Sukego - Sukego

In the Edo period, when the regular horses and men at post stations along the highways were not enough to transport passengers on the way, this term referred to villages near those stations that provided supplementary horses and men, or to the duties and systems imposed on them. The ambiguity in the definition of the concept of Sukego has led to various theories about when it was established. First, there is a theory that the origin or establishment of Sukego can be found in the transportation policy of the Hojo clan, the regent of the Kamakura Shogunate, or in the laws concerning excess horses and men at post stations under the Toyotomi administration. There is also a theory that the indicators can be found in the transportation policies of the Edo Shogunate in 1603 (Keicho 8), 1616 (Genna 2), 1637 (Kan'ei 14), or later. However, these theories are largely due to differences in understanding between those that actually performed the functions of Sukego and Sukego as compulsory labor designated by the Shogunate authorities.

The shogunate established a new system of subsidy districts in 1694 (Genroku 7), which changed the previous system of subsidy districts limited to fiefs and provinces, and instead designated villages near each post station as auxiliary subsidy districts, with two people and two horses of labor per 100 koku of rice. In addition, there were two types of subsidy districts, Jyosuke district and Osuke district, on the Tokaido post stations, there were only Osuke districts on the Nakasendo and Nikko roads, and there were no subsidy districts designated by the shogunate on the Oshu and Koshu roads, but they were prepared to temporarily requisition people and horses from the areas near the post stations. In 1725 (Kyoho 10), Jyosuke district and Osuke district were unified on the Tokaido to form a single subsidy district, Jyosuke district, and Osuke district was renamed Jyosuke district on the Nakasendo and other roads. The Sukego system was established, but the Genroku era man and horse burden standards were not checked in any way, and by the late Edo period they had reached several hundred times that amount. A Sukego was a basic Sukego consisting of 10 to 20 villages near a post station, and was also called a Honsukego, but it became exhausted due to the excessive burden, and other villages took over as substitutes, and various other Sukego with expanded scope of taxation, such as Daisukego, Mashisukego, and Tobu Sukego, were established one after another.

This tendency caused conflicts between the post stations and the various sub-villages over the burden of manpower and horse labor and the distribution of wages, so that the villages of the Sadasukego and others dispatched the sub-village headman (sōdai) to the sub-village association in the post town to monitor the unfair treatment of the post town officials. The contradictions between the post stations and the sub-villages exploded as widespread resistance by the peasant masses against the shogunate's power, the post station wholesalers, the village headmen, and the wealthy farmers, resulting in the Tenma Riots of 1764-65 (Meiwa 1-2), which involved over 200,000 participants across Musashi, Kozuke, Shinano, and parts of Shimotsuke. After that, the post stations and the sub-villages repeatedly engaged in complex and diverse conflicts and struggles, and at the end of the Edo period, they launched a struggle against the sub-villages, including petitions and strong appeals, and pushed forward into a social reform uprising. In addition, at the post stations on the side roads, sub-districts such as Josuke, Kasuke, and Daisuke were established, but even in places where they were not, the requisition of men and horses was carried out on a domain or county scale, and the burden of the duties continued to increase. The sub-districts were completely abolished with the establishment of the Land Transport Company in 1872 (Meiji 5).

[Yoshinari Maruyama]

"A Basic Study of Post Stations in the Early Modern Period" by Maruyama Yoshinari, 2 volumes (1975, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代、街道宿駅の常備人馬だけでは継ぎ送りに支障をきたす場合、補助的に人馬を提供する宿駅近傍の郷村、またはその課役・制度をいう。このような助郷の概念規定のあいまいさは、その成立時期について諸説を生んでいる。まず、鎌倉幕府の執権北条氏の交通政策、豊臣(とよとみ)政権の宿駅の人馬超過に関する法令に、助郷の濫觴(らんしょう)または成立を認める説、さらに江戸幕府の1603年（慶長8）、1616年（元和2）、1637年（寛永14）、あるいはその後の交通政策に指標を求める説などがあるが、これらは事実上助郷の機能を果たすものと、幕府権力が指定した強制的賦役としての助郷とに対する理解の違いによるところが大きい。

　幕府は1694年（元禄7）新たに助郷制を画定したが、それは従来の助郷が封境・国郡を限界としたのを改めて、各宿駅近傍の村々を付属助郷に指定し、高100石につき2人・2疋(ひき)の人馬役負担とした。そして東海道宿駅では定(じょう)助郷・大(おお)助郷の二本立て、中山道(なかせんどう)・日光道中は大助郷のみ、奥州・甲州両道中では幕府指定の助郷はないが、臨時に宿駅近傍の人馬を徴発する態勢をとった。1725年（享保10）東海道では定助郷・大助郷を統一して定助郷に一本化し、中山道などでも大助郷を定助郷と改称した。ここに助郷制度は確立するが、元禄(げんろく)度の人馬負担基準はなんら歯止めとならず、江戸後期にはその数百倍に達した。定助郷は宿駅近傍の10～20数か村からなる基本的な助郷で、本助郷ともいうが、負担過重のため疲弊して他の郷村が代役を勤める代(だい)助郷以下、課徴範囲を拡大した加(か)助郷、増(まし)助郷、当分助郷など、各種名目の助郷が次々に設定されていった。

　こうした傾向は宿駅と各種助郷以下との人馬役負担・賃銭配分をめぐる紛争を激発させ、このため定助郷村などは助郷惣代(そうだい)を宿場内の助郷会所に派遣、宿役人らの不公正な取り計らいを監視させている。宿駅・助郷間の諸矛盾が、幕府権力や宿駅問屋、名主、豪農らに対する広範な農民大衆の抵抗として爆発したのが、1764～65年（明和1～2）の武蔵(むさし)、上野(こうずけ)、信濃(しなの)および下野(しもつけ)の一部にまたがり参加者20万人余に上る伝馬(てんま)大騒動である。その後、宿駅と助郷とは、複雑で多様な対立・抗争を繰り返し、幕末期には訴願・強訴を含めた助郷反対闘争を展開、世直し一揆(いっき)へと突き進んでいった。なお、脇(わき)街道の宿駅では、定助、加助、大助などの助郷が設けられたが、そうでないところでも全藩的または郡規模の人馬徴発が行われ、その役負担は過重化の一途をたどっている。助郷は1872年（明治5）の陸運会社の設置によって完全に廃止された。

［丸山雍成］

『丸山雍成著『近世宿駅の基礎的研究』全2巻（1975・吉川弘文館）』

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