Shibamura Domain (芝村藩)
Shibamura Domain was a feudal domain which was located in Shiba Village, Shikijo County, Yamato Province (present-day Shiba, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture). Since initially the domain held its jinya (regional government office) in Kaiju Village (present Kaiju, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture), it is also called Kaiju Domain; however, during time of the seventh lord of the domain, Sukeyoshi ODA, it was moved to the Shiba Village.
History of the domain
Nagamasu ODA, who is a younger brother of Nobunaga ODA and was famous as a master of tea ceremony, contributed to the East camp at the Battle of Sekigahara and gave distinguished war service; however, after the war he became the vassal of Toyotomi clan for the reason that he is a granduncle of Hedeyori TOYOTOMI. But there is an opinion that Nagamasu ODA crawled into Toyotomi clan as a spy for Tokugawa clan. However, because he took part in the camp of the Toyotomi clan in the Winter Siege of Osaka, Yurakusai (another name of Nagamasu ODA as a master of tea ceremony) tried to express his intention to apologize to Tokugawa clan by dividing his territory of 30,000 koku (an unit of assessed crop yields of the land [1 koku: about 180 liter], which was also used to express the size of the land) into 10,000 koku for his own retirement, 10,000 koku for the fourth son Nagamasa ODA (daimyo [Japanese feudal lord]) and the remaining 10,000 koku for the fifth son, Naonaga ODA after Toyotomi clan's fall. This fourth son Nagamasa's line is Shibamura Domain and the fifth son Naonaga's line is Yanagimoto Domain; both domains are to exist and continue respectively.
The base of administration of the domain was solidified at the time of the first lord of the domain Nagamasa. During the time of Nagakiyo ODA, the fourth lord of the domain, the domain school Senkyokan was established by the influence of Nagakiyo who was a man of culture, and both literary and military arts were encouraged to the clansmen; furthermore, 15 volumes of Oda Shinki, which was records of Oda clan and Nobunaga were compiled by Nagakiyo; thus, the cultural activities in the domain reached its peak. Nagakiyo had applied for the relocation of the domain's jinya from Kaiju to Iwata, which was accepted in May 14, 1704; however, since the financial situation worsened towards the end of his administration, the moving was not realized. On November 14, 1713, the name of Iwata Village was changed to Shiba Village; it was on February 2 in 1746, during the generation of Sukeyoshi ODA, the seventh lord of the domain, that the jinya was actually relocated to Shiba Village (Oda, Sakurai City, the site is currently Municipal Oda Elementary School). The reason why successive lords of the domain since Nagakiyo were particular about a move of the jinya is that Shiba Village (Iwata Village) was located in the center of the territory and convenient for doing anything; whereas Kaiju is an inconvenient place to collect land tax.
From the time of Sukeyoshi, the seventh lord of the domain, Shibamura Domain was responsible for the management of the Shogunate demesne by the order made by the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun). In 1746 the land of custody reached nearly 90,000 koku; in the time of the eighth lord, Naganori ODA, he was asked to manage the land of 93,430 koku. In other words most of the land was the land in custody; however, the territory of Shibamura Domain became more than 100,000 koku. Yazaemon SUGIURA and Senzaemon YOSHIDA were entrusted to manage the land in custody; as their way of management showed success to some extent, Shibamura Domain was praised by the bakufu generously. However, in 1753, the tax increase measure imposed by SUGIURA, YOSHIDA and others triggered frequent peasant's revolts, eventually leading farmers to criticize Shibamura Domain and demanding the relocation of the land in custody. This is called Shibamura Village Riot. The bakufu suppressed these disturbances, however, since injustice by the government officials of Shibamura Domain in the land in custody was exposed in 1794, key figures including the lord of the domain, Naganori are punished by the command of the bakufu, and all the lands in custody are taken away also.
From the time of Naganori, the impoverishment of the financial state aggravated within the Shibamura Domain, and in the end of 1768 a petition seeking land tax reduction or exemption occurred. In an effort to reform the financial difficulty, Shibamura Domain carried out some measures including issuing paper money to be used only within the domain, borrowing fief of vassals, raising money by collecting money from farmers and merchants; however no particular effect was gained, and it is said that in 1859 the debt of Shibamura Domain reached 2693 kan of silver.
Nagayasu ODA who became the last lord of the Shibamura Domain at the end of the Edo period, contributed for search and capture of Tenchu-gumi. However, from around Meiji Restoration the Shibamura Domain distanced itself from the bakufu and became cooperative with the new government; after the Restoration it was asked by the new government to control the property of the government within Yamato Province together with Takatori Domain. In 1869 with abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures, Nagayasu became the governor of Shibamura Domain; in 1871 Shibamura Domain was abolished. Among the domain territory Shimashiro Country, Settsu Province is incorporated into Osaka Prefecture; Yamato Yamabe County and the Shikijo Country were incorporated into Nara Prefecture respectively.
Graveyard for successive lords is located in Keiden-ji Temple which is in Sakurai City; there is also a gravepost for the separated ashes for Yurakusai. Among the various domains of Oda clan, Tendo Domain and Kaibara Domain which are in line of Nobukatsu ODA and Yanagimoto Domain which is in line of Yurakusai besides Shibamura Domain, existed up to Meiji Restoration. Mashita Domain and Nomura Domain had also existed as a line of Yurakusai, however, they were abolished due to having no successor in the early Edo period.