Aizu

Aizu region (highlighted in dark green) as part of the modern Fukushima prefecture .

For most of the Edo period, the Aizu khan was ruled by the Hoshin clan , the former senior vassals of the Takeda clan . At the beginning of the 17th century, Hoshina Masamitsu, the head of the clan, adopted Masayuki, the illegitimate son of the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada . As a result, the wealth of the Hoshin family began to increase, they were granted more and more land, and finally in the middle of the XVII century they received the possession of Khan Aizu, whose income at that time was estimated at 240 thousand koku . Adopted by Hoshina Masayuki, who, in turn, became the new head of the family, was a prominent political figure during the reign of his brother Tokugawa Iemitsu ’s father, and subsequently served as regent to the fourth minor shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna . At the end of the XVII century, the Hosin clan received permission to use the kamon (clan coat of arms) of the ruling Tokugawa clan and a new surname - Matsudaira. Since that time, the Hoshin clan was known as Aizu-Matsudaira, and the clan members used the old surname mainly in the internal document flow of the khan. The Matsudaira Codex established by Masayuki contained a separate order to serve the shogun with unconditional devotion, and the members of the clan tried to show adherence to this order, even if their true goals were to increase their status and weight in society.

Khan Aizu was known for his military power: he had at his disposal a regular army of more than 5,000 soldiers, which was often sent to guard the country's northern borders up to southern Sakhalin . Shortly before the arrival of the " black ships " of Commodore Matthew Perry , Aizu troops, along with other forces, guarded Edo Bay, continuing their service even after the departure of Perry. The Aizu Army had two sets of rules for warfare, the “Rules for Commanders” ( Japanese 将 長 禁令 Shё : Cho: Kinray ) and the “Rules for Soldiers” ( Japanese 士卒 禁令 Shisotsu Kinray ) . They were introduced in the 1790s and set professional, modern standards for military operations. In the "Rules for the Soldiers" there were two points that protected the civilian population on the territory of the enemy; a similar interpretation of human rights in hostilities was recorded in the Aizu rules more than 70 years before the first Geneva Convention of 1864 .

• 敵 地 と い え ど も 猥 り に 田 畑 を 踏 荒 ら す べ か ら ざ る 事。

“In enemy territory, it is forbidden to trample over rice fields without reason.

• 敵 地 に 入 っ て 、 婦女 を し 、 墳墓 を 老幼 を 害 し 、 墳墓 を 荒 ら 、 猥 り 畜類 を り 、 故 り 毛 毛 毛 ざ ざ を 、 を 、 、 、 、 を を 、 、 を 、 を 、を

“Entering enemy territory, it is forbidden to rape women, harm children and the elderly, desecrate graves, burn houses, slaughter cattle unnecessarily, appropriate money and rice, cut down forests and harvest ripening rice for no reason.”

During the reign of the ninth head of the clan, Matsudaira Katamori , Aizu Khan sent a large number of military forces to Kyoto , where Katamori served as the defender of Kyoto ( Jap. 京都 守護 то Kyo: then Shyugoseku ) . During the Bakumatsu years preceding the Meiji restoration , Aizu Khan sided with the prosegun forces, fighting with the emperor’s supporters, who came mainly from the Choshu and Satsuma khans. The Matsudaira clan, following the instructions of the Shogun government, became the first official patron of the Shinsengumi , a military police force operating in Kyoto.

In 1868, the shogun was overthrown, and Matsudaira Katamori resigned from his post with him. The imperial court, consisting of natives of Satsuma and Choshu, declared Katamori and the entire Khan Aizu "enemies of the emperor", urging them to be punished. Katamori tried to settle the matter in a peaceful way - in particular, many times he formally apologized to the new government - but it did not pay attention to them. In the end, the forces of Aizu Khan entered the Bosin war along with the forces of the Northern Alliance (Ouetsu Rappan Domei), but already in October 1868, the imperial army besieged Tsuruga 's castle , the citadel of Khan Aizu. A tragic incident is associated with this siege - the suicide of members of Byakkotai (White Tiger Squad), a group of young samurai (mainly teenagers) who made hara-kiri on top of a hill after smoke rising from the castle convinced them that the main fortress of Aizu has fallen.

For personalities born before the Meiji Restoration, the traditional Japanese name order is given: Last Name First Name

• Shiba Goro - a general who participated in the suppression of the Chinese Ihethuan rebellion .
• Yamamoto Yaeko is the defender of Aizu during the Bosin War, later one of the founders of Doshisha University in Kyoto .
• Yamamoto Kakuma is a former samurai, brother of Yamamoto Yaeko, who together with her took part in the foundation of Doshisha University.
• Takamine Hideo is a former samurai educated in the United States. In the Meiji era, he became a teacher, introduced educational methods of Pestalozzi in Japan.
• Ibuka Kajinosuke is a former samurai who converted to Christianity during the Meiji period and founded the Japan YMCA (Christian Youth Organization) branch in Japan.
• Yamakawa Kenjiro is a graduate of Yale University , a physicist, researcher, rector of the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.
• Yamakawa Sutematsu is the sister of Yamakawa Kenjiro, a graduate of Vassar College. She took part in the foundation of Tsuda College, organized by Tsuda Umeko, the daughter of the famous Japanese agronomist Tsuda Seng and girlfriend of Sutematsu.
• Yamakawa Hiroshi is the brother of Kenjiro and Sutematsu, a military leader, a general of the Imperial Army of Japan .
• Yamakawa Futaba is the sister of Kenjiro, Sutematsu and Hiroshi, a teacher, colleague of Takamin Hideo.
• Nakano Takeko is an Aizu defender who died in battle during the siege of the castle.
• Saigo Tanomo is a former chief adviser to the Matsudaira clan, later a Shinto priest and martial arts teacher, in particular, Sokaku Takeda's teacher.
• Uryu Ivako is a social worker who has done a lot to help the poor and orphans.
• Akizuki Tejiro is a former samurai, later a teacher.

For persons born after the Meiji restoration, the standard order of names is indicated: First Name Last Name

• Shunroku Hata - Field Marshal of the Imperial Army of Japan . At the Tokyo trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Hideyo Noguchi is a doctor who has made a significant contribution to the fight against syphilis . His portrait is displayed on a 1,000 yen banknote (as of 2007 ).
• Tsuneo Matsudaira - the son of Matsudaira Katamori, was the ambassador of Japan to the United States and Great Britain.
• Isao Matsudaira - grandson of Matsudaira Katamori, politician, governor of Fukushima Prefecture in 1976 - 1988 .
• Setsuko Matsudaira is the daughter of Tsuneo Matsudaira, the princess of the imperial house, who married the brother of Emperor Hirohito .
• Kiyoshi Saito is an artist.

• 野 口 信 一. 会 津 藩 . - 東京 : 現代 書館 , 2005 .-- 206 p. - ISBN 4-7684-7102-1 . ( Shinichi Noguchi. Aizu Khan. - Tokyo: Gendai Shokan, 2005. - 206 p. - ISBN 4-7684-7102-1 . )
• Harold Bolitho. Proceedings of the British Association for Japanese Studies. - London, 1977 .-- T. 2 .-- S. 1-17.

• The text of the "Rules for the commanders" and the "Rules for the soldiers" (Japanese)