Nakatsu Domain

Nakatsu (中 津 藩jap, Nakatsu -han ) was a Japanese fief ( han ) in the old province of Buzen on the island of Kyushu. The territory, with the eponymous castle in the center, coincides approximately with the present-day city of Nakatsu ( Oita Prefecture ).

History

The history of the feud begins after the subjugation of Kyushu by the generals Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1587, as Kuroda Yoshitaka (黒 田 孝 高) aka Josui (如水) for his services, the region received a fief and near the mouth of Yamaguni River built his seat. His son, Nagamasa was, however, rewarded after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, in which he had proven itself with the larger fiefs Fukuoka and installed in his place as the new lord Hosokawa Tadaoki. 1632 took over the family Hosokawa fief Kumamoto, and Ogasawara Nagatsugu moved to Nakatsu. After five generations under the Ogasawaras took over in 1717, the family Okudaira the fief Nakatsu and resided here until 1871.

Nakatsu was off the main roads Kyushu, however, played a role in the maritime transport of the Seto Inland Sea, thanks to the convenient harbor. In the late 18th and early 19th century feudal lords developed as Okudaira Masao, Okudaira Masataka and Okudaira Masanobu a strong interest in Western science and technology. In this environment, some of the Okudairas serving samurai families brought forth personalities such as Fukuzawa Yukichi and Obata Tokujiro, who played an important role in the modernization of Japan after the Meiji Restoration.

List of lords

• Hosokawa, 1600-1632 ( tozama - daimyo; 399,000 Koku )

• Ogasawara, 1632-1716 ( Fudai - daimyo; 80,000 → 40,000 Koku )

• Okudaira, 1717-1872 ( Fudai - daimyo; 100,000 Koku )