Everything about Tozama totally explained
A
tozama daimyo (外様大名) was a
daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of
Japan. The term came into use in the
Kamakura period and continued until the end of the
Edo period. These daimyo were also known as the Outer Lords.
Edo period
The daimyo who submitted to the
Tokugawa shogunate after the
Battle of Sekigahara were classified as
tozama. Many of the largest
fiefs were ruled by
tozama. The biggest was the
Maeda clan of
Kaga with a value of 1,000,000
koku. Others included the
Shimazu family of
Satsuma, the
Mori, the
Date,
Hachisuka, and the
Uesugi.
Tokugawa Ieyasu had treated the great
tozama vassals amicably but later, between 1623 and 1626,
Tokugawa Iemitsu was less tolerant of them. Particularly in western Japan, the
tozama daimyo heavily profited from foreign trade in the mid 17th century. Their growing success was a threat to the shogunate, which responded by preventing the ports of western Japan and
Kyūshū from trading.
To keep the
tozama in check, the shogunate stationed
fudai daimyo in strategic locations, including along major roads and near important cities. The shogunate ordinarily didn't appoint
tozama to high positions within the government. These went instead to the
fudai daimyo.
Tozama daimyo from
Satsuma and
Choshu (Shimazu and Mori clans respectively) were responsible for the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the
Bakumatsu era. They were not loyal to the shogunate and saw the opportunity to seize power during this time. Shimazu and Mori both united behind the Emperor of Japan to renew and westernize Japan in the face of perceived Western dangers. Afterwards, the Shimazu and Mori clans had the most influence in the military and government of Japan until after
World War II.
The Aizu clan was much more loyal to Tokugawa Bakufu and fought to the end of the
Boshin War against Satsuma-Choshu backed imperial forces. Aizu was defeated and pushed into Hokkaido to resist, so they were considered to be disloyal to Japan's emperor. However, in the 1920s, Aizu clan was pardoned by emperor and restored to honor.
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