Katō clan
The Katō clan was a samurai and aristocratic clan in Japan. It was said that the Ka in Katō came from the Fujiwara clan of Kaga. Katō Kiyomasa came from the Katō clan, who claimed to be descendants of the Fujiwara-Kitaoji clan. Katō Mitsuyasu and Yoshiaki were descendants of the Fujiwara-Kitaoji clan. The latter two branches became the lords of Ōzu and Minakuchi respectively in the early modern period, and after the Meiji Restoration, both clans were ennobled as viscounts.
History
It is believed that the first person to be called Katō was Fujiwara Kagemichi, who served under Minamoto no Yorimitsu. He was given the title of Kaga no Fujiwara, which was later abbreviated to Katō. Katō Kagenobu, who is said to be the great-grandson of Kagemichi, participated in Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising. After the downfall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, he became a vassal of the Kamakura government. He was ordered by Yoritomo to defeat Yasuda Yoshisada, along with Kajiwara Kagesue. Although he later obtained the position of Jito in the Ashiba Manor in Tōtōmi Province, his land was confiscated when Kajiwara Kagesue was killed, possibly due to his close relationship with Kagesue.Since the Sengoku period, the Kato Mitsuyasu line has been prominent. Katō Mitsuyasu served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and was granted the Kai Province of 240,000 koku. His son, Katō Sadayasu, was reduced to 40,000 koku in Mino Province in 1594, and then transferred to the Yonago Domain in 1610, where he received an additional 20,000 koku, totaling 60,000 koku. In 1617, he was transferred to the Ōzu Domain. The domain continued until the abolition of the han system. The last lord, Katō Yasuaki, was appointed as the governor of the Ōzu Domain in June 1869, during the abolition of the han system, and served as the governor until the abolition of the han system in July 1871.
List of ''[Daimyō]''
Katō Yoshiaki LineageKatō Yoshiaki was originally a retainer of the Matsudaira clan, but he rebelled against his lord, Matsudaira Motoyasu, during the Ikkō-ikki and fled. Born as Noriaki's son, Katō Yoshiaki served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and became one of the Seven Spears of Shizugatake. He played an active role in the Odawara campaign and the Korean expedition under the Toyotomi regime. After the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he approached Tokugawa Ieyasu and became a daimyō of Iyo-Matsuyama Domain with 210,000 koku in the Battle of Sekigahara. Yoshiaki was later granted an additional 400,000 koku and became a powerful daimyo of Aizu Domain in his later years. However, after Yoshiaki's death, his successor Katō Akinari was deprived of his domain due to the Aizu Incident. Akinari's illegitimate son, Katō Meitomo, was allowed to revive as a daimyō of Omihachiman Domain with 20,000 koku.
When he was transferred to Mibu Domain in Shimotsuke Province, he was granted an additional 5,000 koku, and after being returned to Mizuguchi Domain in 1713, the same domain continued to exist until the abolition of the han system. The last daimyō of Minakuchi Domain, Akihisa, was appointed as the governor of Minakuchi Domain in June 1869, and served as the governor of the same domain until the abolition of the han system in July 1871. With the integration of court nobles and daimyo families in the administrative officials on June 17, 1869, the peerage system was established, and the Kato clan was also listed as a peerage as a daimyō clan. When the peerage system became the five peerage system with the enforcement of the Peerage Law on July 7, 1884, he was listed as a viscount August 8, 1884 as a former small han governor.