other · Korea and Japan

Uwajima Domain

1614 CE – 1871 CE · capital Uwajima

A Date family domain in southwestern Shikoku whose reforming lord Date Munenari built one of Japan's first steamships.

Origins

In 1614 the shogunate granted Uwajima in Iyo province, with 100,000 koku, to Date Hidemune, the eldest son of Date Masamune, who had been passed over as heir to the Sendai Domain. Hidemune entered Uwajima castle in 1615.

Rule and society

Hidemune's descendants ruled until 1871 as an independent branch of the Date. The domain lived from rice, fisheries and paper on a rugged coast. In the 1850s Date Munenari, counted among the four wise lords of the late shogunate, sheltered the Western scholar Takano Choei, hired Murata Zoroku, later Omura Masujiro, and had a working steamship built with local craftsmen.

Decline and legacy

Munenari took part in the councils that shaped the new government in 1868, and served in early Meiji diplomacy. After abolition in 1871 the domain became part of Ehime Prefecture.

Lineage

Uwajima DomainEmpire of Japan 1868 CE – 1945 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Uwajima Domain. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uwajima-domain
MLA
“Uwajima Domain.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uwajima-domain. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Uwajima Domain.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uwajima-domain.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Uwajima Domain’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/uwajima-domain (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