Shimazu Shigehide

Japanese: 島津重豪 - しまづ・しげひで

Year of death: Tempo 4.1.15 (1833.3.6)
Year of birth: November 7, 1745 (November 29, 1745)
The 9th lord of Satsuma (Kagoshima) in the late Edo period, and the 25th head of the Shimazu clan. His childhood names were Zenjiro and Matasaburo, and he was commonly known as Satsuma no Kami, and after retirement he became Kazusa no Suke. His official rank was Junior Third Rank and Sakonoe Chujo. His given names were Hisakata and Tadahiro, and his pen names were Eio and Nanzan. He was the eldest son of Shimazu Shigetoshi, lord of Satsuma. He was born in Kagoshima. In 1755 (the 5th year of the Horeki era), he succeeded to his title at the age of 11 upon the death of his father Shigetoshi, and was placed under the guardianship of his grandfather Tsugutoyo. In 1755 (the 8th year of the Horeki era), he came of age, and in 1779 (the 12th year of the An'ei era), he married Yasuhime, the daughter of Hitotsubashi Munetada. In 1776 (the 5th year of the An'ei era), a marriage was made between his third daughter, Shigehime, and Toyochiyo, the son of Hitotsubashi Harumori. Toyochiyo later changed his name to Ienari and was adopted by the shogun Tokugawa Ieharu, who became the 11th shogun in 1786. As the shogun's father-in-law, Shigehide was treated within the shogunate as equivalent to the Gosanke (three main families), and his seat in Edo Castle was moved to the Great Corridor. This special treatment was likely due to the wishes of Tanuma Okitsugu, who was a close friend of Shigehide's, and Shigehide retired in January 1787, shortly after Okitsugu's downfall, and handed over the position of lord of the domain to his eldest son, Narinobu. Shigehide loved learning and was fluent in both Chinese and Dutch. He himself wrote "Nanshan Zokugo Ko" (Thoughts on Nanzan Folk Language), and ordered Sopan and Shirao Kuniju to compile the 120-volume natural history book "Seikei Zusetsu" (Illustrated Guide to the Formation of Natural History). He also invited Sato Nobuhiro to promote a policy of encouraging industry and commerce, and worked to improve cultural facilities across the literary and martial arts fields, such as the Zoshikan, Enbukan, Igakuin, Mingshikan (Tenmonkan), and Botanical Garden, thereby promoting academics. He also had connections with Teiching, Doeff, and Siebold of the Dutch trading post in Nagasaki, and established the Dokuen Garden, which housed a collection of Dutch cultural artifacts, at his Edo residence. Even after his retirement, he continued to exercise real power in pushing through such lavish cultural policies, which led to the collapse of the domain's finances, and the chief retainer, Kabayama Kazura, and others began reforms to repudiate Shigehide's policies. However, in Bunka 5 (1808), Shigehide suppressed this, ordering the ringleaders to commit seppuku, resulting in the execution of over 100 people, and the following year he also deposed the feudal lord Nariakira. As a result of this incident, known as the "Konshirokubou" (or "Bunkahoto Incident"), the feudal lord was replaced by his grandson Narioki, but Shigehide continued to hold real power in the domain, and in Bunsei 10 (1827), he appointed Chosho Hirogo to enforce bold financial reforms aimed at eliminating the enormous debt of 5 million ryo. He died in Tenpo 4 (1833) at the domain's Takanawa residence in Edo. His posthumous name was Daishin'inden Eio Nyosho Daikoji. <References> Yoshisokumasa, Shimazu Shigehide.

(Kazuhiko Kasaya)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：天保4.1.15(1833.3.6)
生年：延享2.11.7(1745.11.29)
江戸後期の第9代薩摩(鹿児島)藩主,島津家第25代当主。幼名は善次郎,又三郎,通称は薩摩守,隠居ののち上総介。官位は従三位,左近衛中将。諱ははじめ久方,忠洪。号は栄翁,南山。薩摩藩主島津重年の長子。鹿児島生まれ。宝暦5(1755)年に父重年死去により11歳で襲封し,祖父継豊の後見を受ける。同8年に元服し,同12年に一橋宗尹の女子保姫と結婚した。安永5(1776)年にはその3女茂姫と一橋治済の子の豊千代との縁組が成立。豊千代はのち家斉と名をあらためて将軍徳川家治の養嗣子に迎えられ,天明6(1786)年には11代将軍に就いたことから,重豪は将軍の岳父として幕府内でも御三家に準じる待遇を受け,江戸城の殿席も大廊下の間に移された。この殊遇の背後には,彼と親交のあった田沼意次の意向が働いていたと思われ,重豪は意次が失脚した直後の天明7年1月に隠居して藩主の地位を長子斉宣に譲っている。重豪は学問を好んで中国語,オランダ語をこなし,自ら『南山俗語考』を著し,曾槃,白尾国柱らに命じて120巻の博物書『成形図説』を編纂せしめるなど学術を振興し,また佐藤信淵を招いて殖産興業政策をすすめるとともに,造士館,演武館,医学院,明時館(天文館),薬園など文武諸般にわたる文化施設の充実に努め,学術を振興した。長崎オランダ商館のティチング,ドゥーフ,シーボルトらとも交流があって,江戸屋敷にオランダ文物を収集した独楽園を設けた。隠居後も実権をもって,このような豪華な文化政策を推し進めたところから藩財政は破綻し,家老の樺山主税たちは重豪の政治を否定すべく改革に乗り出した。しかし文化5(1808)年,重豪はこれを弾圧し,首謀者たちに切腹を命ずるなど100人をこえる大量の処罰者を出し,翌年には藩主斉宣をも廃位した。この「近思録崩」(あるいは「文化朋党事件」)と呼ばれた事件により藩主は孫の斉興に代わったが,重豪は引き続き藩の実権をにぎるとともに,文政10(1827)年には調所広郷を起用して,500万両にのぼる膨大な借財の解消を目的とする大胆な財政改革を強行した。天保4(1833)年に江戸高輪藩邸に没す。法名,大信院殿栄翁如証大居士。<参考文献>芳即正『島津重豪』

(笠谷和比古)

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