[1] Tanaka Domain was controlled by a large number of fudai daimyō clans in the course of its history, seldom for more than one generation.
In 1590, the Tokugawa clan was transferred to the Kanto region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who awarded the castle to his retainer, Nakamura Kazutada.
However, Tadashige was transferred to Kakegawa two years later, and his place was taken Mizuno Tadayoshi, with kokudaka of 45,000 koku.
In 1730, he was ordered to relocate to Tanaka Domain in Suruga Province, with the same nominal kokudaka of 40,000 koku.
In 1746, he promoted to rōjū and received the courtesy title of Hōki-no-kami and the honorific title of chamberlain in 1747. he resigned his posts in 1758 due to accusations of mishandling a major peasant uprising in Mino Province and was ordered the shave his head in atonement.
Masatomo was born in Edo as the second son of Honda Masayoshi, and became heir on the death of his eldest brother in 1757.
Masaharu was born in Edo as the eldest son of Honda Masatomo, and became daimyō on the death of his father in 1777.
The shogunate ordered Tanaka Domain to take control of Sagara Castle after the dispossession of Tanuma Okitsugu in 1787.In 1798 he changed his name from Masatoku to Masaharu.
In 1794, he brought Kishu mikan trees from Kii Province to his domain, establishing the start of the orange industry in Shizuoka.
Masaharu had divorced his wife earlier that year, not realizing that she was pregnant and Masaoki was born at the Nagai clan's Edo residence.
He was noted for encouraging education within the domain, including financial incentives similar to a modern scholarship program for people with financial difficulties; however, this applied only to the samurai class, and the peasants rose in revolt again in 1816 after a typhoon resulted in a crop failure.
He also modernized the domain's military forces by creating a rifle brigade and by purchasing artillery.
Honda Masamori (本多 正訥, March 7, 1827 – November 1, 1885) was the 7th (and final) daimyō of Tanaka Domain.
After the Meiji restoration, he was forced to relocate from Tanaka to newly created Nagao Domain in Awa province, with the same nominal revenue of 40,000 koku.