− | When the [[Boshin War]] erupted in 1868, and the shogunate came to an end with the abdication of shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]], the Uesugi joined the pro-shogunate "Northern Alliance" (''[[Ôetsu Reppan Dômei]]''), acknowledging their debt to Hoshina Masayuki and thus to the shogunate. The samurai of Yonezawa for the most part saw the [[sonno|Imperial loyalists]] as a threat to the security or autonomy of their domain, and were willing to fight to defend it.<ref>Ravina, 202.</ref> After several months of battle, the Alliance was defeated, and the [[Meiji period]] began, under a new imperial government. The domain was cut down by 3000 ''koku'', then combined with other territories to form "Yonezawa Shinden han" in 1869, and abolished along with the [[abolition of the han system|han system]] as a whole two years later. It was renamed Yonezawa prefecture, but was combined very shortly afterwards with Okitama prefecture to form Yamagata prefecture. | + | When the [[Boshin War]] erupted in 1868, and the shogunate came to an end with the abdication of shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]], the Uesugi joined the pro-shogunate "Northern Alliance" (''[[Ôetsu Reppan Dômei]]''), acknowledging their debt to Hoshina Masayuki and thus to the shogunate. The samurai of Yonezawa for the most part saw the [[sonno|Imperial loyalists]] as a threat to the security or autonomy of their domain, and were willing to fight to defend it.<ref>Ravina, 202.</ref> After several months of battle, the Alliance was defeated, and the [[Meiji period]] began, under a new imperial government. The domain was cut down by 3000 ''koku'', then combined with other territories to form "Yonezawa Shinden han" in 1869, and abolished along with the [[abolition of the han|''han'' system]] as a whole two years later. It was renamed Yonezawa prefecture, but was combined very shortly afterwards with Okitama prefecture to form Yamagata prefecture. |
| The end of the shogunate and abolition of the ''han'' system brought with it an end of the [[samurai]] class and of the ''daimyô''. The Uesugi clan were incorporated into the ''[[kazoku]]'' or noble peerage, as Counts, or ''Hakushaku'' in Japanese. | | The end of the shogunate and abolition of the ''han'' system brought with it an end of the [[samurai]] class and of the ''daimyô''. The Uesugi clan were incorporated into the ''[[kazoku]]'' or noble peerage, as Counts, or ''Hakushaku'' in Japanese. |