Taiko Land Survey

Japanese: 太閤検地 - たいこうけんち

This was a land survey carried out by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is also known as the Tensho Stone Reform and the Bunroku Land Survey. Taiko is an honorific title given to someone who has retired from the position of Kanpaku, but after Hideyoshi handed over the position to his adopted son Hidetsugu in 1591 (Tensho 19), he preferred to be called Taiko, and this became an alternative name for Hideyoshi, and the land surveys he carried out came to be called the Taiko Land Survey. Of course, this does not only include the land surveys carried out after Hideyoshi called himself Taiko, but also those carried out before that. This Taiko Land Survey was a major change in the land system in Japan, and had a major impact on politics, economy, society, culture, and more.

[Mitsuru Miyagawa]

Implementation status and land survey officials

When Hideyoshi was granted the former territory of the Azai clan in Omi (Shiga Prefecture) by his lord, Oda Nobunaga, he immediately ordered Sugihara Yaichi to survey the area around Odani in 1573 (Tensho 1), and then in 1580 he went on an expedition to the Chugoku region, pacifying Harima (Hyogo Prefecture) and surveying the area around Himeji. After that, in 1582, he defeated Akechi Mitsuhide in the Battle of Yamazaki and acquired Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture) and Tamba (Kyoto Prefecture and Hyogo Prefecture), and in the following year, 1583, he defeated Shibata Katsuie and surveyed his former territories of Echizen, Wakasa (both in Fukui Prefecture), and Omi, and distributed them to his subordinates. In 1585, he pacified Negoro and Shikoku, and surveyed Kii (Wakayama Prefecture), Kawachi (Osaka Prefecture), and Shikoku. In 1587, he conquered the Shimazu clan and surveyed Kyushu. In 1590, he defeated the Gohojo clan of Odawara and surveyed the Kanto and Oshu regions. It is said that he also planned to survey the conquered territories in Korea when he dispatched forces in 1592 (Bunroku 1). As described above, Hideyoshi surveyed each region he conquered, and firmly established his control over them. During this time, he also conducted land surveys when he granted fiefs to his subordinates and transferred feudal lords to other domains. Furthermore, from 1591 (Tensho 19) to 1598 (Keicho 3), he surveyed each region several times to consolidate the foundations of the Taiko government, both in preparation for the invasion of Korea and to stabilize the rear, with the last survey being Echizen in August 1598.

For these land surveys, first the survey guidelines or survey conditions were presented, and then the survey officials under the Bugyo were organized. Many people were appointed as Bugyo, the main ones being Asano Nagayoshi (Asano Nagamasa), Ishida Mitsunari, Masuda Nagamori, Nagatsuka Masaie, Kobori Shinsuke, and Katagiri Katsumoto, who were generally subordinates of the civil government faction. For large-scale land surveys of more than one province, several Bugyo were appointed, and above them was a Sobugyo who oversaw the whole operation. In the Kii Land Survey of 1585, Kobori Shinsuke was appointed as the Sobugyo, in the Hyuga (Miyazaki Prefecture), Osumi, and Satsuma (all in Kagoshima Prefecture) Land Survey of 1593, Ishida Mitsunari was appointed as the Sobugyo, and in the Echizen Land Survey of 1598, Nagatsuka Masaie was appointed as the Sobugyo. The Sobugyo and Magistrates submitted a written oath that they would not commit any wrongdoings before carrying out their duties. Under the Magistrates were subordinate officers such as the Bookkeeper, the Pole Keeper, and the Detective, who were in charge of the actual land survey work, and the village headmen and village headmen served as guides for the land surveyors.

In addition to the above, there were also cases where feudal lords conducted land surveys in response to Hideyoshi's wishes, such as Kato Kiyomasa's land survey of Higo (Kumamoto Prefecture) in 1589, Mori Terumoto's land survey of the Chugoku region in 1590-91, and Gamou Ujisato's land survey of Iwashiro (Fukushima Prefecture) in 1594. In these cases too, land survey officials below the rank of magistrate were organized.

[Mitsuru Miyagawa]

Details of the project

The Land Survey Magistrate and his party surveyed the fields, farmland and houses one by one from one end of the village to the entire village area, and decided the grade, area, amount of rice, and name of the person to be granted to each plot. In many cases, they referred to the guidelines written in advance by the landlord or village officials when making their decisions. In any case, the grade of the fields was determined based on the fertility of the land, the convenience of irrigation, the quality of the topography and geology, and other factors, and the area, amount of rice, and name of the person to be granted to each plot were determined. A land survey book was then prepared that listed the total area and village tax, which was then signed by the magistrate and submitted to Hideyoshi, and given to the landlord and village officials.

