Sakura Sogoro

Date of birth and death unknown. A representative righteous citizen of the early Edo period. His surname was Kiuchi, and he was also known as Sakura Sogo. He was the headman of Kozu Village, Inba County, Shimousa Province (Narita City, Chiba Prefecture). The course of the struggle he led and his role are only known in literary records such as "Jizodo Tsuya Monogatari" and "Hotta Sodoki." According to these, all the headmen of the domain unanimously requested the county magistrate and then the national elder to abolish the new heavy taxes that had been started by Hotta Masanobu, the lord of Sakura, but their request was rejected. They then went to Edo to appeal to the domain's residence, but their request was not taken up. Six headmen then appealed to the elders in palanquins, but this was also rejected. Finally, Sogoro alone appealed directly to the shogun (the "Tsūya Monogatari" states this as 1653, the second year of Jōō, while the "Sōdōki" states this as 1644, the first year of Shōhō). Although their request was granted, Sogoro, his wife, and their four sons were executed, and the curse of this execution eventually led to the extinction of the Hotta family line. These stories contain contradictions and points that are contrary to the facts, which has led to theories that Sogoro did not exist or that he was part of a movement to restore the Chiba clan. However, the Nayose register of Kotsu village during the Hotta clan era contains a record of over 26 koku of land for Sogoro, and the Soyo Gairoku, compiled in 1715 (Shotoku 5), conveys the following theory from the Hotta clan era: "When the people of Kotsu village were all guilty of five crimes and were executed, he claimed to have committed an injustice and cursed the lord of the castle before dying. He continued to wreak havoc from time to time, and eventually the Hotta clan was wiped out. As a result, a shrine was built to honor his spirit and it is called Sogo-no-miya." Therefore, it is impossible to deny that Sogoro actually existed and that he was executed. Although what is said to be Sogoro's direct appeal is thought to have been written later, the main demands of the increase in rice by 1.2 to per koku of rice and the suspension of the payment of substitute rice for small grains are early demands, and the "temporary early rice" that Sogoro claims was the true cause of his conflict with the domain in the 1776 (An'ei 5) "Sōgo Tekishu Monogatari" is also considered to be exchange rice (sale of domain rice to domain citizens), which is also characteristic of the early period, so it cannot be denied that there was an anti-lord struggle centered around Sogoro. As peasant uprisings grew from the mid-Edo period onwards, it should be considered that the story grew into a story of an uprising of the entire domain. There is a Sogo Memorial Hall and a memorial hall in the grounds of Toshoji Temple in Narita City.

[Hayashi Motoi]

"Sakura Sogoro" by Kodama Kota (1958, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Research History of Sakura Sogoro" by Aoyagi Yoshitada (1981, Sakura City Cultural Properties Preservation Association)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。江戸前期の代表的義民。姓は木内、佐倉宗吾ともよばれる。下総(しもうさ)国印旛(いんば)郡公津(こうづ)村（千葉県成田市）の名主。彼が指導した闘争の経過や彼の役割については、『地蔵堂通夜(じぞうどうつや)物語』や『堀田(ほった)騒動記』などの実録文芸に伝えられるだけである。それらによると、佐倉領主堀田正信(ほったまさのぶ)の始めた新規の重課の廃止を、全領の名主たちが一致して郡奉行(こおりぶぎょう)、ついで国家老に要求したが拒否され、江戸に出て藩邸に訴えても取り上げられず、惣代(そうだい)6人で老中に駕籠訴(かごそ)したが、これも却下され、ついに惣五郎1人が将軍に直訴した（『通夜物語』は承応(じょうおう)2年＝1653とし、『騒動記』は正保(しょうほう)1年＝1644のこととする）。要求は実現されたものの、惣五郎夫妻と男子4人は死刑に処せられ、その祟(たた)りでやがて堀田家は断絶したという。これらの物語には、矛盾したり、事実に反する点もみられるので、惣五郎非実在説や千葉氏復興運動とみる説なども唱えられているが、堀田氏時代の公津村名寄(なよせ)帳に、惣五郎分26石余の記載があり、1715年（正徳5）成立の『総葉概録(そうようがいろく)』が堀田氏時代に「公津村の民総五罪ありて肆(さら)せらる時、自ら冤(えん)と称し、城主を罵(ののし)りて死し、時々祟りを現わし、遂(つい)に堀田氏を滅す、因(より)て其(そ)の霊を祭りて一祠(し)を建て惣五宮と称す」という説を伝えているから、惣五郎の実在と処刑は否定しえない。惣五郎の直訴状と称するものは後世の作とみられるが、高1石につき1斗2升の増米と小物成(こものなり)の代米支給停止に反対するという主要な要求は、初期的であり、1776年（安永5）の『惣五摘趣(てきしゅ)物語』が惣五郎が藩と対立した真因と主張する「仮早稲米」も、これまた初期に特徴的な為替米（藩米の領民への販売）とみられるから、惣五郎を中心とした反領主闘争があったことも否定しえない。その物語が、江戸中期以降の百姓一揆(いっき)の成長のなかで、全藩一揆型の物語に成長したとみるべきであろう。成田市の東勝寺境内に宗五霊堂や記念館などがある。

［林　基］

『児玉幸多著『佐倉惣五郎』（1958・吉川弘文館）』▽『青柳嘉忠著『研究史佐倉惣五郎』（1981・佐倉市文化財保護協会）』

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