Sado Gold Mine

A general term for the gold and silver mines located in various parts of Sado City on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture. In the old days when gold dust was being mined (Konjaku Monogatarishu), the center of the Sado gold mines was the Mikawa gold dust mine in the southern part of Sado (formerly Mano Town, Sado County). Then, in the mid-16th century, when Hakata merchant Kamiya Jutei introduced cupellation refining, the Tsurushi silver mine (formerly Sawata Town, Sado County) came into the spotlight. Then, in the Keicho period (1596-1615), with the discovery of the Aikawa gold and silver mine (formerly Aikawa Town, Sado County), Sado became one of the largest gold and silver mines in Japan, which contributed greatly to the finances of the Edo Shogunate. Aikawa Town was separated from Haneda Village, which had only a dozen or so houses, in 1600 (Keicho 5), but in 1603, during the reign of Okubo Nagayasu, who became the magistrate of Sado, the townscape was improved and the jin'ya was moved to Aikawa. During the Genna period (1615-1624), the town had an estimated population of over 30,000 people, with rice consumption of 45,000 koku per year, and silver transport amounted to 8,000 kanme per year, recording 20% ​​of the world's production in a single year. However, in the middle of the Kan'ei period (1624-1644), the mines gradually became deeper, which increased costs, and many mining areas fell into financial difficulties due to the fall in the price of silver. During the Genroku period (1688-1704), the magistrate Ogiwara Shigehide dug a large canal off the coast to cut costs and increase production. The Minamisawa Canal that remains today teaches us that the history of mining was a struggle against spring water. Pumping up groundwater was done by mizugae ninsoku (water-exchanging laborers), who were initially assigned to villages, but after 1778 (An'ei 7), homeless people from Edo and Osaka were sent to Sado to work on water exchange.

After the shogunate was overthrown, the Sado mines came under the management of the Imperial Property Bureau of the new government, but did not achieve any significant results. Eventually, in 1885 (Meiji 18), Sado Mines Bureau Director Oshima Takato introduced Western technology, which led to great development, but in 1896 the mines were sold to Mitsubishi. Copper was extracted during the Pacific War, but in 1952 (Showa 27), Mitsubishi decided to greatly scale down the mines, and in 1976 it became independent as Sado Mines Co., Ltd. After continuing to operate modestly, the mines closed in 1989 (Heisei 1).

[Keiichi Tanaka]

"Sado Gold Mine" by Keiichi Tanaka (Kyoikusha History Paperbacks)" "Sado Gold and Silver Mine History" by Saburo Fumoto (1956, Mitsubishi Metal Mining)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

新潟県佐渡島、佐渡市各地にある金銀山の総称。古く砂金採取が行われたころ（『今昔(こんじゃく)物語集』）佐渡金山の中心は佐渡の南部三川(みかわ)砂金山（旧、佐渡郡真野(まの)町域）にあった。やがて16世紀なかば、博多(はかた)の商人神谷寿禎(かみやじゅてい)によって灰吹(はいふき)精錬がもたらされると、鶴子(つるし)銀山（旧、佐渡郡佐和田(さわた)町域）が脚光を浴びることになった。そして、慶長(けいちょう)期（1596～1615）には相川(あいかわ)金銀山（旧、佐渡郡相川町域）の発見によって佐渡は日本最大級の金銀山となり、江戸幕府の財政に大きく貢献することとなった。それまで十数軒の村里であった羽田(はねだ)村から相川町が独立したのは1600年（慶長5）のことであるが、1603年佐渡代官となった大久保長安(ながやす)の時代に町並みは整備され、陣屋も相川に移された。元和(げんな)期（1615～1624）には米の消費高年4万5000石、推定人口3万人余の鉱山町となり、銀運上額は年8000貫目を数え、単年度としては世界産額の20％を記録するに至った。しかし寛永(かんえい)（1624～1644）の中期になりしだいに深敷(ふかしき)（坑道が深くなる）となり経費がかさみ、加うるに銀価格の下落もあって経営不振となる鉱区が多かった。元禄(げんろく)時代（1688～1704）奉行(ぶぎょう)荻原重秀(おぎわらしげひで)は海岸から大水貫(みずぬき)を掘って費用節減と増産を図った。いまに残る南沢疎水は、鉱山の歴史が湧水(ゆうすい)との闘いであったことを教える。地下水の汲上(くみあ)げにあたるのが水替人足(みずがえにんそく)であり、初めは村々に割り当てたが、1778年（安永7）以降、江戸・大坂などの無宿者を佐渡送りにして水替えに従事させた。

　幕府が滅んだのち佐渡鉱山は新政府の御料局の経営となるが、はかばかしい成果をあげることはなかった。やがて1885年（明治18）佐渡鉱山局長大島高任(たかとう)による西洋技術の導入によって大発展したが、1896年には三菱(みつびし)に払い下げられた。太平洋戦争中は銅の採掘を行ったが、1952年（昭和27）三菱は鉱山の大縮小に踏み切り、1976年には佐渡鉱山株式会社として独立。ささやかな経営を続けたのち、1989年（平成1）に閉山した。

［田中圭一］

『田中圭一著『佐渡金山』（教育社歴史新書）』▽『麓三郎著『佐渡金銀山史話』（1956・三菱金属鉱業）』

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