Kaga Uprising

In the mid-Edo period, a family turmoil occurred in the Kaga domain. In popular histories such as "Gengo Taihosen," Otsuki Kuranojo (Denzo), a favorite retainer of the sixth lord of the domain, Maeda Yoshinori, is said to have had an affair with Yoshinori's concubine, Osada (Shinnyoin), and assassinated Yoshinori and the seventh lord, Munetoki, in order to make Toshikazu, the child of Osada, the lord of the domain. Then, senior retainer Maeda Tosa no Kami Naomune and others took the opportunity of an attempted poisoning of the eighth lord, Shigehiro, to capture Otsuki and the group of traitors, executing them and bringing the story to a happy ending.

However, many of these are false theories, and in fact the real cause lies in the conflicts between conservative senior vassals and progressive lower-class samurai that were common within the various domains during the so-called transitional period from the mid-Edo period onwards. After the Genroku period (1688-1704), a time of high economic growth, the Kaga domain was in a desperate attempt to overcome financial difficulties, and Yoshitoku placed a high value on Otsuki, who had previously been a tea boy, and promoted him in an unusual way in order to reduce expenses and demonstrate his unique skills in finance in the Kamigata region. This led senior vassal Maeda Naomune and others to hate Otsuki so much that after Yoshitoku's sudden death in 1745 (Enkyo 2), they quickly brought him down. The Shinnyoin incident was also entangled in a secret dispute between women in the Ooku, and since no concrete charges were laid against either of them, there is a strong suspicion that Naomune and others may have fabricated an affair and conspiracy between the two.

Otsuki was exiled to Gokayama in Ecchu in 1748 (Kan'en 1), and committed suicide in the same year at the retirement home, but by 1754 (Horeki 4), those involved had been executed and the case was closed. However, this was an era when popular histories (fiction in the form of actual events) based on family disputes and other facts were all the rage, and this case, set against the backdrop of a grand stage with a 1 million koku stipend, featured a talented young woman and a beautiful woman, and even had the added bonus of some bizarre elements, such as the snake torture of Asao, a lady-in-waiting, who was a suspect in the attempted poisoning of Shigehiro, so it became very famous and was publicized as one of the "three great disturbances" along with Date and Kuroda.

[Kisaburo Wakabayashi]

"The True Story of the Kaga Uprising, by Mitamura Engyo (1958, Seigabo)" ▽ "The Kaga Uprising, by Wakabayashi Kisaburo (Chuokoron Shinsho)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Mitamura Engyo, Volume 5" (1976, Chuokoron-Shinsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期、加賀藩で起こった御家(おいえ)騒動。『見語大鵬撰(げんごたいほうせん)』をはじめとする通俗史では、6代藩主前田吉徳(よしのり)の寵臣(ちょうしん)大槻内蔵允(おおつきくらのじょう)（伝蔵）が、吉徳の愛妾(あいしょう)お貞の方（真如院(しんにょいん)）と密通し、お貞の産んだ利和(としかず)を藩主とするために、吉徳および7代藩主宗辰(むねとき)を暗殺したということになっている。そこで、重臣前田土佐守直躬(とさのかみなおみ)らが中心となって、8代藩主重煕(しげひろ)の毒殺未遂事件を機に、大槻ら逆臣グループを捕らえ、処刑して大団円ということになっている。

　しかし、これらには虚説が多く、実際は江戸中期以後の、いわゆる転換期において、諸藩内部に多くみられた、保守派の重臣と進歩派の下層武士との対立に真の原因があった。高度成長の元禄(げんろく)期（1688～1704）を過ぎた加賀藩では、財政難打開に躍起となった吉徳が、茶坊主あがりの大槻を重用し、経費の節減や上方(かみがた)での金融に独自の腕を振るわせるために、彼に異例の出世をさせたところから、重臣の前田直躬らはひどく大槻を憎み、1745年（延享2）吉徳の急死後、たちまちこれを失脚させたものである。真如院の一件も、隠微な大奥の女たちの争いがこれに絡みついたもので、両者にはこれという罪状もつかめないところから、直躬らが両者の密通・密謀をでっち上げたのではないかという疑いが強い。

　大槻は、1748年（寛延1）越中(えっちゅう)五箇山(ごかやま)に流され、同年配所で自殺したが、これをはじめ54年（宝暦4）までに関係者が処刑されて一件落着となったわけである。しかし、なにしろ、当時は御家騒動など事実に取材した通俗史（実録体小説）が大流行の時代であったし、本件などは100万石の大舞台を背景に、才子・美女の登場、そこへ重煕毒殺未遂事件の容疑者、奥女中の浅尾(あさお)の蛇責めなど、猟奇的なおまけまでついているので、大いに有名となり、伊達(だて)、黒田とともに「三大騒動」の一つとして喧伝(けんでん)されたものである。

［若林喜三郎］

『三田村鳶魚著『加賀騒動実記』（1958・青蛙房）』▽『若林喜三郎著『加賀騒動』（中公新書）』▽『『三田村鳶魚全集　第5巻』（1976・中央公論社）』

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