[Sanuki Secret Story] The Secret Agents of Sanuki: The Special Circumstances Behind Inter-Domain Marriages Between the Takamatsu and Tokushima Domains During the Late Edo Period
The Origins and Location of the Mori Family, Secret Agents of the Takamatsu Domain
During the Edo period, the Mori family resided in the mountains near the coast of Mashino, Higashikagawa City. This family is descended from the Mori Navy, which was active in Awa Province (present-day Tokushima Prefecture) from the Sengoku period to the early Edo period.
Originally, the founder of the Awa Navy Mori family was Sada Kurozaemon (later Sada Kurobei) of Inaba Province (present-day eastern Tottori Prefecture). He served the Hosokawa clan, and under the Hosokawa clan, who held the position of Shugo of Awa Province, he operated as a naval force based in Tosadomari (present-day Naruto City).
Later, when the Miyoshi clan came to rule Awa Province, the Mori family served the Miyoshi clan and played an important role in controlling the main stream of the Yoshino River and the gateway to Awa.
The maritime capabilities of the Mori Navy were outstanding, and their activities contributed significantly to the background of the Miyoshi clan's ability to expand their influence into the Kinai region (around Kyoto and Osaka).
Even after the Hachisuka family entered Awa Province following Toyotomi Hideyoshi's pacification of Shikoku in 1585, the Mori family, as senior retainers (churo) of the Tokushima Domain's Hachisuka family, inherited the maritime affairs of the Tokushima Domain throughout the Edo period, including being responsible for maritime transport in the Seto Inland Sea during sankin-kotai (alternate attendance).
The fact that the Mori family of the Takamatsu Domain were descendants of this prestigious Awa Navy Mori family means that they possessed deep knowledge and skills regarding the sea and were adept at activities using sea routes.
This geographical advantage and lineage are considered to have been extremely favorable conditions for the Mori family to frequently travel between Takamatsu and the Awa region by sea and conduct covert activities during the tense times of the late Edo period.
It is presumed that while hiding in the mountainous areas, they played a role in skillfully utilizing sea routes to collect and transmit information between the two domains.
Secrets of the Takamatsu Domain Held by the Mori Family
The Mori family held responsibilities in the Takamatsu Domain that went far beyond those of a mere goshi (rural samurai).
Role as Fushin-kata (Construction Officials):
As construction officials responsible for the domain's civil engineering projects, such as the building of bridges and roads, they possessed deep knowledge regarding the infrastructure development of the Takamatsu Domain.
In particular, records indicating their participation in the construction of the stone steps at Kotohira-gu Shrine demonstrate their technical skill and high level of reliability. Such a position naturally led to the acquisition of detailed information regarding key locations and transportation routes within the domain.
Security of the Koiso Cannon Battery:
During the Bakumatsu period, as the importance of coastal defense increased due to the arrival of foreign ships, their involvement in the security of the Koiso Cannon Battery—a coastal defense stronghold of the Takamatsu Domain—meant that the Mori family was in a position to know the most critical information regarding the domain's military secrets, especially its coastal defense system.
Furthermore, it is presumed that their trust within the domain was extremely high, as they even served as hosts when the Lord of Takamatsu and his party visited for inspections, giving them direct contact with the domain lord.
These facts indicate that the Mori family was an important entity capable of accessing geographical and military secrets within the Takamatsu Domain.
Secrets of the Tokushima Domain Held by the Hatta Family
Meanwhile, the Hatta family of the Tokushima Domain was also an important source of information. For over 200 years, the Hatta family served as both officials at the Go-ura Guard Station in Itano, Tokushima Domain, and as village headmen.
The Strategic Importance of the Go-ura Guard Station:
The Go-ura Guard Station was located on the border between the Tokushima and Takamatsu domains and served as a key point for maritime traffic in the Seto Inland Sea.
This guard station was responsible for monitoring and controlling the movement of people and goods, and it served as a base for gathering information on the movements of other domains, including the Takamatsu Domain, as well as foreign ships, through the merchants and sailors who passed through.
Influence as Village Headmen:
The fact that the Hatta family also served as village headmen meant that they had significant influence over the local residents and were adept at gathering information at the civilian level.
The Hatta family was on the front lines of handling sensitive geopolitical information for the Tokushima Domain, while simultaneously maintaining an extensive information network.
