Aizu domain.
In the Meiji era, the head of the Sakakibara was ennobled with the title of Viscount in the kazoku system of peerage.
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