Kozuke Province - Kozuke no Kuni

The ancient name of the province in Gunma Prefecture. Common names were Joshu and Jomo. The northern Kanto region was anciently called "Ke" or "Kenu", but it is said that it was divided into "Kamitsukenu" (Kamikaze-no) and "Shimotsukenu" (Shimokaze-no) around the 5th century. After the Taika Reforms and the kokushi system, the province name was unified into two characters, "Kouzuke", which became "Kouzuke" through phonetic conversion. In addition to the Iwajuku ruins, which marked the beginning of the discovery of Paleolithic culture, the country also has characteristics of the Jomon and Yayoi cultures, but it is estimated that there are about 10,000 ancient tombs, and their size and grave goods show that it was the center of ancient eastern culture. The Kamitsukenu clan flourished here, and under the Ritsuryo system, it was Kami Province (later Imperial Prince's Province, then Large Province) that governed 14 districts, including Usui, Agatsuma, Tone, Seta, Gunma, Kataoka, Tago, Midono, Kanra, Yamada, Naha, Sai, Nyutah, and Oharaki. It belonged to the Tosando road, had nine government ranches, and was an advance base for the Ezo policy. The provincial capital is thought to have been near Motosoja-cho in Maebashi City, and the remains of Kokubunji Temple and Soja Shrine are nearby. The Ichinomiya (first shrine) in the Shikinai (Engishiki) is Nukisaki Shrine, and the three Kozuke monuments, including the Tago monument commemorating the founding of the district, are famous. From around the 10th century, armed groups arose in various regions, taking advantage of the weakening of the Ritsuryo system, and Taira Masakado of Shimousa entered the Kozuke provincial government office and proclaimed himself the new emperor. Since Fujiwara Hidesato, who pacified the group, and Minamoto Yoriyoshi and Yoshiie, who contributed to the subjugation of Oshu, Kozuke Province became a base for the Kanto samurai, and Yoshiie's grandson Yoshishige in particular established Nitta Manor and took the name Nitta, and his clan was the most powerful. Yoshisada, who descended from the main line, played an active role in the Kenmu Restoration, but the clan later split up, and only the Iwamatsu clan inherited the territory from Kanayama Castle (Ota City). During the Muromachi period, Kozuke was the shugo province of the Kanto Kanrei Uesugi clan, and the Nagao clan of Shiroi Castle (Shibukawa City) served as the deputy shugo, but following the Kanno Disturbance, from the 15th century onwards, there were successive conflicts within the Ashikaga clan, such as the Eikyou Disturbance and the Uesugi Zenshu Disturbance, and conflicts and defections between the Uesugi and Nagao clans, and the area was caught up in the turmoil of the Kanto upheaval. After Uesugi Norimasa was driven to Echigo (Niigata Prefecture) in the mid-16th century, Kozuke became the focus of battles between the Hojo, Takeda, and Uesugi clans, but at one point, the Hojo clan took control after Takigawa Kazumasu, a subordinate general of the Oda clan, entered Umayabashi Castle (Maebashi). However, the Hojo clan also broke a territorial agreement with the Numata Sanada clan, and was attacked and destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590 (Tensho 18), finally bringing an end to the turmoil in the Kanto region.

In the early modern period, Kozuke Province was assigned to the defense of the northern area of ​​Edo Castle, with senior vassals of Ii (Takasaki), Sakakibara (Tatebayashi), Sakai (Maebashi), and other Fudai (hereditary retainers). Since Tokugawa Ieyasu claimed to be a descendant of the Nitta clan (Tokugawa clan), he established Daiko-in (Yoshishige's temple) in Ota and restored Choraku-ji (founded by Eisai) in Serata (Ojima-cho, Nitta-gun). The domain subsequently underwent changes, and by the end of the Edo Period, there were nine domains, including Maebashi (170,000 koku) and Takasaki (82,000 koku), but most were small Fudai domains, with shogunal and hatamoto domains intermingling with them. The total kokudaka during the Genroku period (1688-1704) was about 600,000 koku. The main occupation was field farming, and sericulture in particular had a long tradition, with Kiryu, Isesaki, and Fujioka famous for their silk weaving. After the opening of the port in the Ansei era (1854), raw silk exports boomed like never before. Other specialty products included tobacco, hemp, sulfur, and whetstones. In the area surrounding Edo, there were many side roads within the country, including the Nakasendo and Mikuni Kaido roads, and the Tone River was an artery for transporting rice and commercial goods. Around the time of the devastating Tenmei Asama blaze (1783), rural areas became increasingly impoverished, and riots against silk transport and social reform uprisings broke out all over the country. At the end of the Edo period, each domain was in debt and struggled to find a way to support the shogunate, but in 1867 (Keio 3), they submitted to the Tosando Governor-General, and in the Boshin Years, tragedies occurred, such as the execution of Oguri Tadamasa and the battles against Aizu in Mikuni and Togura. After the Meiji Restoration, in addition to the nine domains, Iwanami Prefecture was established with the former shogunate territories combined, but in 1871 (Meiji 4), the first Gunma Prefecture (excluding the three Tomo counties) was created when the domains were abolished and prefectures were established, followed by Kumagaya Prefecture in 1873, and finally the current Gunma Prefecture was established in 1876 with the former Kozuke Province as its prefectural territory. The prefectural office was initially in Takasaki, and later in Maebashi.

