Okada Domain (岡田藩, Okada-han) was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now western Okayama Prefecture. It controlled a small portion of central Bitchū Province and was centered around Okada jin'ya in what is now the Mabi neighborhood of the city of Kurashiki, Okayama. It was ruled throughout its history by a branch of the Itō clan. The location of the jin'ya changed several times, and the domain as also known as Kawabe Domain (川辺藩) after one of these locations where it was sited in the Genroku period (1688-1704). It was dissolved in the abolition of the han system in 1871 and is now part of Okayama Prefecture.[1][2][3]
A notable event in the history of the domain was the Shinpon Gimin Sōdō (新本義民騒動) of 1718. During the tenure of the 5th daimyō, Itō Nagahiro, the domain "nationalized" Mount Ohira and Mount Haruyama in what is now part of Sōja. Historically, local villagers had been permitted to gather lumber for building and firewood on these mountains, but the domain forbid entry and attempted to make a monopoly on wood. Four village headmen travelled to Edo to make a direct appeal to the daimyō. As a result, the monopoly was cancelled and the villagers had their traditional rights restored. However, as was the custom of the time, the four headmen were executed for lèse-majesté, their property forfeited, and their families expelled from the domain. A large monument now commemorates the event.
Okada Domain became Okada Prefecture, and was incorporated into Okayama Prefecture via Fukatsu Prefecture and Oda Prefecture. The Itō clan was later granted the title of viscount under the kazoku peerage system.
Holdings at the end of the Edo period
As with most domains in the han system, Okada Domain consisted of several discontinuous territories calculated to provide the assigned kokudaka, based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields, g.[4][5]
