Oniwamono - Gardener

...It is a kind of direct appeal system, characterized by the fact that appeals are made directly to the judicial authority (shogun, feudal lord, etc.) without going through magistrates or deputies, and in 1458 (Choroku 2), it is said that "in the case of a person who has no connection to the family, the matter should be brought to the garden." In the Muromachi period, there were riverside people who worked directly under the Imperial family and the Shogun family and were called "Kinri Oniwasha (gardeners)," "Sendo Oniwasha," and "Kubou Oniwasha," and in the Edo period, there were secret agents and spies under the Shogun's direct control, who entered and left the rear garden and received orders directly from the Shogun without going through the various Shogunate agencies. These characteristics of gardens are also related to the existence of Oniwaban. Even today, the word "garden" as a flat area for agricultural work remains widely used in folk vocabulary, and the word garden can refer to the outside work area for threshing and preparation, or the dirt floor inside the house, but it can also refer to the organization itself for working together.

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "Oniwamono" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…それは一種の直訴（じきそ）制度で，奉行人，代官などを経ずに，直接，裁判権者(将軍，大名など)に訴える点に特徴があり，1458年(長禄2)，〈無縁の仁に於ては庭中すべきの由〉ともいわれている。室町時代，天皇家，将軍家に直属して作庭，造園に携わり〈禁裏御庭者(庭者)〉〈仙洞御庭者〉〈公方御庭者〉といわれた河原者，江戸時代，将軍直属の密偵，隠密で，幕府の諸機関を通さず，後庭から出入りして直接将軍の命をうけた御庭番（おにわばん）のあり方も，こうした庭の特質と関係がある。　現在でも農作業を行う平らな場としての〈庭〉は，広く民俗語彙の中に残っており，脱穀，調整をする家の外の仕事場，家の中の土間を庭というが，なかには共同作業を行う組織そのものを意味している場合もある。…

※「御庭者」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