was a Japanese fief (han), located in Dewa province, in the Tōhoku region (north-eastern Honshū). Modern-day Yamagata Prefecture is roughly contiguous with the domain, and its capital city, also called Yamagata, grew up out of the daimyo's (feudal lord's) castle town. Unlike some han whose control was relatively stable throughout the Edo period (1603-1867), Yamagata changed hands a great number of times within a very short space of time. Originally populated by the Ezo (aboriginal peoples), Yamagata came to be the fief of the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara family in the Heian period (794-1185).