[1][2][3] Matsura Takanobu, who rose to power among the Matsura clan, a powerful local clan in the northern part of present-day Nagasaki Prefecture, conquered Kitamatsuura District in northern Hizen Province and the island province of Iki.

In 1587, his son, Matsura Shigenobu was confirmed in his holdings for assisting Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kyushu Conquest of 1587-1587.

However, he burned the castle down himself in 1613, as a gesture of loyalty towards Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, having served in the losing Toyotomi side during the Battle of Sekigahara.

In return, he was allowed to retain his position as daimyō of Hirado Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate with a kokudaka of 63,000 koku.

Military reforms led to the formation of a Western-style rifle unit in the domain, which fought at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi and against the Tokugawa remnants of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei in northern Japan, at Morioka and Akita.