Shimabara Domain (島原藩) was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. Originally known as Hinoe Domain, its administrative center was initially established at Hinoe Castle in Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture. However, it was later relocated to Shimabara Castle in Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture. The domain was governed by various fudai daimyō clans, including the Koriki clan and the Fukōzu-Matsudaira clan.

History

Shimabara was under the rule of the Arima clan in the tumultuous Sengoku period. Arima Harunobu, a daimyō who followed the Christian faith, aligned himself with the eastern army during the Battle of Sekigahara, resulting in the preservation of his domains. However, following the Okamoto Daihachi Incident in 1612, he was imprisoned in Kai Province, and ordered to commit seppuku. Despite this, his son Arima Naozumi distanced himself from his father and had a close relationship with the Tokugawa shogunate. Consequently, he inherited his father's estates after the failed incident. In 1614, Naozumi was transferred to Nobeoka Domain in Hyūga Province. Subsequently, the territory came under direct control of the shogunate for a brief period of time. However, in 1616, Matsukura Shigemasa took over the domain from the Yamato-Gojō Domain for 40,000 koku. Matsukura Shigemasa, unlike his father Matsukura Shigenobu, who had been a respected general, was known for his oppressive policies towards his subjects and harsh treatment of the Kirishitan. Shimabara Castle was constructed during his tenure, and he relocated his seat from Hinoe Castle. Matsukura Katsuie, who succeeded Shigemasa, implemented even more severe policies than his father. As a testament to Katsuie's brutality, there was a method of execution called "Mino Odori," where individuals who could not pay the yearly tax were dressed in a cloak and burned alive. Shimabara was described as a true hell, as even the children of those unable to pay the tax were captured and executed. Additionally, the reported collection of 40,000 koku was inflated to 100,000 koku in order to gain favor with the shogunate. The people's anger towards Katsuie's oppressive policies eventually erupted, leading to the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637, with Amakusa Shirō as the leader of the rebels seizing Hara Castle. The unpopularity of Matsukura rule so intense that some members of Matsukura's army defected to the rebel side, rendering his forces insufficient to suppress the rebellion. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the shogunate dispatched a pacification force led by Itakura Shigemasa. However, this force proved ineffective and Itakura perished in battle. Replacing him as the commander-in-chief was Rōjū Matsudaira Nobutsuna. Nobutsuna rallied approximately 120,000 troops from various daimyō to besiege Hara Castle. This army including the seasoned warrior Tachibana Muneshige. The rebel force was no match for the well-supplied shogunate army, which was also supported by a Dutch naval bombardment offshore, resulting in the rebellion's suppression three months later. The rebels, including Amakura Shirō, were mercilessly slaughtered without quarter. Conversely, Matsukura Katsuie also faced severe scrutiny for his role in precipitating the revolt through misgovernment, and he was beheaded after the rebellion was quelled. This denial of the honorable punishment of seppuku and his execution by beheading as a common criminal exemplified the shogunate's grave view of the severity of his crimes. After Matsukura Katsuie, Kōriki Tadafusa, a long-time retainer of the Tokugawa clan, was transferred from Hamamatsu Domain and worked hard to restore the Shimabara region, which had been devastated by the rebellion. He implemented a skillful agricultural policy and a policy of encouraging colonization from other parts of Japan to resettle the area. However, Kōriki Takanaga, who succeeded Tadafusa, was so eager to establish the domain's revenues that he made many mismanagement decisions, leading to a reprimand from the shogunate and the removal of his domain in 1668. In his place, Matsudaira Tadafusa of the Fukōzu Matsudaira clan was transferred from Fukuchiyama Domain in Tanba Province with a kokudaka of 65,000 koku. The Fukōzu Matsudaira clan ruled Shimabara for the next five generations, but in 1747, the Fukōzu-Matsudaira clan traded places with Toda Tadamitsu of Utsunomiya Domain the kokudaka of the domain increased 77,000 koku. The Toda clan continued for two generations, and in 1774, traded placed back again with the Fukōzu-Matsudaira clan, who then ruled for the next eight generations. The final daimyō, Matsudaira Tadakazu carried out military reforms due to the need to strengthen coastal defenses in 1863, but to a much lesser extent than neighbouring Saga Domain. As he was a younger half-brother of the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu, he supported the shogunate in the First Chōshū expedition in 1864, and Second Chōshū expedition in 1866. However, his pro-Shogunate actions caused discontent among lower-ranking samurai. many of who were supporters of the Sonnō jōi movement. Some defected from the domain to participate in the Tenchugumi Incident and the Tengutō Rebellion. During the Boshin War, which began in January 1868, he submitted to the Meiji government and sent troops to fight against the pro-Tokugawa remnants in northern Japan. In June 1869, he was appointed imperial governor of Shimabara Domain and with the abolition of the han system on July 14, 1871, he moved to Tokyo. In November of the same year, he received permission from the government to travel to Europe and the United States. In October 1873, he returned to Japan from England, and was later given the kazoku peerage title of viscount. Shimabara has a warm climate, but is a volcanic region with poor soil, and it is said that the actual harvest yield for tax was less than the official kokudaka.

Holdings at the end of the Edo period

As with most domains in the han system, Shimabara Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.

List of daimyōs

! ||Name || Tenure || Courtesy title || Court Rank || kokudaka

Simplified genealogy (Matsudaira-Fukōzu)