Niwa Mitsushige was the 2nd Niwa
daimyō of
Shirakawa Domain, and 2nd hereditary chieftain of the
Niwa clan. Mitsushige was the third son of
Niwa Nagashige. As both of his older brothers died in childhood, he was named heir in 1628. In 1634, he was received in formal audience by
Shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu, and received a
kanji from Iemitsu's name, becoming Niwa Mitsushige. In 1643, the
Tokugawa shogunate ordered the Niwa clan to relocate to Nihonmatsu. Upon entering
Nihonmatsu Castle in 1644, he immediately embarked on a program to rebuild the surrounding
jōkamachi. Mitsushige was also noted as a patron of the arts, and especially favoured the Sekishū-branch of the
Japanese tea ceremony. He was also a painter, having been trained in the
Kanō school, using the pseudonym
Gyokuhō (玉峰). He retired from public life in 1679, turning the domain over to his eldest son
Niwa Nagatsugu. He died in 1701. His
courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his
Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.
Niwa Nagatsugu was the 2nd Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 3rd hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His
courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his
Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the eldest son of
Niwa Mitsushige, and was received in formal audience by
Shōgun Tokugawa Ietsuna in 1653. He became
daimyō in 1679 on the retirement of his father. He did not share his father's love of the arts, or of
Confucianism, and his tenure was largely uneventful. In 1692, he received the honorary court title of
chamberlain (
Jijū) shortly before his death. As he had no son, the domain went to his younger brother.
Niwa Nagayuki was the 3rd Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 4th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Echizen-no-kami, and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the younger brother of Niwa Nagatsugu, and was received in formal audience by Shōgun
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in 1684. He became
daimyō in 1692 on the death of his brother. He had a son and daughter by a concubine, but never took a formal wife. His grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Hidenobu was the 4th Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 5th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the eldest son of Niwa Nagayuki and became
daimyō in 1701 on the death of his brother. He was received in formal audience by Shōgun
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi the same year. His wife was a daughter of Abe Masakune of
Fukuyama Domain. He died in 1728 without heir. His grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Takahiro was the 5th Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 6th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was a
hatamoto descendant of the sixth son of
Niwa Nagahide and was posthumously adopted by the childless Niwa Hidenobu to become
daimyō in 1728. He was received in formal audience by Sh Jijū gun
Tokugawa Yoshimune the same year. His wife was a daughter of Niwa Nagayuki. He retired in 1745 due to illness. He died in 1769. His grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Takayasu was the 6th Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 7th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Wakasa-no-kami, and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the eldest son of Niwa Takahiro and was received in formal audience by Shōgun
Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1741. He became
daimyō in 1745 on the retirement of his father. In 1747, the domain was ordered by the shogunate to undertake
flood control projects on the
Kiso,
Ibi and
Nagara Rivers in
Owari Province, work which was part of the
1754 Hōreki River incident. Takayasu was married to a daughter of
Tokugawa Munenao of
Kishū Domain. He predeceased his father in 1766. His grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Nagayoshi was the 7th Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 8th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the eldest son of Niwa Takayasu by a concubine and became
daimyō in 1766 on the death of his father. He was received in formal audience by Shōgun
Tokugawa Ieharu the same year. He was married to a daughter of
Date Muratoki of
Uwajima Domain. During his tenure, the domain suffered from the effects of the
Great Tenmei famine. He died in 1796 and his grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Nagaakira was the 8th Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 9th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the eldest son of Niwa Nagayoshi by a concubine. He was received in formal audience by Shōgun
Tokugawa Ienari in 1792, and became
daimyō in 1796 on the death of his father. He was married to a daughter of
Arima Yoritaka of
Kurume Domain. He died in 1813 and his grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Nagatomi was the 9th Niwa
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and 10th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his Court rank was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. He was the eldest son of Niwa Nagaakira by a concubine. He became
daimyō in 1813 on the death of his father and ruled Nihonmatsu Domain. He built a
han school. He retired in 1858. He was married to a daughter of Arima Yorinao of
Kurume Domain. He died in 1866 and his grave is at the temple of Dairin-ji in Nihonmatsu.
Niwa Nagakuni was the 10th
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain, and the 11th hereditary chieftain of the Niwa clan. His courtesy title was
Saikyō-no-daifu, and his Court rank]was Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade. Nagakuni was born in Nihonmatsu as the 6th son of
Niwa Nagatomi. He succeeded to the family headship upon his father's retirement in 1858. He was ordered by the
Tokugawa shogunate to send military forces to increase security in
Kyoto in 1864 and 1865. In 1868, with the start of the
Boshin War, Nihonmatsu joined the
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, but was defeated by the forces of the
Satchō Alliance, with
Nihonmatsu Castle burning down during the
Battle of Nihonmatsu on September 15, 1868. He subsequently made peace with the
Meiji government, which ordered him to retire, and which reduced Nihonmatsu Domain from its previous
kokudaka of 100,700
koku to 50,700
koku. After the deaths of his son and grandson, he reassumed the chieftainship of the Niwa clan in 1902, and also the
kazoku title of
shishaku (
viscount). He died in 1904 and his grave is at
Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.
Niwa Nagahiro Viscount was the 11th (and final)
daimyō of Nihonmatsu Domain and the 12th hereditary chieftain of the
Niwa clan. Nagahiro was the 9th son of
Uesugi Narinori of
Yonezawa Domain; his mother was a daughter of
Matsudaira Yorihiro of
Takamatsu Domain. He was married to the eldest daughter of
Niwa Nagakuni. Following the defeat of Nihonmatsu Domain during the
Boshin War in 1868, Nagakuni was placed under
house arrest in
Tokyo by the new
Meiji government, which also ordered him to retire. Nagakuni formally adopted his son-in-law, Nagahiro who then became
daimyō, with Nihonmatsu reduced to 50,700
koku (half of what it had previously held). When the post of
daimyō was abolished, Nagahiro remained as Imperial governor of Nihonmatsu until the
abolition of the han system. Nihonmatsu was incorporated into Fukushima Prefecture. In 1884, with the creation of the
kazoku peerage system, Nagahiro received the title of
shishaku (viscount). He died in 1886 and his brother
Niwa Nagayasu (Uesugi Narinori's 11th son) became the 13th chieftain of the Niwa clan. ==References==