Masakage Umezu

Japanese: 梅津政景 - うめづ・まさかげ

Year of death: March 10, 1633 (April 18, 1633)
Year of birth: Tensho 9 (1581)
A samurai from the early Edo period. A feudal retainer of the Akita clan. Born in Utsunomiya, Shimotsuke Province (Tochigi Prefecture). As a child, he followed his father to Ota, Hitachi Province (Hitachi-Ota City, Ibaraki Prefecture), and when he grew up, he served the Hitomi clan, an old vassal of the Satake clan. When his older brother, Noritada, was promoted by Satake Yoshinobu, Masakage also became his companion (tea monk) and took the name Kinami. When Yoshinobu was transferred to Dewa in 1602, Masakage and his brother followed him to Kubota (Akita City). In 1605, following the wishes of Yoshinobu, who became the lord of Akita, he assassinated Kawai Tadayuto, a representative of the hereditary clan who was hostile towards the advancement of new vassals, and this became the turning point for his advancement. In 1611, he was assigned to the Innai silver mine, which had just opened, and worked to promote it as the magistrate of the mountain. In the Winter Siege of Osaka in the same year, he completed the division of the army in one night, and in the Summer Siege, he participated in the campaign and managed the accounting department, demonstrating his skills as a capable official in the area of accounting. At the same time, he led the farmers of Fujikoto and Hiino villages in Hiyama County to open the Iwaseki irrigation system. He was an entirely new type of samurai who excelled not only in martial arts but also in writing, accounting, civil engineering, and other areas, and distinguished himself through his abilities regardless of his family background or ties. After this, he became a chief retainer, following in the footsteps of his brother Noritada, and worked hard to establish the domain government as Yoshiaki's right-hand man. When the domain's leader, Masakage, died in 1633, he organized the funeral, and ended his life following in his footsteps. In addition, Masakage left behind a diary written by himself for about 21 years ("Umezu Masakage Diary"), which is a valuable historical resource for understanding the domain government during its early days. <References> Keiji Yamaguchi, "Umezu Masakage" ("Research on the History of the Establishment of the Bakufu-han System")

(Masaya Kanamori)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛永10.3.10(1633.4.18)
生年：天正9(1581)
江戸時代初期の武士。秋田藩士。下野国(栃木県)宇都宮生まれ。幼時,父に従って常陸国太田(茨城県常陸太田市)に入り,長じて佐竹氏の老臣人見氏に仕えた。兄憲忠が佐竹義宣にとりたてられると,政景もその同朋(茶坊主)となり,金阿弥と称した。慶長7(1602)年,義宣が出羽に転封されると,政景兄弟もそれに従って久保田(秋田市)に入った。秋田藩主となった義宣の意を受けて,同8年,新参の家臣の進出に反感を持つ譜代門閥の代表格,河井忠遠を謀殺し,これが出世への契機となった。同14年,開坑して間もない院内銀山に赴任し,山奉行としてその振興に努めた。同19年の大坂冬の陣では一夜でその軍割を完了し,また夏の陣では従軍して勘定方を差配するなど,算用面においても能吏としての手腕を発揮した。その一方,檜山郡藤琴・比井野両村の農民を指導して,岩堰用水を開設した。武術だけではなく,文筆,算用,土木技術など多方面に優れた能力を持ち,家柄や係累にかかわりなくその力量で頭角を現した,全く新しいタイプの武士であった。こののち,兄憲忠に続いて家老となり,義宣の片腕として藩政の確立に尽力した。寛永10(1633)年,藩主義宣が没すると,その葬儀をとりしきり,あとを追うように生涯をとじた。なお,政景は,およそ21年間におよぶ自筆の日記を残しており(『梅津政景日記』),成立期の藩政を知るうえで貴重な史料となっている。<参考文献>山口啓二「梅津政景」(『幕藩制成立史の研究』)

(金森正也)

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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