Mikura - Okra

These were granaries where the Edo Shogunate stored rice, soybeans, and other taxes, and were also called Gomegura. They were located throughout the Shogunate's territory, including within Edo Castle, Honjo, and Asakusa, as well as in Nijo, Kyoto, Osaka, Takatsuki in Settsu, Otsu in Omi, and Shimizu in Suruga. They were under the jurisdiction of the Kanjo Bugyo (financial magistrate), and the major ones were assigned Magistrates of Warehouses, who were responsible for the receipt, disbursement, and management of the stored rice. Later, they were concentrated in Edo Asakusa, Osaka, and Kyoto, and were called the Three Gogura. The largest Gogura was in Edo Asakusa, facing the Sumida River, with 51 buildings and 250 households, and was used to provide annual stipends of over 400,000 koku of rice to the Hatamoto and Gokenin (vassals of the Shogunate) and to release rice sold by the Shogunate into the city of Edo. It was taken over by the new government during the Meiji Restoration, and burned down during the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923). The area in front of the Asakusa storehouse was called Kuramae, and there was a storehouse lodging for bill-brokers. The Kuramae area is now part of Taito Ward, Tokyo.

[Susumu Kitahara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸幕府が年貢米、大豆などを収納した穀倉で、御米蔵ともいう。江戸城内、本所、浅草のほか京都二条、大坂、摂津高槻(たかつき)、近江(おうみ)大津、駿河(するが)清水(しみず)など全国の幕領にあり、勘定奉行(かんじょうぶぎょう)が管轄し、主要なものには蔵奉行が配され、蔵米の出納、管理にあたった。のち江戸浅草と大坂、京都に集中し三御蔵とよばれた。最大の御蔵は江戸浅草であり、隅田(すみだ)川に面して51棟、250戸前もあり、年間40万石余の旗本・御家人(ごけにん)の俸禄(ほうろく)米の支給と、幕府自らの売却米を江戸市中に放出した。明治維新で新政府に接収され、関東大震災（1923）のおり焼失した。浅草御蔵の前を蔵前(くらまえ)といい、札差らの蔵宿があった。蔵前の地は現在東京都台東(たいとう)区に属する。

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