Yonezawa Domain The domain is perhaps most notable for its rapid shift from a poor , indebted , and corruptly led domain to a very prosperous one in only a few decades in the 1760s - 80s . Yonezawa was declared in 1830 by the shogunate to be the paragon of a well - managed domain . Scholar Mark Ravina uses Yonezawa as a case study , in analysing the political status and conceptions of statehood and identity in the feudal domains of the Tokugawa period ( 1603 - 1868 ) . History . The region was held by the Date clan for much of the Sengoku period , from 1548 - 1591 , when Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to power and declared the Date move to Iwadeyama in Mutsu province . The Gamō clan were given Aizu to govern under the Uesugi , and " Tairō " Uesugi Kagekatsu gave his " karō " ( advisor ) Naoe Kanetsugu a 300 , 000 " koku " income . In 1600 , however , the Uesugi opposed Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Sekigahara Campaign , and lost , becoming " tozama daimyō " ( outsider lords ) under the new shogunate . Their income and territory worth 1 , 200 , 000 " koku " was shrunk to 300 , 000 , and they were forced to move from Aizu to Yonezawa , recovering the castle from Naoe . They now possessed 180 , 000 " koku " worth of land in Dewa province , and 120 , 000 " koku " in the neighboring Mutsu province , the Honjō clan given nearby Fukushima Castle by the shogunate in order to pressure the Uesugi and prevent them from expanding their territory . This 300 , 000 " koku " territory would represent the peak of the Uesugi clan ' s income in the Tokugawa period . Like many " han " in the archipelago , Yonezawa was operated as a semi - independent state , directly under the " daimyō " . The Uesugi demanded respect for the shogunate from their retainers , and forbade public criticism , but only imposed and enforced those edicts and policies which they chose to . Retainers were ordered to obey shogunal laws while outside the domain , but within it , shogunal orders did not apply unless conveyed by the " daimyō " . In 1664 , the third " daimyō " of Yonezawa , Uesugi Tsunakatsu , died without producing an heir . The succession was determined at the advice of his father - in - law , Hoshina Masayuki , the younger brother to shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu . He suggested that the clan adopt as heir Uesugi Tsunanori , the son of Tsunakatsu ' s younger sister and Kira Yoshinaka , though this would mean splitting the domain in half , down to only 150 , 000 " koku " within Dewa province . This decision led to severe financial difficulties in the domain , for the Uesugi and their administration , and for the increasingly impoverished peasants . The problem became so severe that the eighth " daimyō " , Uesugi Shigetada , seriously considered turning over the domain to the shogunate . Instead , he resigned his position as " daimyō " in favor of Uesugi Harunori , who then began to reform the domain ' s administration and to revive its economy . He introduced strict disciplinary measures , and ordered the execution of several " karō " ( advisors ) who opposed his plans . In order to finance castle repairs imposed upon his domain by the shogunate , Harunori asked his retainers to agree to a reduction of their stipends , for the good of the domain . As a result of various measures he took , Yonezawa became fairly prosperous , and did not suffer much from the famine which swept Japan in the Tenmei era ( 1781 - 9 ) . In 1830 , the shogunate formally declared Yonezawa to be a choice example of a well - governed domain . When the Boshin War erupted in 1868 , and the shogunate came to an end with the abdication of shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu , the Uesugi joined the " Northern Alliance " ( " Ouetsu Reppan Domei " ) , voicing their support for the embattled Aizu domain and opposing Satsuma and Chōshū domination of the new imperial government , while stating an intent to " reconquer Japan , that the Emperor may indeed reign over it . " The Alliance members also acknowledged their debt to Hoshina Masayuki , the first Aizu lord , who was a respected figure in many domains . After several months of battle , the Alliance was defeated , and the Meiji period began , under a new imperial government . The domain was cut down by 3000 " koku " , then combined with other territories to form " Yonezawa Shinden han " in 1869 , and abolished along with the han system as a whole two years later . It was renamed Yonezawa prefecture , but was combined very shortly afterwards with Okitama prefecture to form Yamagata prefecture . The end of the shogunate and abolition of the " han " system brought with it an end of the samurai class and of the " daimyō " . The Uesugi clan were incorporated into the " kazoku " or noble peerage , as Counts , or " Hakushaku " in Japanese . Advisors . Famous advisors ( " karō " ) of the Yonezawa Domain through the course of the Edo period included Chisaka Takafusa , Irobe Matashirō , and Chisaka Takamasa .