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===Bakumatsu & Meiji===
===Bakumatsu & Meiji===
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.
Ironically, the low or even measly stipends which many retainers received, forcing them into by-employments in the late 18th to early 19th centuries, made the transition into the Meiji period much easier for many Yonezawa retainers than for many individuals in other domains. Already used to receiving little from the government, and to farming or manufacturing to make a living, many of these samurai families were well ready to spend the bonds their stipends were converted into in [[1876]] to purchase looms or other equipment, to keep the family "business" going.<ref>Ravina, 112.</ref>
==Lords of Yonezawa==
==Lords of Yonezawa==
