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Tosa is of particular significance in [[Bakumatsu Period|Bakumatsu]] and [[Meiji Period]] politics as one of the chief domains (along with [[Satsuma han|Satsuma]] and [[Nagato han|Chôshû]]) from where many of the most prominent anti-bakufu ''[[shishi]]'' rebels, i.e. Imperial loyalists emerged. Prominent Tosa figures from that period include [[Sakamoto Ryoma|Sakamoto Ryôma]], [[Yoshida Toyo|Yoshida Tôyô]], [[Itagaki Taisuke]], and [[Takechi Zuizan]]. Tosa is also significant as the domain which, while [[Sat-Cho Alliance|Satsuma and Chôshû]] were preparing for war, presented Shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] with a petition requesting that he step down; though in the end there was some considerable fighting in the lead-up to the [[Meiji Restoration]] and its immediate aftermath, in truth, the last shogun was not forced to resign at swordpoint, but rather accepted this Tosa petition and gave up his position willingly and relatively peacefully.
Tosa is of particular significance in [[Bakumatsu Period|Bakumatsu]] and [[Meiji Period]] politics as one of the chief domains (along with [[Satsuma han|Satsuma]] and [[Nagato han|Chôshû]]) from where many of the most prominent anti-bakufu ''[[shishi]]'' rebels, i.e. Imperial loyalists emerged. Prominent Tosa figures from that period include [[Sakamoto Ryoma|Sakamoto Ryôma]], [[Yoshida Toyo|Yoshida Tôyô]], [[Itagaki Taisuke]], and [[Takechi Zuizan]]. Tosa is also significant as the domain which, while [[Sat-Cho Alliance|Satsuma and Chôshû]] were preparing for war, presented Shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] with a petition requesting that he step down; though in the end there was some considerable fighting in the lead-up to the [[Meiji Restoration]] and its immediate aftermath, in truth, the last shogun was not forced to resign at swordpoint, but rather accepted this Tosa petition and gave up his position willingly and relatively peacefully.
==Geography==
Tosa is comprised of roughly the southern half of the island of [[Shikoku]], facing the Pacific Ocean. Though not one of the designated domains for engaging in foreign interactions, as a result of its location, and the effects of the [[Kuroshio Current]], Tosa saw a great many shipwrecks and castaways over the course of history.
Though a relatively large domain in total land area, much of this area is quite mountainous, and thus not suitable for rice cultivation; in addition to fishing and other maritime activities, much of the domain's basic agricultural production consisted of the growing of wheat, millet, beans and the like. [[Tea]], lumber, and paper also became prominent domainal exports in the Edo period.
The domain's [[castle town]] capital was at Kôchi, located roughly midway along the domain's coast.
==Edo Period==
==Edo Period==
The domain's governance and laws were based, in part, on the "[[100 Article Code of the Chosokabe]]," written by the [[Chosokabe clan|Chôsokabe clan]] who ruled Tosa prior to the Yamauchi.
The Yamauchi were not traditionally from Shikoku, but were transferred to Tosa by [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] in return for their loyal service, including in the [[Battle of Sekigahara]]. The Yamauchi takeover of the territory was somewhat violent, involving the forcible pacification of armed resistance by those loyal to the [[Chosokabe clan|Chôsokabe]]. As a result, throughout the Edo period, even as late as the [[Bakumatsu]], many spoke of the Yamauchi as outsiders and invaders, and those who resisted or resented Yamauchi rule often claimed associations with the Chôsokabe.<ref name=merc36>Roberts, 33-36.</ref>
The domain's governance and laws were based, in part, however, on the "[[100 Article Code of the Chosokabe|100 Article Code of the Chôsokabe]]," written by the Chôsokabe clan who ruled Tosa prior to the Yamauchi. Their ''kokudaka'' was based on land surveys performed by the Chôsokabe as well. Though Chôsokabe records indicate that land surveys performed in the 1590s discussed 248,3000 ''[[Japanese Measurements|tan]]'' of land, an area that could produce far more than the 98,000 ''koku'' ''[[kokudaka|omotedaka]]'' recognized by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], in [[1604]], Yamauchi officials recalculated, based on the Chôsokabe reports, without actually performing a new land survey, and submitted to the Tokugawa a reported ''kokudaka'' of 202,626 ''koku''. Only around 64% of this figure reflected rice cultivation, while the remaining portion was an estimated conversion into rice of the level of cultivation of other products, such as millet, wheat, and beans.<ref name=merc36/>
A particular type of [[Japanese long-tailed fowl]] called the ''onagadori'' was specially bred in Tosa, and its feathers were often used to decorate spears used in the lord's ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' processions, adding to the distinctiveness of Tosa's processions.
A particular type of [[Japanese long-tailed fowl]] called the ''onagadori'' was specially bred in Tosa, and its feathers were often used to decorate spears used in the lord's ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' processions, adding to the distinctiveness of Tosa's processions.
==References==
==References==
*[[Luke Roberts]], ''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th-Century Tosa'', Cambridge University Press (2002).
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[[Category:Han]]
[[Category:Han]]