Among the implementation details mentioned above, the most important were the decisions on the area, rice division, and name of the contractor, which were decided as follows:

(1) Units of area and masu The traditional units of area were 1 ken square as 1 bu, 120 bu as small, 180 bu as han, 240 bu as large, and 360 bu as 1 tan (tan), but these were not unified units because the length of 1 ken varied, and there were also other units such as shiro, kari, and maki. In the Taiko Land Survey, these traditionally inconsistent units of length and area were unified, and 6 shaku 3 sun of the Kanejaku was set as 1 ken square as 1 bu, and 300 bu as 1 tan. In addition, various masu were used in the past, but in the Taiko Land Survey, the Kyo masu used mainly in Kyoto was designated as the official masu, and almost all were unified.

(2) Grasping the amount of rice bunmai In the past, bunmai, which meant rice tax, was considered to be the official production amount in the Taiko land survey. In other words, the Taiko land survey grasped the official production amount of each plot of fields, farmland, and house as bunmai. Bunmai is calculated by multiplying the todai by the area. A todai is a kokumori (amount of stone) and is the official production amount per tier that was determined taking into consideration political and economic conditions. This was determined by grade, and the articles stated that upper fields were 1.5 koku, medium fields were 1.3 koku, lower fields were 1.1 koku, upper fields and houses were 1.2 koku, medium fields were 1 koku, lower fields were 8 koku, and lower fields were determined as appropriate. Bunmai was determined and grasped by multiplying these todai by the area of each plot.

(3) Determination of the nominal applicants In the Taiko land survey, the farmers who owned the right to cultivate land and paid annual tax to the feudal lord were registered in the land survey book as nominal applicants, among the complicated rights of farmers in the Muromachi period. The rights of other farmers were excluded. This is clear from the order issued by Hideyoshi in 1574, which states, "In each place, the right to cultivate land and the right to pay annual tax to the feudal lord should be treated as nominal applicants," and from the village rules issued by Ishida Mitsunari in 1596, which states, "The decision on the right to cultivate land and the right to cultivate it will be decided by those who have been registered in the survey book at the time of the previous survey." In this way, in the Taiko land survey, farmers who owned land and paid tribute were designated as the nobunin (subjects of land).

[Mitsuru Miyagawa]

significance

As mentioned above, Hideyoshi's land surveys conducted after each region he conquered provided the basis for unifying the country by firmly controlling the conquered territories. At the same time, he reorganized the complicated land relations that had existed up until that time, and established a new system. Until the Muromachi period, the rights to fields and farmland were divided in a complicated manner due to the division of occupations, but Hideyoshi's unification of the country and land surveys unified the lordship rights and various shareholding rights of feudal lords and temples and shrines into a single lordship. In addition, the rights of farmers were consolidated by confiscating the land ownership rights of powerful farmers and consolidating them into only the right to cultivate (right to cultivate) of the noshikin registered in the land survey book. In other words, the Taiko land survey established a unified lord-farmer relationship of one lord and one farmer for each parcel of field and farmland, and established a pure feudal system. The innovative nature of the Taiko land survey, which encouraged the independence of small farmers, was seen there, and at the same time, combined with the understanding of rice yields, it laid the foundation for the separation of soldiers and farmers. In other words, the principle of the rice tax (kokudaka) calculated by the Taiko Land Survey was that the sakutoku portion went to the peasants and the rest was collected by the feudal lords, so it became difficult for local lords and powerful peasants to exploit them as intermediates and turn them into samurai or feudal lords as they had done in the past, and the separation of soldiers and farmers was promoted. The kokudaka calculated by the Taiko Land Survey also became the basis for the levy of annual taxes on peasants, the grant of fiefs to daimyo and their vassals, the imposition of military service, family status, and so on, and became the core of the shogunate-han system as the kokudaka system.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy in terms of the history of institutions, economies, and culture that the units of length and area were determined to be 6 shaku 3 sun 1 ken and 300 bu 1 dan in the Taiko land survey, and that the measure was also unified into the Kyoto measure.

