Fukuoka han

A portion of the ruins of Fukuoka castle

• Japanese: 福岡藩 (Fukuoka han)
• Other Names: 黒田藩 (Kuroda han)
• Territory: Chikuzen province
• Castle: Fukuoka castle
• Kokudaka: 520,000
• Lords: Kuroda clan

Fukuoka han was an Edo period domain ruled by the Kuroda clan from Fukuoka castle. With a kokudaka of 520,000 koku, it was among the wealthiest domains in the realm. Controlling essentially the entirety of Chikuzen province, the Kuroda were among only about ten or so daimyô clans to claim honkunimochi status, a level of prestige restricted to those who controlled an entire province.

The Kuroda first built Fukuoka castle after Kuroda Nagamasa was granted the domain by Tokugawa Ieyasu following the battle of Sekigahara. This marked the beginning of the castle-town of Fukuoka, which then grew up around the castle, eventually merging with nearby Hakata to become one of the largest cities and most major ports on Kyushu. Many samurai already resident in Chikuzen refused to swear fealty to the Kuroda, who were not traditionally/historically lords of that area, and so instead of becoming formal retainers based in the castle town, these samurai relocated to the countryside, maintaining some degree of elite status, and becoming one variety of gôshi.

Branches of the Kuroda clan controlled nearby Akizuki han and, for a brief time from 1688 to 1721, Tôrenji han.

Beginning in 1641, Fukuoka was assigned, along with Saga han, to contribute to the defenses of Nagasaki harbor. As a result of this obligation of military service, the sankin kôtai obligations of these two domains were lessened.

Areas of the domain were administered by magistrates (bugyô) appointed by the Kuroda: machi bugyô (town magistrates) oversaw the twin cities of Hakata and Fukuoka, kôri bugyô (district magistrates) oversaw farming villages and post-towns, and ura bugyô (harbor magistrates) oversaw coastal villages. Thirty areas had been designated as ura ("harbors") by 1605, each coming under the jurisdiction of an ura bugyô; by the 18th century, this number had swelled slightly to 39, with each designated area encompassing anywhere from a few hundred to more than a thousand villagers. A number of villages were divided in half, or even in three, with "harbor portions" (urabun), "hill portions" (i.e. farming areas, okabun), and "town portions" (i.e. commercial areas, machibun) coming under the jurisdictions of different magistrates. Some towns were even physically, geographically, relocated in order to effect this distinction; these included the villages of Shingû and Fukuma, for example, which had previously been part of the Minato and Shimosaigô villages respectively.

Lords of Fukuoka han

1. Kuroda Nagamasa (d. 1623)

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1. Kuroda Mitsuyuki (c. 1673)

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1. Kuroda Narihiro (c. 1850s)

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References

• Arne Kalland, Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan, University of Hawaii Press (1995), 16.