# Hiji Domain

Hiji Domain (日出藩, Hiji-han) was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now central Ōita Prefecture. It was centered around Hiji Castle in what is now the town of Hiji, Ōita and was ruled by the tozama daimyō Kinoshita clan for all of its history.

## History

Hiji Domain was founded by Kinoshita Nobutoshi, the third son of Kinoshita Iesada, the older brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's legal wife Kōdai-in (Nene). During the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Kinoshita Nobutoshi was active in the Eastern Army from the start of the campaign, and after the war, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded him a domain with a kokudaka of 30,000 koku in Hayami District, Bungo Province. Furthermore, his father Iesada was also given a separate territory from Nobutoshi and established Ashimori Domain in Bitchū Province (25,000 koku). Furthermore, since the daimyō of Hiji and Ashimori clans were close relatives of Kōdai-in, they were allowed to continue to use the surname "Toyotomi" even after the defeat of the Toyotomi clan at the Siege of Osaka in 1615
Kinoshita Toshiharu, son of Nobutoshi and the second daimyō distributed a territory of 5,000 koku to his younger brother Nobuyoshi to establish a cadet branch of the clan, so the territory of Hiji Domain was reduced to 25,000 koku. Throughout the Edo period, the Kinoshita clan continued to rule Hiji for 16 generations, without any transfer or further reduction of territory. The domain was an early supporter of the imperial side in the Boshin War. Following the Meiji restoration in 1871, it became Hiji Prefecture due to the abolition of the han system, and was later incorporated into Ōita Prefecture. The Kinoshita clan was elevated to the kazoku peerage with the title of viscount in 1884.

## Holdings at the end of the Edo period

As with most domains in the han system, Hiji Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields, g.
* Bungo Province
** 18 villages in Hayami District

## List of daimyō

    #NameTenureCourtesy titleCourt Rankkokudaka Kinoshita clan, 1600 -1871 (Tozama) 1Kinoshita Nobutoshi (木下延俊)1601 - 1642Uemon-no-taifu (右衛門大夫)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)30,000 koku 2Kinoshita Toshiharu (木下俊治)1642 - 1661Iga-no-kami (伊賀守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)25,000 koku 3Kinoshita Toshinaga (木下俊長)1661 - 1707Kura-no-kami (内蔵頭)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 4Kinoshita Toshikazu (木下俊量)1707 - 1729Iga-no-kami (伊賀守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 5Kinoshita Toshiari (木下俊在)1729 - 1731Iga-no-kami (伊賀守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 6Kinoshita Toshiyasu (木下俊保)1731 - 1738Izumi-no-kami (和泉守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 7Kinoshita Toshiteru (木下俊監)1741 - 1748< unknown >Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 8Kinoshita Toshiyoshi (木下俊能)1741 - 1748Shikibu-no-sho (式部少輔)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 9Kinoshita Toshiyasu (木下俊泰)1748 - 1768Yamato-no-kami (大和守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 10Kinoshita Toshitane (木下俊胤)1768 - 1776Saimon-no-suke (左衛門佐)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 11Kinoshita Toshimasa (木下俊懋)1776 - 1810Kazue-no-kami (主計頭)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 12Kinoshita Toshiyoshi (木下俊良)1810 - 1815Sado-no-kami (佐渡守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 13Kinoshita Toshiatsu (木下俊敦)1815 - 1847Yamato-no-kami (大和守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 14Kinoshita Toshikata (木下俊方)1847 - 1854Kazue-no-kami (主計頭)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 15Kinoshita Toshinori (木下俊程)1854 - 1867Hida-no-kami (飛騨守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku 16Kinoshita toshimasa (木下俊愿)1867 - 1871Yamato-no-kami (大和守)Junior 5th Rank, Lower Grade (従五位下)27,000 koku