[Yamada Takemaro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

群馬県域の古代国名。俗称は上州(じょうしゅう)、上毛(じょうもう)。北関東一帯は古く「け」または「けぬ」とよばれていたが、5世紀ごろ「かみつけぬ」（上毛野）、「しもつけぬ」（下毛野）に分かれたという。大化改新の国司制のあと、国名は2字に統一されて「上野」と書き、音便で「こうづ（ず）け」となった。国内には旧石器文化発見の端緒となった岩宿(いわじゅく)遺跡のほか、縄文、弥生(やよい)文化にも特色がみられるが、古墳は約1万基の存在が推定され、その規模、副葬品などから古代東国文化の中枢であったことが知られる。上毛野(かみつけぬ)氏の一族が栄え、律令(りつりょう)制下には碓氷(うすい)、吾妻(あがつま)、利根(とね)、勢多(せた)、群馬(くるま)、片岡、多胡(たご)、緑野(みどの)、甘楽(かんら)、山田、那波(なは)、佐位(さい)、新田(にゅうた)、邑楽(おはらき)の14郡を管する上国（のち親王任国、大国）で、東山道に属し、官牧9を数え、蝦夷(えぞ)政策の前進拠点であった。国府は前橋市元総社町付近と推定され、近くに国分寺跡、総社神社がある。式内一宮(いちのみや)は貫前(ぬきさき)神社、建郡記念の多胡碑(たごひ)など上野三碑が有名。10世紀前後からは律令(りつりょう)制の緩みに乗じて各地に武装集団が興り、下総(しもうさ)の平将門(まさかど)は上野国府に入って新皇と称した。これを鎮定した藤原秀郷(ひでさと)や奥州平定に功をあげた源頼義(よりよし)・義家(よしいえ)父子以来、上野国は関東武士の拠点となり、とくに義家の孫義重(よししげ)は新田荘(にったのしょう)を開いて新田氏を称し、その一族はもっとも有力であった。本統から出た義貞(よしさだ)は建武新政に活躍したが、その後一族は分裂し、岩松(いわまつ)氏だけが金山(かなやま)城（太田市）によって伝領した。室町時代の上野は関東管領(かんれい)上杉(うえすぎ)氏の守護国で、白井(しろい)城（渋川市）の長尾(ながお)氏が守護代であったが、観応(かんのう)の擾乱(じょうらん)に次いで、15世紀以降は永享(えいきょう)の乱、上杉禅秀(ぜんしゅう)の乱など足利一族の抗争や上杉氏、長尾氏の対立、離反が相次ぎ、関東動乱の渦中に入った。こうして16世紀なかば上杉憲政(のりまさ)が越後(えちご)（新潟県）に追われたあと、上野国は北条、武田、上杉3氏の攻防の焦点となったが、一時織田の部将滝川一益(たきがわかずます)の厩橋(うまやばし)（前橋）入城を経て、北条氏にほぼ制圧された。しかし北条氏も沼田真田(さなだ)氏との領域協定を破ったため、1590年（天正18）豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉に攻められて滅び、ようやく関東の動乱が終わった。

　近世に入ると上野国は江戸城北辺の守りとして、井伊(いい)（高崎）、榊原(さかきばら)（館林）、酒井（前橋）など譜代(ふだい)の重臣が配備された。徳川家康が新田一族（徳川氏）の後裔(こうえい)と称したことから、太田に大光院（義重の菩提(ぼだい)寺）を開き、世良田(せらた)（新田郡尾島町）の長楽寺（開山栄西(えいさい)）を復興した。藩はその後変転して幕末には前橋（17万石）、高崎（8万2000石）など9藩となったが、大半は譜代小藩で、それに天領、旗本領が交錯していた。元禄(げんろく)期（1688～1704）の総石高は約60万石。生業は畑作が主で、とくに養蚕業は古い伝統をもち、桐生(きりゅう)のほか伊勢崎(いせさき)、藤岡の絹織物が有名であった。安政(あんせい)の開港（1854）後は輸出生糸が空前の活況を呈した。そのほか煙草(たばこ)、麻、硫黄(いおう)、砥石(といし)などが特産であった。江戸を控えて国内には中山道(なかせんどう)、三国(みくに)街道などのほか脇(わき)往還も多く、利根(とね)川も廻米(かいまい)、商荷の輸送動脈であった。大被害を受けた天明(てんめい)の浅間焼け（1783）前後から農村の疲弊が進み、絹運上反対騒動や世直し一揆(いっき)が各地に起こった。幕末には各藩とも借財を抱え、幕府への去就に苦しんだが、1867年（慶応3）東山道総督の東下に服し、戊辰(ぼしん)の年には小栗忠順(おぐりただまさ)の処刑、三国、戸倉での対会津戦などの悲劇があった。大政奉還後、9藩のほか、旧幕府領をあわせて岩鼻県が置かれたが、1871年（明治4）廃藩置県で第一次群馬県（東毛三郡を除く）が誕生、ついで1873年熊谷(くまがや)県となり、さらに1876年旧上野国を県域として現群馬県が成立した。県庁は当初高崎、のち前橋となった。

［山田武麿］

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