Sayama Domain

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The Sayama Domain (狭山藩, Sayama-han^?) was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Kawachi Province, and headquartered in what is now Sayama, Osaka. It was ruled for the entirety of its history by the Hōjō clan, a branch of the Late Hōjō clan.

[edit] History

The Late Hojo Clan was started by Hojo Soun and at its zenith during the Sengoku period controlled all of the Kanto region. However, its power attracted the attention of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and when they failed to heed a summon to submit to Hideyoshi at his castle in Osaka, Toyotomi roused a great host numbering 200,000 and laid siege to Odawara Castle. After the fall of the castle, the Hojo lord's father Hojo Ujimasa and his uncle Hojo Ujiteru were forced to commit Seppuku while the young lord Hojo Ujinao was exiled to Mount Kōya. However, the family line did not die there, Hojo Ujinori a younger brother of Ujimasa developed a deep friendship with Tokugawa Ieyasu when they were both hostages to the Imagawa family. After the disbanding of the Hojo Domain, Ujinori obtained a 10,000 koku stipend from Ieyasu. He bequeathed 4,000 koku to his son Hojo Ujimori and Ujimori was adopted by Ujinao to symbolically continue the family line of the Late Hojo family.