Tanaka Domain - History

History

Tanaka Domain was controlled by a large number of daimyō families in the course of its history, seldom for more than one generation.

Nakamura Kazutada, a retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and castellan of Sumpu Castle built Tanaka Castle as a subsidiary fortification guarding the eastern approaches to Supu. After the defeat of the Toyotomi forces at the Battle of Sekigahara, he was relocated to Yonago by the victorious Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu kept Sumpu Castle for himself, and gave Tanaka Castle to his retainer Sakai Tadatoshi in 1601, with revenue of 10,000 koku. This marked the start of Tanaka Domain. Tadatoshi developed Fujieda-juku into a post station on the Tōkaidō, and as a castle town. He was so successful in his efforts that he was rewarded with a larger domain at Kawagoe in Musashi province in 1607, and Tanaka Domain reverted to direct Shogunal control.

Tanaka Domain was then given to Matsudaira (Sakurai) Tadashige, with its revenues increased to 25,000 koku in 1633. However, Tadashige was transferred to Kakegawa two years later, and his place was taken Mizuno Tadayoshi, with revenues of 45,000 koku. The Mizuno clan was subsequently replaced by the Matsudaira (Fujii), Hōjō, Nishio, Sakura, Tsuchiya, Ōta, Naitō, and Toki clans until Tanaka Domain finally came under the rule of the Honda clan in 1730. The Honda continued to rule Tanaka Domain over seven generations, until the Meiji Restoration of 1868. After the final Tokugawa Shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, surrendered his title to Emperor Meiji, he relocated from Edo to Sumpu, with the provinces of Suruga, Izu and Mikawa as his personal domains. Tanaka Domain was included within the area of the new Shizuoka Domain. Thus, in September 1868, Tanaka Domain officially ceased to exist. The final daimyō of Tanaka Domain, Honda Masamori, received the new (and short-lived) domain of Nagao Domain in Awa province in exchange.