Saga Domain (1/2)One of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration

The Saga Domain was a domain located in present-day Saga City, Saga Prefecture (then Hizen Province). Hizen Province was originally a land ruled by the Ryuzoji clan, who rose from being nationals to feudal lords during the Sengoku period. However, after Ryuzoji Takanobu was defeated by the combined forces of Shimazu and Arima, Nabeshima Naoshige, a senior vassal, assumed power, and the Nabeshima family ruled as the domain until the end of the Edo period. Let's unravel the history of the Saga domain.

The feud between the Ryuzoji clan and the Nabeshima family

The Saga domain was ruled by one family, the Nabeshima family, from its establishment until the end of the Edo period. Speaking of the Nabeshima family, there is a very famous ghost story called the ``Nabeshima Ghost Cat Incident,'' but that is fiction. However, there was a deep feud between Nabeshima Naoshige, the father of the first lord of the domain, Katsushige Nabeshima, and the Ryuzoji clan, who were his masters, so deep that it gave rise to ghost stories.
After Ryuzoji Takanobu's death, his brother-in-law and chief retainer, Nabeshima Naoshige, became the guardian of Takanobu's eldest son, the Ryuzoji politician, and assumed real power.

At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who held the real power in the country, recognized the Nabeshima family's control of the Ryuzoji family and began interfering with the succession of the Ryuzoji family. The Ryuzoji politician retired under the name Hideyoshi in 1590, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Ryuzoji Takafusa. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi granted 44,000 koku to Nabeshima Naoshige and 7,000 koku to his child Katsushige. In other words, the official ruler of the Saga domain at this time was the Ryuzoji family, but the real power was held by the Nabeshima family.
Nabeshima Naoshige and Katsushige father and son pretended to side with the Western army at the Battle of Sekigahara after Hideyoshi's death and became familiar with the Eastern army. In recognition of his achievements, Tokugawa Ieyasu granted him his fief.

Ryuzoji Takafusa was the nominal lord of the domain, but the real power was held by Nabeshima Naoshige and Katsushige, and Takafusa despaired of his position, and on March 3, 1607, he moved to Edo. After stabbing his wife to death at the Sakurada mansion, he attempts suicide.
Although Takafusa survived, he developed mental disorders and passed away shortly after. When the politician Ryuzoji learned of his son's death, he was so heartbroken that he followed her and passed away.

Although Ryuzoji Takafusa had a biological son and a younger brother, the shogunate did not approve of the revival of the Ryuzoji family, and the Ryuzoji family disappeared.
Furthermore, Ryuzoji Takafusa's ashes were moved from Edo to Taicho-in Temple in Saga Castle and buried, but there were rumors that Takafusa's ghost ran around Saga Castle on horseback, and Nabeshima Naoshige also lived in Motowa. In 1618, at the age of 81, he suffered from a tumor in his ear and died, and it was whispered that this was the curse of Ryuzoji Takafusa.
Through these twists and turns, Nabeshima Naoshige's son, Nabeshima Shigekatsu, became the first lord of the domain, and the Saga domain (Nabeshima domain) was established.

The Nabeshima domain was nominally a large domain with over 350,000 koku, but the Saga domain had a large fief of 357,000 koku, but in reality it consisted of 3 branch domains (Hasuike, Ogi, and Kashima) and 4 Nabeshima branch families. (Shiraishi, Kawakubo, Murata, Kubota) and the four Ryuzoji branch families (Taku, Takeo, Isahaya, Suko) were autonomous territories, so it is said that the actual amount was around 60,000 koku.

Saga domain until the end of the Edo period

As mentioned above, the Saga domain was ruled by the Nabeshima domain from the early Edo period until the end of the Edo period. There are 11 feudal lords, but the most famous among them is the second lord, Mitsushige Nabeshima. Tsunetomo Yamamoto, who worked as his page, created ``Hagakure'' from a conversation with Jinki Tashiro.
In addition, the Nabeshima family strengthened its control over the Saga domain by forbidding martyrdom ahead of the shogunate and establishing a three-family ranking system for the three branch domains, which were supposed to be on equal footing, such as the Hasuike domain, the Ogi domain, and the Kashima domain.

Although the Saga domain often suffers from disasters, such as the burning down of Saga Castle and famine, the disasters are not severe enough to shake the domain, and the domain continues to live on for generations.
During the era of Harushige Nabeshima, the 8th lord of the Hizen Saga domain, financial difficulties worsened. However, Harushige endeavored to rebuild the domain's finances by actively promoting economic policies such as establishing Kodokan, a domain school in Matsubarakoji, and issuing rice books.
Furthermore, he rebuilt the domain's government by establishing the Rokufuho and the Misbehavior. This reform became the foundation for the Saga domain to occupy a corner of the Seinan Yu domain in Satsumacho Toi during the Meiji Restoration.

Saga domain at the end of the Edo period

During the era of the 9th feudal lord Nabeshima Masanao, the Phaeton Incident broke out, in which the British ship Phaeton attacked Nagasaki, kidnapped Dutch trading staff, and threatened Nagasaki magistrate Yasuhide Matsudaira. The shogunate placed the blame for this disturbance on the Saga domain, saying, ``The Saga domain had reduced the number of soldiers guarding Nagasaki.'' As a result, several retainers of the Saga domain were forced to commit seppuku. Furthermore, a typhoon (Typhoon Siebold) that caused great damage to the entire Saga Domain and the Edo Domain's residence were destroyed, and the debt of the Saga Domain increased to 130,000 ryo.