The Three Townsfolk of Osaka

Japanese: 大坂の三町人 - おおさかのさんちょうにん

…Since then, together with Terashima Sozaemon (his eldest brother) in Kyoto, he was in charge of all the tile-making needs of the Kamigata area, including the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Court, Osaka Castle, Nijo Castle, and Minakuchi Castle, as well as the Shogunate rice storehouse, shrines, and temples. Together with Amagasaki Mataemon and Yamamura Yosuke, he was known as one of the three townspeople of Osaka, and he was always in and out of Osaka Castle, opening and reporting on letters that arrived from Edo, and always sat in attendance at meetings of various officials, receiving instructions from the castle lord and the regular staff and handling various matters. All generations except the 6th Tobei took the name Touemon, which continued until the end of the Edo period. …

From Yosuke Yamamura

…Except for the third Masanao (Sukeemon), all the generations from the first Masahiro to the eleventh Masatsugu used Yosuke as their common name. Along with Amagasaki Mataemon and Terashima Fujiemon, they were ranked high among the Osaka So-Noshiyori and Machi-Noshiyori, and were granted the highest privileges and status by the shogunate, and are known as the Three Townsfolk of Osaka. The first Masahiro was summoned to become a carpenter when Tokugawa Ieyasu was stationed in Fushimi Castle, and in 1616 (Genwa 2) he moved to Osaka leading his subordinates, carpenters, woodcutters, roofers, coopers, and plasterers, and worked on new construction and repairs inside and outside Osaka Castle, bridge construction, and land surveys. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to the "Three Townspeople of Osaka" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…以来，禁裏，院，大坂城，二条城，水口城のほか，幕府米蔵，神社，寺院など上方筋の瓦御用いっさいを，京都の寺島惣左衛門(長兄)と配分担任した。尼崎又右衛門，山村与助とともに大坂の三町人と称され，つねに大坂城に出入りし，江戸から到来した奉書を開封言上し，諸役人会合の席には必ず列座して，城代，定番の指揮をうけ諸用を弁じた。6代藤兵衛のほかは代々藤右衛門を称し幕末にいたる。…

【山村与助】より

…3代正直(助右衛門)のほかは，初代正寛以下11代正凝まで，すべて与助を通称とした。尼崎又右衛門，寺島藤右衛門歴代とともに大坂の惣年寄，町年寄の上位にあって，幕府から最高の特権と格式を認められ，大坂の三町人と呼ばれる。初代正寛は徳川家康の伏見在城時に召し出されて御大工となり，1616年(元和2)配下の大工，木挽，屋根葺，桶師，左官らを率いて大坂に移住，大坂城内外の新築修繕，橋普請，検地御用を務めた。…

※「大坂の三町人」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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