[Mitsuru Miyagawa]

"The Taiko Land Survey by Mitsuru Miyagawa, 3 volumes (1957-63, Ochanomizu Shobo)" "The Establishment and Structure of the Shogunate-Han System by Moriaki Arashiro (1959, Ochanomizu Shobo)"

[Reference] | Rice yield system | Stone deposits | Survey of land | Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Implementation status of the Taiko Land Survey
©Shogakukan ">

Implementation status of the Taiko Land Survey

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)の行った検地。天正(てんしょう)の石直(こくなお)し、文禄(ぶんろく)の検地ともいう。太閤とは関白を辞めた人の尊称であるが、秀吉は1591年（天正19）関白を養子秀次(ひでつぐ)に譲ったのち、好んで太閤と称したのでそれが秀吉の別称ともなり、彼の実施した検地も太閤検地とよばれるようになった。もちろん秀吉が太閤と称してからの検地のみでなく、それ以前の検地も含まれる。この太閤検地は、わが国土地制度上の一大変革であり、政治・経済・社会・文化などに多大の影響を与えた。

［宮川　満］

実施状況と検地役人

秀吉はその主織田信長から近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）の浅井氏の旧領を付与されると、ただちに1573年（天正1）杉原弥七に命じて小谷(おだに)付近を検地し、ついで1580年中国征伐に赴いて播磨(はりま)（兵庫県）を平定するとともに、姫路付近を検地している。その後、1582年には山崎の合戦で明智光秀(あけちみつひで)を破って手に入れた山城(やましろ)（京都府）・丹波(たんば)（京都府・兵庫県）を、翌1583年には柴田勝家(しばたかついえ)を滅ぼすとともに、その旧領越前(えちぜん)・若狭(わかさ)（以上福井県）・近江をそれぞれ検地して部将に分与し、1585年には根来(ねごろ)や四国を平定して紀伊（和歌山県）・河内(かわち)（大阪府）や四国を、1587年には島津氏を征して九州を、1590年には小田原の後北条(ごほうじょう)氏を討(う)って関東から奥羽を、それぞれ検地している。また1592年（文禄1）の朝鮮出兵に際しては、朝鮮での征服地をも検地する予定であったという。以上のように秀吉は次々に各地を征服するごとに検地して、それらの地を確実に掌握していった。またその間、部将に知行(ちぎょう)を与え、大名を転封させた場合にも検地を実施している。さらに1591年（天正19）から1598年（慶長3）にかけては、朝鮮出兵の準備ないし後方安定を兼ねて、太閤政権の基礎固めのため、各地を再三検地して1598年8月の越前検地を最後としている。

　これらの検地に際しては、まず検地方針ないし検地条目が示され、ついで奉行(ぶぎょう)以下の検地役人が組織された。検地奉行に任命された者は多く、そのおもなものは浅野長吉(あさのながよし)（浅野長政(ながまさ)）、石田三成(いしだみつなり)、増田長盛(ましたながもり)、長束正家(なつかまさいえ)、小堀新介、片桐且元(かたぎりかつもと)らであり、概して文治派の部将である。一国以上の大規模な検地には、何人かの奉行が任命され、そのうえに全体をまとめる惣奉行(そうぶぎょう)が置かれた。1585年の紀伊検地では小堀新介が、1593年の日向(ひゅうが)（宮崎県）・大隅(おおすみ)・薩摩(さつま)（以上鹿児島県）の検地では石田三成が、1598年の越前検地では長束正家が、それぞれ惣奉行に任命されている。惣奉行・奉行は不正をしない旨の誓紙を提出して、それぞれ任にあたった。奉行の下には帳付(ちょうつけ)・竿取(さおとり)・見付役(みつけやく)などの下役がいて実際の検地業務をつかさどり、各村の庄屋(しょうや)・名主(なぬし)らは検地衆の案内役を勤めた。

　以上のほか、秀吉の意図を受けて諸大名が検地を実施する場合もあった。加藤清正(かとうきよまさ)の1589年肥後（熊本県）検地、毛利輝元(もうりてるもと)による1590～91年の中国地方の検地、蒲生氏郷(がもううじさと)の1594年岩代(いわしろ)（福島県）検地などがそれであり、これらの場合にも奉行以下の検地役人が組織された。

［宮川　満］

実施内容

検地奉行らの一行は、村の一端から全村域にかけて田畑屋敷を1筆ごとに測量し、各筆の等級や面積・分米(ぶんまい)・名請人(なうけにん)などを決めていった。その決定にあたっては、あらかじめ知行主や村方に書き出させた指出(さしだし)を参考にする場合も多かった。いずれにしても、田畑の等級については土地の肥痩(ひそう)、灌漑(かんがい)の便否、地形地質の良否などを考慮して上・中・下・下々などに格づけされ、さらに面積・分米・名請人も決められ、それらを記載して総面積・村高を明らかにした検地帳が作成され、それに奉行が署名して秀吉に提出し、また知行主・村方に渡した。

