Framing Late Tokugawa Japan

Many of you requested an article on Aizu a few months ago (follow me on  Instagram  to ask questions!), and although I have been wanting to write about it for a very long time, I struggled to find where and how to start. Aizu is a big topic! I wanted to introduce the domain as the core of Tokugawa loyalism during the Bakumatsu period, but this would have offered minimal context. So, I decided to start at the very beginning  and, once again, make a series of posts. Aizu is located north of Tokyo in the Tohoku Region, and its name is composed of two kanji 会 (meet) and 津 (haven). It was part of the large Mutsu province under the Ritsuryō system (see Octobre 13, 2022 post for information). I got curious as to why this landlocked region was named as such, and the only explanation is found in the Kojiki (712 AD Chronicle of Myths). In the 3rd century BC, the first powerful clansmen to enter the Aizu region were Emperor Kōgen's son, Ōhiko...