Nanbu Toshihisa was the 3rd son of
Nanbu Toshitada, the 12th
daimyō of Morioka Domain and was born in
Morioka. He was initially adopted by
Nanbu Nobunori as heir to
Shichinohe Domain, but was returned to Morioka after the forced retirement of his brother,
Nanbu Toshitomo in September 1849. He was received in a formal audience by
Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyoshi, and received the
courtesy title of
Minō-no-kami and Junior 4th Rank, Lower Grade
Court rank later the same year. In 1851 he received the additional courtesy title of
Jijū (Chamberlain) and his court rank was increased to Senior 4th Rank. At the time, the domain was divided into a faction supporting Toshitomo, and a faction supporting his father, Toshitada, who was still controlling the domain despite his official retirement. When Toshitomo was forced aside to permit the appointment of the more pliable Toshihisa, the domain erupted into widespread revolt in 1853. The
rōjū Abe Masahiro responding by placing both Toshitada and Toshitomo under
house arrest in
Edo, thus removing their influence over the government of the domain. In 1861, his courtesy title was changed to
Sashōshō. Although he was approached by
Kujō Michitaka to support the new
Meiji government, Toshihisa led the domain into the
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the
Boshin War, and fought against the forces of the pro-Meiji
Akita Domain. However, there was little support within the domain for the war, and he formally surrendered to the Meiji government on 9 October 1868. On 7 December, he was ordered to retire and was replaced as
daimyō by his son,
Nanbu Toshiyuki ten days later. Three of the senior
karō of the domain committed
seppuku rather than submit to the Meiji government. On 30 October 1896, Toshihisa was posthumously awarded Senior Third Rank. His grave is at the temple of
Gokoku-ji in Tokyo. Toshihisa had at least 11 sons and 6 daughters. His eldest daughter married
Prince Kachō Hirotsune, and one of his sons was adopted by
Ōkuma Shigenobu. ==References==