On the
16th of January, U.S. fleet led by Perry came to Japan again.
There were nine warships which were enough force strength to attack Edo (old
name of Tokyo). The shogunate abandoned
the national isolation policy and concluded a treaty which promised to supply
fuel and food to U.S. ships. Two ports (Shimoda and Hakodate) became the bases
and U.S. consul's stations. Perry finished his mission very fruitfully and left
Japan on the 1st of June.
Yoshino resided
near Mito highway which was one of the five great highways back then. The
traffic of people (mainly samurai officers) became busy to deal with the
U.S. fleet. Until the Edoperiod (～1868), shukuba (post town) assumed transportation; workers and
horses in a post town brought passengers and luggage to the next post town. Mr.
Yoshino was told to supply workers and horses to Kogane post town. It
was a paid job but an unprofitable one.
Meanwhile,
a huge earthquake (Ansei Toukai earthquake) hit eastern Japan including Edo
which killed thousands of people. Fortunately, Yoshinos were not damaged, but
various affairs occurred in his family this year.
U.S. Fleet in 1853 at Uraga、ペリー浦賀来航図･部分（嘉永6年です）＠National Museum of Japanese History、国立歴史民俗博物館
Mito highway and Kogane post town、水戸街道と小金宿、Matsudo Museum 松戸市立博物館
1月16日にペリー艦隊が東京湾に来ます。昨年の倍の9隻の艦隊で一戦を交えかねない勢いで、6月1日まで駐留します。幕府は、3月3日に日米和親条約を結び、約200年続いた鎖国を止め、下田と函館を開港し、米国船舶に燃料や食糧を供給し始めます。
水戸の江戸の間にある吉野家の地域では、武士を中心に往来も増えます。江戸時代は、宿場が交通の拠点で、人馬を出して次の宿場まで人や物を運びます。吉野家にも小金宿から人馬の提供が求められました。いわゆる助郷で割が悪い仕事でした。
11月には、安政東海大地震が発生しましたが、吉野家は大きな影響を受けなかったようです。でも、この年は、家族にいろいろな事が起こりました。
January、1月
The New
Year’s Day started with greeting among villagers.
元旦は、村中の年始挨拶で始まります。
On the
16th, U.S. fleet appeared in Tokyo Bay. It was so attractive; many
people went there to see huge warships. The master went to Edo on the 21st,
so he knew it.
On the
26th, he got a letter from the local government which mentioned “Due
to foreign ships, many samurais go through Kogane post town. You have to
dispatch workers and horses immediately to support the traffic.” The master
dispatched two horses to the post town.
Old inn of the Kogane post town “Tamaya”
小金宿の旅籠だった玉屋
16日、ペリー艦隊が東京湾に現れました。巨大な蒸気船を見に見物人がでる騒ぎでした。主人は、21日に出府していますから、本件を知ったはずです。
26日、「異国船の儀につき、小金町、諸家中、多通行。助人馬、遅滞なく差し出す旨、御役所から御触れ」があり、翌27日、小金宿に馬二匹を差し出します。
On the
other hand, they kept everyday lives.
On the
16th, his relative “Shibaya” asked the master to give his
grandchild calligraphy lessons. The master was good at writing. On the 1st
of next month, K. Shibazaki also asked him to give lessons to Gonjirou.
Children learned writing not only from the private school “Terakoya” but also
from the neighbors (private lesson), therefor the literacy rate of
Japanese was high even in the 19th century.
Textbooks
in the end of the Edo period、江戸時代の教科書 ＠Kameyama City Historical
Museum 亀山市歴史博物館
そんな中ですが、日々の暮らしが続いています。
16日、芝弥さんが来て、「孫手習遣度」ということで、習字の教授の依頼でしょう。主は書道の腕も認められていました。2月1日には、芝崎久次郎さんが来て、権次郎君への習字の手習いを依頼しています。日本人の識字率は高かったと言いますが、寺子屋だけでなくプライベート･レッスンも盛んだったのですね。
On the
21st, Kanzaemon went somewhere as a guard for prisoners. Thereafter
the master was asked to dispatch additional men, and he sent Jisaburou and
Shigesaburou. The shogunate didn’t hire many samurais, but they assembled
people temporarily. Talking about Edo city which population was one million
at that time, less than four hundred samurais governed it. It was a really small
government.
21日、囚人番人の人足として、勘左衛門さんが行きましたが、追加の要求があり次三郎さんと重三郎さんを出します。役人を抱えるのではなく、適宜、村人を招集していたのですね。人口百万の江戸の町でも、四百人弱の役人を二組（北町と南町）に分けて、月番で行政を取り仕切っていたというのですから、実に小さな政府です。
February、2月
The
master continued to supply workers and horses. On the 4th, he
sent a worker and four horses to Kogane post town. He had a plenty of horses, I
think. Shigesaburou also went to Kogane with his horse.
