Komoro Domain

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi annihilated the Hōjō clan in the Siege of Odawara in 1590, he awarded Komoro as a 50,000 koku holding to Sengoku Hidehisa.

He was confirmed in his status by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara, and his son, Sengoku Tadamasa was transferred to Ueda Domain in 1622.

He subsequently served as Osaka-jō dai from 1662, and Komoro was given to Sakai Tadayoshi, formerly of Isesaki Domain.

He made great efforts to undo the damage caused by the misgovernment of Sakai Tadayoshi, but was transferred to Yokosuka Domain in 1682.

This at last brought stability to the administration of the domain, as the Makino clan continued to rule until the Meiji restoration.

During the Boshin War, the 10th daimyō, Makino Yasumasu quickly supported the imperial side, and participated in the Battle of Hokuetsu and was assigned to guard Usui Pass.

As with most domains in the han system, Komoro Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.

Ieshige was the fifth son of Honjō Munesuke of Ashikaga Domain and his mother was a princess of the Nijō clan.

He was received in formal audience by Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1720, and became daimyō on his father's death in 1722.

In 1742, the domain suffered from severe damage due to storms and he applied for a loan of 2000 ryō from the shogunate.

In 1751, he turned to the parent house of the Makino clan at Nagaoka Domain for financial assistance.

His wife was a daughter of Torii Tadateru of Mibu Domain; however, he had no male heir.

His wife was a daughter of Ishikawa Fusasuke of Kameyama Domain; however, he had no male heir.

From 1855, he attempted to institute numerous rural reforms based on the teachings of Ninomiya Sontoku and to create stockpiled against future bad harvests.

However, among his retainers, there was a strong faction which supported his younger brother Nobunosuke (later Honda Tadanao, daimyō of Okazaki Domain), and was forced to suppress an attempted coup.

He also faced possible overthrow when he sided with the imperial faction in the Boshin War and ordered his forces against the pro-Tokugawa army at the Battle of Hokuetsu, as this placed the domain in direct conflict with its parent house at Nagaoka Domain.

In September 1869, he also had to suppress a revolt by followers of the failed Mito rebellion within his domain.