Suwa Domain

Suwa Domain (諏訪藩, Suwa-han^?) was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Honshū. The domain was centered at Takashima Castle, located in what is now part of the town of Suwa in Nagano Prefecture. It was also known as Takashima Domain (高島藩, Takashima-han^?).

The Suwa clan had ruled the area around Lake Suwa in Shinano Province since ancient times. The clan was defeated by Takeda Shingen in 1542. The final Suwa ruler, Suwa Yorishige was forced to commit seppuku; however, his nephew, Suwa Yoritada was spared as hereditary kannushi of Suwa Shrine. After the Takeda clan was destroyed by an alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, Suwa Yoritada went into the service of the Tokugawa. Following the Siege of Odawara (1590), he was elevated to the status of daimyō with Sōja Domain, a 10,000 koku holding in Kōzuke Province. This was subsequently raised to 27,000 koku. In the meanwhile, Toyotomi Hideyoshi assigned the former Suwa territories in Shinano Province to Hineno Takayoshi. Hineno Takayoshi built Takashima Castle; however, in 1601, his son Hineno Yoshiaki, was demoted to Mibu Domain in Shimotsuke Province as his grandfather, Hineno Hironari had defected to the Osaka forces. The same year, Suwa Yoritada's son, Suwa Yorimizu, was allowed to reclaim his clan's ancestral lands as daimyō of Suwa Domain. His son, Suwa Tadatsune, was granted a 5000 koku increase for services during the Siege of Osaka, but his son, Suwa Tadaharu, gave 2000 koku away to his two younger brothers. The Suwa clan remained in control of the domain to the Meiji restoration.

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