The "Special Mission" Nature of the Marriage Connecting the Two Families
The 1864 (Genji 1) marriage between Kihei Mori and Kiyo Hatta was an unusual cross-domain union, and it is presumed that there was a "special mission" from the Takamatsu Domain to the Mori family behind it.
In 1864 (Genji 1), the Takamatsu Domain was a 120,000-koku domain in Eastern Sanuki, with Yoritoshi Matsudaira as the lord. During this period, the Takamatsu Matsudaira family, a branch of the Mito Tokugawa family, was tasked by the Shogunate with monitoring the movements of various domains in Western Japan.
The Hachisuka family of the Tokushima Domain were tozama daimyo who were once retainers of the Toyotomi clan. Boasting 257,000 koku across Awa and Awaji, and holding a near-monopoly on indigo cultivation, Tokugawa Ienari adopted his 22nd son into the Hachisuka family in the late Edo period, partly to strengthen surveillance over the Tokushima Domain.
* Tokugawa Ienari adopted his 22nd son, Narihiro, into the Hachisuka family in 1827 (Bunsei 10). Since Narihiro was born in 1821 (Bunsei 4), he was adopted at the age of six.
* An article from 1964 featuring an interview with my great-aunt by Keiko Furuyama, a former editorial writer for the Kobe Shimbun. The article covers samurai upbringing, my grandmother (Kiyo Hatta) who was skilled at the Awa Joruri shamisen, her experience as a lead telephone operator at the old Kobe Oriental Hotel using English, her marriage to a police officer, her work during the February 26 Incident, Yoshiko Kawashima's stay, the experience of both husband and wife surviving the total destruction of their home in the Great Kobe Air Raid, and her work at GHQ quarters.
The grandfather mentioned in the article as a samurai was Kihei Mori, and the grandmother who was skilled at Awa Joruri was Kiyo Hatta, who came from the Hatta family of the Goura Guard Station. In 1906 (Meiji 39), when my great-aunt was born, both Kihei Mori and Kiyo Hatta were in good health. In the spring, they would take a boat to a nearby island, playing the shamisen while enjoying a leisure outing.
* Tome-no Mori (Born in 1906: Meiji 39)
Grandfather: Kihei Mori (Takamatsu Domain Construction Office)
Grandmother: Kiyo Hatta (Tokushima Domain, Goura Guard Station, Hatta Family)
Father: Torataro Mori (Eldest son of Kihei Mori)
Mother: Chiyo Nagamine (Eldest daughter of Ichijiro Nagamine of the Mokuzaemon Nagamine family, descendants of Nagashio Inaba-no-kami Ujitsugu, Lord of Kurobane Castle)
Aunt: Toyo Mori (Younger sister of Kotaro Mori. Married Isohachi Mitani of the Mitani head family of the Kuroha Sogo clan. Jakucho Setouchi is a descendant of the Jinroku branch of the Mitani head family.)
Younger sister: Miyako Mori (Married Shuichi Nagamine of the Nagamine Mokuzaemon family, an old family in Kuroha that served as a village head. The Nagamine family are descendants of Ujitsugu Nagashio Inaba-no-kami and Motochika Matashiro Nagashio Bizen-no-kami.)
・Miyako Mori, granddaughter of Kihei Mori
・Chiyo Nagamine, descendant of Ujitsugu Nagashio Inaba-no-kami
The Difficulty of Cross-Domain Marriages:
During the Edo period, marriages between samurai from different domains were strictly restricted to prevent the leakage of information.
Furthermore, a marriage between a family like the Hatta family, which had handled classified information at a key strategic point in the Tokushima Domain for over 200 years, and a family like the Mori family, which held military and construction secrets for the Takamatsu Domain, posed an extremely high risk to both domains.
Historical Context of the Bakumatsu Period:
However, in the mid-19th century, during the turbulent Bakumatsu period, foreign ships sailed through the Seto Inland Sea and the Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen domains plotted to overthrow the shogunate, causing each domain to be constantly wary of the movements of others.
As a shimpan domain (a domain with blood ties to the Tokugawa shogunate), the Takamatsu Domain was tasked by the shogunate with monitoring the tozama daimyo of western Japan, and information regarding the Tokushima Domain, a tozama daimyo, was of such importance that it could affect the very survival of the domain.
