Sado Province

The former name of Sado Island, which is now Niigata Prefecture. It belongs to the Hokuriku region. Sado has been counted as one of the Great Eight Provinces (Ōyashima) since the time of the Kojiki and Nihonshoki, so it is believed to have been under the control of the Yamato Imperial Court from a very early period. In 721 (Yoro 5), Sado was divided from a single district, Sawata, into three districts: Sawata, Kamo, and Hamochi. The ruins of Sawata Castle remain in Mano, Kamo Utashiro in Ryōtsu, and Hamo Hongo in Hamochi. These were likely the locations of the district governors. Later, in 743 (Tenpyō 15), Sado was annexed to Echigo, but in 752 (Tenpyō Shohō 4), it was restored to its former state. In 759 (Tenpyo Hoji 3), Ikue no Omi Tomomaro was appointed as the governor of Sado for the first time (the old and new provincial capitals are located in Mano), and in 764, Sado Kokubunji Temple (Mano Kokubunji Temple) was built. At that time, the capital of Sado was Matsugasaki (Matsugasaki in Hatano), and the post road passed through Mikawa Station (Mikawa region in Akadomari) and reached Zatsuta Station (Zatsuta region in Mano). In the Middle Ages, Sado became the territory of the Hojo Tokuso during the Jōkyū War (1221), and the Honma, Tsuchiya, Aihara, Shibuya and other clans, who were given the position of land steward, came from the Kanto region and exerted their influence as land stewards in their respective districts, with the Honma clan being particularly influential and being called Hangoku-dono. Sado has also been known as a place of exile since ancient times, and in the Middle Ages in particular, many famous people were exiled to this country, including the retired Emperor Juntoku, Nichiren Shonin, Kyogoku Tamekane, and Kanze Motokiyo (Zeami).

Eventually, in 1589 (Tensho 17), Uesugi Kagekatsu attacked Sado, and as a result, Sado became the territory of the Uesugi clan. However, in 1598 (Keicho 3), Toyotomi Hideyoshi transferred Kagekatsu to Aizu, and from 1600 (Keicho 5), it became the territory of Tokugawa Ieyasu and came under direct control of the Edo Shogunate. The entire island was made into a village surrounded by the Sado gold and silver mines. The first land survey in Sado was carried out in 1600 by Kawamura Hikozaemon, a magistrate of the Uesugi clan. This land survey was in the form of a "sashidashi" (direction), and the first actual survey was carried out in 1693 (Genroku 6). A survey of residences was carried out relatively early, in 1617 (Genna 3). According to the Genroku land survey, Sado had a rice yield of around 21,000 koku during the Keicho era (1596-1615), but in the new survey it was determined to have a rice yield of over 130,000 koku and an annual tax income of over 30,000 koku.

During the Edo period, Sado was appointed as a magistrate for distant provinces. Tanaka Seiroku in 1600 and Okubo Nagayasu in 1603 were still called deputies, but from 1815, two magistrates, Shizume Ichizaemon and Takemura Kuroemon, ruled Sado. During the Edo period, Sado had mines and the export of goods to other countries was prohibited, which delayed economic development, but in the middle of the 18th century, during the Horeki period (1751-1764), export of goods to other countries was permitted, and dried squid began to be exported to Osaka, and straw and bamboo crafts, miso, and sake were exported to Esashi and Matsumae.

During the Meiji Restoration, the area was spared from fire due to the efforts of the head of the government, Shusuke Nakayama, and entered the Meiji era without being destroyed by war. Sado was part of Sado Prefecture until 1870 (Meiji 3), and then Aikawa Prefecture from 1874, before being merged into Niigata Prefecture in 1876.

[Keiichi Tanaka]

"Tanaka Kien, editor, Sado-shi, complete 15 volumes (1782, published 1889 / Nojima Publishing Etsu-Sado Series 4)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

現在の新潟県佐渡島の旧国名。北陸道に属する。佐渡は記紀のころより大八州(おおやしま)の一つに数えられているから、かなり古い時期に大和(やまと)朝廷の支配に属したと思われる。721年（養老5）佐渡は雑太(さわた)1郡から雑太・加茂(かも)・羽茂(はもち)の3郡に分けられた。いま真野(まの)に雑太城跡が、また、両津に加茂歌代(うたしろ)が、そして羽茂に羽茂本郷の地名が残る。それぞれ各郡家の置かれた所であろう。その後743年（天平15）佐渡を越後(えちご)にあわせたが、752年（天平勝宝4）にはまた旧に復した。759年（天平宝字3）初めて生江臣智麻呂(いくえのおみともまろ)が佐渡国司に任命され（新旧の国府跡が真野にある）、764年には佐渡国分寺（真野の国分寺）が建立をみた。そのころ佐渡の国津は松ヶ崎（畑野の松ヶ崎）とされ、駅路は三川(みかわ)駅（赤泊(あかどまり)の三川地方）を経て雑太駅（真野の雑太地方）に達した。中世に至り、承久(じょうきゅう)の乱（1221）で佐渡は北条得宗(とくそう)領となり、地頭職(じとうしき)を得た本間(ほんま)、土屋(つちや)、藍原(あいはら)、渋谷(しぶや)氏などが関東から入部し、各郷の地頭職をもって勢力を振るったが、とりわけ本間氏は有力で、半国殿(はんごくどの)とよばれた。また、佐渡は古代から流罪地として世に聞こえていたが、とくに中世には順徳(じゅんとく)上皇、日蓮上人(にちれんしょうにん)、京極為兼(きょうごくためかね)、観世元清(かんぜもときよ)（世阿弥(ぜあみ)）など著名な人々がこの国に流された。

　やがて1589年（天正17）上杉景勝(かげかつ)は佐渡を攻め、その結果佐渡は上杉氏の領国となった。しかし1598年（慶長3）豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉によって景勝は会津に移封され、1600年（慶長5）からは徳川家康の領地となり、江戸幕府直轄地となった。全島が佐渡金銀山のお囲い村とされたのである。佐渡で最初の検地は1600年上杉氏の代官河村彦左衛門によって実施された。この検地は指出(さしだし)形式をとり、実測検地は1693年（元禄6）初めて実施された。屋敷検地は1617年（元和3）と比較的早く実施された。元禄(げんろく)検地によって、慶長(けいちょう)（1596～1615）のころ分米(ぶんまい)2万1000石ほどであった佐渡は、新検では石高(こくだか)13万石余、年貢高3万石余の国とされた。

　江戸時代、佐渡には遠国奉行(おんごくぶぎょう)が置かれた。1600年の田中清六、03年の大久保長安(ながやす)はまだ代官とよばれたが、18年からは鎮目(しずめ)市左衛門、竹村九郎右衛門の2人の奉行が佐渡を支配した。江戸時代の佐渡は鉱山があったため物資の他国出しが禁ぜられるなど経済発展が遅れたが、18世紀のなかば宝暦(ほうれき)期（1751～64）から物資の他国出しが許されると、大坂への干烏賊(ほしいか)移出、江差(えさし)・松前への藁(わら)細工・竹細工・みそ・酒の移出が行われるようになった。

　維新の際には、広間役中山修輔(しゅうすけ)の力によって兵火にみまわれずに明治を迎えた。1870年（明治3）までの佐渡県、74年からの相川県の時代を経て76年新潟県に合併された。

［田中圭一］

『田中葵園編『佐渡志』全15巻（1782成、1889刊／野島出版越佐叢書4）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例