Niwa Nagakuni
| Niwa Nagakuni | |
|---|---|
Niwa Nagakuni
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| Lord of Nihonmatsu | |
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In office 1858–1868 |
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| Preceded by | Niwa Nagatomi |
| Succeeded by | Niwa Nagahiro |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 22, 1834 Nihonmatsu, Japan |
| Died | January 15, 1904 (aged 69), aged 69 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Viscount Niwa Nagakuni (丹羽長国 Niwa Nagakuni?); (May 22, 1834 – January 15, 1904) was a Japanese daimyo of the late Edo period who ruled Nihonmatsu han and is famous for his leadership of the domain during the Boshin War.
Nagakuni, known in his childhood as Hōzō (保蔵) was born in Nihonmatsu on May 22, 1834, the 6th son of Niwa Nagatomi. On November 15, 1858 he succeeded to the family headship upon his father's retirement. He continued the joint coastal defense mission at Tomitsu (together with Aizu han) begun by his father. In 1860, he sent forces for security duty in Kyoto. This, as well as a fire in his castle town, seriously drained his resources. These expenses were compounded by the economic difficulties the domain faced following the Tenpo famines, as well as bureaucratic corruption. As a result, Nihonmatsu was utterly economically paralyzed by the end of the Edo period. Despite this, it joined the Northern Confederation of Allied Domains in 1868, and fought against the forces of the Meiji Government. However, Nihonmatsu was defeated, and forced to give up 50,000 koku of its holdings. Also, as per the government's conditions, Nagakuni retired, and his adopted son Niwa Nagahiro (brother of the Yonezawa han daimyo Uesugi Mochinori) succeeded him.
Nagakuni held the title of Sakyō-dayū (左京大夫) and the junior 4th court rank, lower grade (jū shi-i no ge 従四位下).
During the Meiji era, Nagakuni lived to see the Niwa clan recover some of its fortunes in society, and received the title of viscount (子爵 shishaku). He died in 1904.
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