Asahi Tanba

Japanese: 朝日丹波 - あさひ・たんば

Year of death: Tenmei 3.4.10 (1783.5.10)
Year of birth: 1705.3.12 (2nd year of the Hoei period)
He was a chief retainer of the Matsue Domain in Izumo Province (Shimane Prefecture) during the mid-Edo period. His name was Shigeyasu, later Goyasu. He was the son of Asahi Tajima. He was from a family of hereditary chief retainers, and his family stipend was 7,000 koku. He took over as head of the family at the age of 7, and in 1735 he became a middle retainer, and in 1739 he became a punishment officer. In 1759, the domain was forced by the shogunate to help with the repair of Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei, which led to serious financial difficulties. To overcome this, the sixth lord of the domain, Matsudaira Soen, carried out reforms of the domain's government. The person in charge of the reforms at this time was the middle retainer Odagiri Bitchu, who used the wealth of wealthy merchants and landowners, and raised funds by selling off fields in pieces, a scheme known as "Yodakata Shuko." He then actively managed the finances, such as by starting up commerce and industry within the domain, but his policies failed due to a lack of funds. In 1767, when the feudal lord Soen retired and the young 17-year-old Harusato (Fumai) became the seventh feudal lord, Asahi Tanba set out a new reform course called "Otarippa," rejected Odagiri's alliance with wealthy merchants and local farmers, and sought to establish the authority of the domain based on promoting agriculture and suppressing commerce. This was a highly authoritarian policy, but it rebuilt the domain's finances, and it was thanks to this that the tea master Fumai was able to collect the finest utensils in the country. Tanba wrote "Jikokufu" in his later years, confidently tracing the development of his own policies. <References> "Shimane Prefecture History"

(Kazuhiko Kasaya)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：天明3.4.10(1783.5.10)
生年：宝永2.2.17(1705.3.12)
江戸中期の出雲国(島根県)松江藩家老。名は茂保,のち郷保。朝日但馬の子。代々家老の家柄であり家禄は7000石。7歳で家督を継ぎ,享保20(1735)年に中老,元文4(1739)年に仕置役となる。同藩は宝暦9(1759)年に比叡山延暦寺の修築を幕府から御手伝普請として賦課されるなどして深刻な財政難におちいっており,これを打開すべく6代藩主松平宗衍のもとで藩政改革が行われた。このとき改革を担当したのは中老の小田切備中であり,彼は富商・地主の富力を活用し,また「義田方趣向」と称する田地の切り売りによって資金を調達した。そして藩営の商工業をおこすなど積極的な財政運営をとるが,資金繰りの行き詰まりからその施策は破綻した。明和4(1767)年に藩主宗衍が隠退して17歳の若い治郷(不昧)が7代藩主につくや,朝日丹波は「御立派」と呼ばれる新たな改革路線を打ち出して,小田切の富商・郷農との提携策を否定し,勧農抑商主義のうえに立って藩の権威を確立しようとした。それはたぶんに強権的な政治であったが藩財政は再建され,茶人不昧が天下の名器を収集しえたのも,そのたまものであった。丹波は晩年に『治国譜』を著し,自らの政策の展開を自信を持って跡づけている。<参考文献>『島根県史』

(笠谷和比古)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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