　以上のような実施内容のうち、とくに重要なのは面積・分米・名請人の決定であり、それらは次のようにして決められた。

(1)面積・枡(ます)の単位　従来の面積の単位は1間(けん)四方を1歩(ぶ)、120歩を小、180歩を半、240歩を大、360歩を1段(たん)（反）としたが、それらは1間の長さが種々であるため統一のある単位とはいえず、ほかに代(しろ)・刈(かり)・蒔(まき)などの単位もあった。太閤検地では、この従来の不統一な長さ・面積の単位を統一して、曲尺(かねじゃく)の6尺3寸を1間と定め、1間四方を1歩、300歩を1段とした。また枡も従来はさまざまの枡が使用されていたが、太閤検地では、京都を中心に用いられていた京枡を公定枡とし、ほぼこれに統一された。

(2)分米の把握　古くは上分米(じょうぶんまい)つまり年貢米を意味した分米が、太閤検地では公定生産高とされた。すなわち、太閤検地は田畑屋敷各筆の公定生産高を分米として把握した。分米は斗代(とだい)に面積を乗じたものである。斗代は石盛(こくもり)のことで、政治的・経済的条件を考慮して決められた段当り公定生産高である。これは等級ごとに決められ、条目では上田1石5斗、中田1石3斗、下田1石1斗、上畑・屋敷1石2斗、中畑1石、下畑8斗、下々は見計らいなどとある。分米はこれらの斗代に各筆の面積を乗じて決められ、把握されたのである。

(3)名請人の決定　太閤検地では、室町時代農民の複雑な田畑の権利関係のうち、各筆とも作職(さくしき)（耕作権）を所有して領主に年貢を納める農民が、名請人として検地帳に登録され、その他の農民の権利が排除された。秀吉が1574年に出した下知状(げちじょう)に「在々所々作職事、去年作毛(さくもう)年貢納所(なっしょ)候ともがら可相抱事(あいかかうべきこと)」とあり、また石田三成が1596年に出した村掟(むらおきて)に「田畑さくしき（作職）の儀は、此(この)さき御けんちの時、けんち帳にかきのり候者のさハき（裁き）につかまつ（仕）り」とあることから明らかである。このように太閤検地では作職を所有して貢納する農民が、名請人に決定されたのである。

［宮川　満］

意義

秀吉が上述のように各地を征服するごとに検地したことは、征服地を確実に掌握して全国を統一する基礎となり、同時に従来の複雑な土地関係を整理して土地制度を一新させ、新しい体制を将来させた。すなわち、室町時代までは職の分化で、田畑の権利が複雑に分割されていたが、秀吉の全国統一と検地により、大名や寺社本所の領主権、各種得分権などが一円の領主権に統一され、また農民の権利は有力農民の加地子権などが没収されて、検地帳に登録された名請人の作職（耕作権）のみに整理された。つまり、太閤検地は田畑各筆に一領主・一農民という一元的な領主―農民関係を樹立させ、純粋封建制を将来させたのである。そこには小農民の自立を促す太閤検地の革新性がみられ、同時に石高の把握と相まって兵農分離の基礎があった。すなわち、太閤検地が把握した分米＝石高のうち、作徳分は農民に、残りはすべて領主に収取される原則であったから、土豪・有力農民は従来のように中間搾取して武士化、領主化することがむずかしくなり、兵農分離が推し進められた。また太閤検地により把握された石高は、農民への年貢賦課をはじめ、大名や家臣への知行給付、軍役賦課、家格などの基準となり、石高制として幕藩体制の主軸となったのである。

　なお、太閤検地で長さ・面積の単位が曲尺の6尺3寸1間、300歩1段と定められ、枡も京枡に統一されたことは、制度・経済・文化の歴史のうえで注目すべきである。

［宮川　満］

『宮川満著『太閤検地論』全3冊（1957～63・御茶の水書房）』▽『安良城盛昭著『幕藩体制社会の成立と構造』（1959・御茶の水書房）』

[参照項目] | 石高制 | 石盛 | 指出検地 | 豊臣秀吉

太閤検地の実施状況

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