Building a Secret Information Network:
Under such pressing circumstances, there is no doubt that both domains desperately desired information about each other.
It can be said that the essence of this marriage was an attempt to build an unofficial yet highly reliable information channel through blood ties, at a time when official information exchange was difficult. Otherwise, there would have been no need for both families to take the risk of marrying someone from another domain, nor would both domains have granted permission for the marriage.
The Mori family was skilled in covert activities via sea routes and had a background tracing back to the Awa Navy; through the Mori family, the Takamatsu domain sought to collect confidential information from the Tokushima domain, particularly regarding maritime defense and surveillance of the domain borders. It is also believed that the Tokushima domain side benefited from obtaining military information about the Takamatsu domain and the movements of the Shogunate from the Mori family.
It can be said that the Mori family bore important responsibilities both at sea and on land, and in both public and private spheres, given their duties as a family serving the Takamatsu domain and the tense situation of the Bakumatsu period. The marriage between Kihei Mori and Kiyo Hatta was likely a 'special mission' entrusted to the Mori family by the Takamatsu domain, and it was highly likely a very clever move in the intelligence war between the two domains.
Summary
We have examined, based on historical context and the roles of both families, the possibility that the marriage concluded during the Bakumatsu period between the Mori family of the Takamatsu domain and the Hatta family of the Tokushima domain—both of whom were in positions to hold domain secrets—was not merely a marriage alliance, but a 'cross-domain special mission intelligence network' built under the tense background of the era.
The Mori family of the Takamatsu domain, as descendants of the Awa Navy, were skilled in sea routes and held geographical and military secrets within the Takamatsu domain, such as those related to construction and the security of maritime defense strongholds (the Koiso cannon battery). On the other hand, the Hatta family of the Tokushima domain served for generations as officials and village headmen at the Goura checkpoint, a key point on the domain border, placing them on the front lines of gathering information on maritime traffic and civilian-level intelligence.
The background to the realization of this marriage in the first year of Genji (1864) during the Bakumatsu period, despite the strict restrictions on cross-domain marriages for samurai during the Edo period, is presumed to be the strategic necessity for the Takamatsu domain, a branch domain of the Shogunate, to monitor the movements of the Tokushima domain, a tozama daimyo, under orders from the Shogunate.
It can be said that this marriage was highly likely a clever move in the intelligence war between the two domains, as they sought to secretly build a highly reliable, unofficial information channel through blood ties at a time when official information exchange was difficult.
🔸 Information Organization
1. Takamatsu Domain: The Role and Secrets of the Mori Family: The Mori family traced their lineage to the Awa Navy and were skilled in activities using sea routes. In the Takamatsu domain, they knew the details of infrastructure and transport routes as construction officials, and by being involved in the security of the Koiso cannon battery, a maritime defense stronghold, they held military secrets such as coastal defense systems. The Mori family played important roles at sea and on land, and in both public and private spheres.
2. Tokushima Domain: The Role and Secrets of the Hatta Family: The Hatta family served as officials and village headmen at the Goura checkpoint in Itano, Tokushima domain, for over 200 years. The Goura checkpoint was a key point for domain borders and maritime traffic, and by monitoring the entry and exit of people and goods, they were on the front lines of obtaining information about other domains, including the Takamatsu domain, and foreign ships through travelers and sailors. They also held influence as village headmen and possessed a wide range of information.
3. The 'Special Mission' Nature of the Marriage and Its Background: The marriage between Kihei Mori and Kiyo Hatta in 1864 (the first year of the Genji era) was a cross-domain union that was strictly restricted to prevent information leaks, and it carried significant risks. At the time, the Takamatsu Domain, as a branch of the Tokugawa family, was tasked by the Shogunate with monitoring the movements of western domains, particularly the Tokushima Domain, which was a tozama (outside) daimyo. Under these pressing circumstances, where official information exchange was difficult, it is inferred that the essence of this marriage was that the two domains attempted to build an unofficial yet highly reliable information channel through blood ties established by marriage in order to obtain information about each other.
4. Conclusion: The marriage of Kihei Mori and Kiyo Hatta was a 'special mission' assigned to the Mori family by the Takamatsu Domain, and it is highly likely that it was an extremely clever move in the intelligence war between the two domains intended to collect classified information from the Tokushima Domain through the Mori family, who traced their lineage to the Awa Navy.
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