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Peaceful days and funs of a village head in 19th century, part 1（千葉県流山の名主日記）

 The location in which the village head lived、名主・兵右衛門が生きた流山

 

Travel views of Japan and Korea: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/agc/item/2018719877/resource/


Hyoemon, the village headman for generations、代々名主を務めた兵右衛門

In the late Edo period (1603～1868), a man named Yoshino Hyoemon lived in Nagareyama, a suburb of Tokyo. He was the village headman of a small village.


He was a farmer, however, he was permitted by the lord not only to use his surname (Yoshino) but also to identify himself as a retainer. The lord was the Inagaki clan, a retainer of the shogun.

 It was said that he was a samurai before the Edo period.

* It was prohibited for farmers and towners to use their surname in the Edo period. Only samurai and permitted people could do it.


His diary is included in "Nagareyama City History: Volume III to V."

 More accurately, it is "their" diary.

At that time, the head of the household passed down the same first name for generations.

 

Not only the name, but also the residence, the family business (agriculture), and the family assets necessary for the business (fields and farming tools) were inherited.

 

They had a strong sense of gratitude towards their ancestors, and if they had no children, they would find an adopted child to continue the family.

 

Several generations of heads of the household continued to write the diary; the diary from 1802 to 1864 has been published.  

 

"Nagareyama City History: Volume III to V."


江戸後期、東京近郊の流山に吉野兵右衛門という男がいた。

 

彼は、小村の名主だが、領主からは姓（吉野）だけでなく、家来であると名乗ることを許されている。領主は旗本か御家人の稲垣氏だ。

農家ではあるが、室町時代は武士だったそうだ。

 

彼の日記は『流山市史　近世資料編Ⅲ～Ⅴ』に収載されている。

正確には、「彼らの」日記だ。

 

当時の戸主は代々、同じ名前を引き継いで名乗った。歌舞伎役者と同じだ。

名前だけでなく、家も、家業（農業）も、家業に必要な家産（田畑や農機具）も引き継ぐ。

先祖への感謝の気持ちは強く、子どもがいなければ養子を探して家を継がせる。

 

何代かの当主がこの日記を書き継いでいるが、出版されているのは1802年から1864年までの日記である。

 


 

The location of his village、兵右衛門が生きた流山市と彼の村

The village where he lived is now part of Nagareyama City, Chiba Prefecture.

 

Since the opening of the railway (Tsukuba Express) in 2005, it has become an extremely convenient location, with the heart of Tokyo just 30 minutes away from the station.

Residential areas have been developed, apartment buildings have sprung up, and the landscape of the 1980s that I knew is gone. It used to be a gently rolling woodland, and you could find a wild rabbit.

Beyond the woodland, the land descends to the Edo River. From here, you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance.

 

He was the headman of the former Furumagi Village.

To the east of Furumagi lies the Mito Highway, which led to Edo (old name of Tokyo). To the west are the Nagareyama Highway, which led to Noda (a soy sauce producing area, Kikkoman’s factories are there), and the Edo River, which provided water transport to Edo.

 

In those days, they could find almost anything they needed in a post town along a highway. There were blacksmiths, pubs and other shops that weren't in their village.

 

When goods unavailable in a post town or advanced medical treatment were needed, they would travel to Edo.

The center of Edo (Nihonbashi) is less than 30km away. They could walk it in four or five hours. Sometimes they even made it a day trip.

His village was a farming village close to Edo. They could enjoy Edo's entertainment and culture.

 

Btw, Furumagi Village was close to the highway. There was a system of forced labor; when there was a shortage of men and horses in a post town, they would be summoned to work. They received payment, but it was cheap.

 

Hyōemon was ordered to help carrying luggage at Kogane post-town on the Mito Highway, especially while samurai moved. They had to carry luggage to the next post-town. Fortunately, it was the peaceful Edo period, so he wasn't often called upon.

 

The rice yield, number of households, and population of his village are still unknown. These were recorded in the village register submitted to the lord, but I couldn't find the records in his diary so far.

 

However, judging from the amount of tax to the lord, it seems to have been a village of several dozen people. The average village population at that time was about 400, so it can be said to have been a small village.

 

Residential land is being developed at Furumagi now.  今の古間木


 

彼が住んだ村は、現在の千葉県流山市の一部だ。

 

つくばエクスプレスが開通してから、東京・秋葉原まで30分もあれば到着する至便の地となった。

宅地が開発され、マンションが建ち、私が知る1980年代の風景はない。かつては、ゆるやかな起伏がある林野が広がり、野兎も見つけられる場所だった。

 

起伏の先は、江戸川へと下っていく。

遠くに富士山、反対側には筑波山を望める地だ。

 

彼が住んだのは、今の流山市古間木。彼は旧古間木村の名主だった。

 

古間木の東には、江戸に通じる水戸街道があり、西には醤油の産地・野田に通じる流山街道と江戸への水運を担う江戸川がある。

当時は、街道の宿場町に出るとたいていのものは揃った。鍛冶屋や居酒屋、村にはない店があるのだ。

 

宿場では手に入らない品や高度な治療が必要ときは、江戸へ出る。

日本橋までは30km足らず。彼らなら４、５時間で歩いてしまう。日帰りすることもあった。

彼の村は江戸に近い農村だ。江戸の娯楽や文化も享受できた。

 

街道が近い古間木村には、助郷という労役があった。宿場の人馬が足らないときは、招集がかかり、働きに出るのだ。代金はもらえるが、十分ではない。

幸いにも、平和な江戸時代。兵右衛門は水戸街道・小金宿の助郷を命じられていたが、かり出されることは、多くはなかった。

 

彼の村の石高、戸数、人数は、まだわからない。領主に出している村方明細帳にはそれらが記載されているのだが、プライベートな日記での記載は、まだ見当たらない。

しかし、年貢の量からすると、数十人規模の村のようだ。当時の村の平均人口は約400人なので、小規模な村といえる。

＊おかげさまで、500件目の投稿です。
＊This is the 500th post, thanks!

 

Previous post  (academic paper): Religious gathering (kou) and women; drinking behaviors of women based on the case study in Akita、講と女性－秋田藩桧山町の事例から、女性の飲酒

Next post (Peaceful days and funs of a village head in 19th century, part 2（千葉県流山の名主日記）: The time in which the village head lived、兵右衛門が生きた時代

 

 

The first article of the diary from 1849 to 1864, fifty-three articles in total、1849年から1864年の日記の最初の記事（合計53記事）：
Yoshino’s daily life 01, About Yoshino and background 吉野家とその頃

 


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