On the
20th, he received a circular which asked him to apply for the rate
of a worker and a horse. It was a price revision but I’m not sure it was a
price pressure or not.
On the
21st, delegates from villages gathered and talked about how to deal
with the request from Souka post town to support them. The master went to Edo
on the 24th; he probably asked to stop the offer from Souka. The
U.S. fleet increased the levy of ordinary people.
Traveling
by horse, Narita
Tourist Pavilion 成田観光館
通行用の人馬を提供します。4日、馬四匹、人足一人を小金町へ。重三郎さんも馬を連れて同行します。馬四匹とは、たくさん持っているものです。
20日に廻文が来ます。異国船の件で、人馬雇い賃、明日、小金町へ持参候様。値段の改定ですね。値下げでしょうか。
21日には、各村から集まり、草加宿からの助郷依頼への対応を相談しています。24日に主は出府し、御屋敷との相談しているようなので、助郷は何とか回避したい負担になったのでしょう。開国は、庶民にはこんな形で影響するのですね。
On the
23rd, they started fertilizing; the farming work started.
On the
25th, Gisuke who was a helper of Yoshino family went somewhere and
returned in the next evening. After this incident, he sometimes went out to
somewhere suddenly to enjoy. Moreover, he hit the master’s son in May. The
master scolded and finally pronounced him firing in September. However,
Gisuke’s father begged the master to hire him more. He bothered the master.
23日、下肥揚げ。施肥が始まり、農作業が本格スタートです。
25日、使用人の義助さんが、行方をくらまし、明日の夕に帰ります。その後も、短期の失踪し遊びに行くことが続き、主の息子の愛輔君に手を上げたりします。主は「甚だ不埒」と何度か叱責しますが、戸張の実家に頼み込まれ、吉野家で雇います。
March
(Fire occurred)、3月（火事発生）
On the 7th,
the lot finally came on him. He joined a lottery party often especially in the
agricultural off-season. How much did he get?
On the
11th, a shed of Denuemon’s house in Nonoshita burned at around 2 PM. He went there immediately (maybe with villagers), and he let
someone bring fried rice and pickled vegetables to Denuemon in the evening. Next
day, Denuemon dispatched someone with three bottles of
high-class sake (alcohol) to show their appreciation and gratitude. Nonoshita was a neighboring village, a mutual aid
among the area worked well. On the 15th, villagers drank the sake.
On the 15th, they got burned timbers from Denuemon and made a bridge in their field. They recycled! It was Mottainai spirit which initiated in Japan. (Reference: http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/what-we-do/advocacy/mottainai-campaign)
Farmer’s
house near a forest、森が近い台の住まい
＠Matsudo
Museum 松戸市立博物館
7日、「中村勘右衛門無尽、予当り籤」とあり、無尽にはよく出かけますが、ついに当りました。いくらぐらい貰ったのだろう。
11日、火事発生です。野々下の傳右衛門さん方で、午後二時頃に小屋が燃えました。すぐに駆けつけ、夕方には焼飯と香の物を持たせて見舞に行かせます。12日、傳右衛門さんが、「昨日は御大儀の由」と村中への上酒三舛を人に持たせて使わします。野々下は隣村です。芝崎の人達は消火活動をしたのでしょう。互助が効いていると思います。いただいたお酒は、15日に村中で呑んでいます。
同じく15日に「焼材木、貰い受け、耕地橋の普請」と記載があり、焼け跡の木材もリサイクルしています。モッタイナイ精神というか、日本の伝統ですね。
On the
21st, he sent confectionary to his neighbor, because the child
had the smallpox which was the fatal contagious disease back then.
On the
25th, his mother and his children were invited to the event wherein they shower the patient with warm water. The child probably recovered, because the day was a
half-day holiday (celebration day). I reckon people could acquire immunity
against the smallpox by intaking weaken virus a bit at this event. It would be
same as vaccination. This event was held at the end of the disease duration.
21日、「隣家へ疱瘡見舞、菓子やる」とあり、致死率が高い伝染病･疱瘡の発生です。でも、25日、「隣家へ、疱瘡湯掛け、母子供呼ばれ行く」とあります。患者（子供）は無事だったのでしょう。疱瘡湯掛けは、弱毒化したウイルスをもらう免疫作りかもしれません。疱瘡湯掛けに付き、昼より休日ですから、嬉しい行事でした。
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Yoshino’s
daily life 01, About Yoshino and background 吉野家とその頃
Yoshino’s
daily life 02, Life and fun of Yoshino family 吉野家の暮らしと楽しみ
The
details of their live which includes farming and visiting neighbors are written
in No.13 - No.25 (1851)、農事や近所付き合いを含む日々の詳細は1851年の日記の記事（No.13～25）に記載しています。
Yoshino’s
daily life 13, The first half of January in 1851（嘉永4年1月前半）
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