Tanuma Okitsugu

A senior councilor in the mid-Edo period. Lord of Sagara Castle in Totomi Province (Shizuoka Prefecture). His childhood name was Ryusuke. He was called Tonomonokami. He was born in Edo in 1756 as the eldest son of Tanuma Okiyuki. Okiyuki had been a personal attendant to Kishu Tokugawa Yoshimune since his youth, and was a new hatamoto (page, later became konandotodori) who accompanied Yoshimune when he succeeded to the head of the Tokugawa family. Ienari started out as a page to the heir Ieshige in 1734 (19th year of the Kyoho era), and when Ieshige became the 9th Tokugawa Shogun, he served him as a close aide until Ieshige retired, and was promoted. In 1751 (1st year of the Horeki era), he became a Goyotoritsugi, and in 1758, his stipend was increased to 10,000 koku, making him a daimyo. The year after that, the 10th Shogun, Ieharu, took over, but since Ienari was "a member of the entire Shogunate" (all honest people), he left a will that he should be looked after and used with care in the future, and during Ieharu's reign, he rose remarkably. In 67 (Meiwa 4), he was promoted to Sobayonin (a chamberlain) and became the lord of Sagara Castle in Totomi Province (20,000 koku). He then became a senior councilor and was a regular member of the Shogunate's top brass as a public official for the first time, and in 72 (An'ei 1), he was ranked as Honmaru Roju (a chamberlain) with Kaban (a member of the Cabinet). Even as a public official, he was still an Okukane-tai (a member of the inner palace), so he retained his role as a chamberlain even after becoming a senior councilor. Moreover, during Ieharu's reign, his stipend was frequently increased to 57,000 koku. Okenobu's rise through the ranks was remarkable, and in particular when his eldest son, Okitomo, became a wakadoshiyori in 1783 (Tenmei 3) and together they became leading figures in the shogunate, it was described as a stroke of genius. However, Okenobu's path to promotion had been precedented by his immediate predecessors, Ooka Tadamitsu and Itakura Katsukiyo, and Okenobu's rise to power was an extension of that precedent; it could be said that it was the result of the shogunate's inner circle politics from the Horeki period (1751-1764) onwards.

Usually, Tanuma Okitsugu's politics tends to be seen as synonymous with public bribery, i.e., corrupt politics. It is true that Okitsugu's actions left clear traces of corruption. However, much of the bad reputation he received was not just a rumor that spread after Tanuma's downfall, but was also based on Confucian criticism from the anti-Tanuma faction that led to his downfall. The majority of the contemporary economic policies that were linked to Tanuma's administration were implemented under the leadership of his predecessor, Matsudaira Takechika (Lord of Tatebayashi Domain in Kozuke Province), rather than Tanuma, so it is historically incorrect to link them all to Tanuma. However, after Matsudaira Takemoto's death, during Tanuma's heyday in the Tenmei period (1781-89), it seems that public bribery influenced the shogunate government, and by this time, an anti-Tanuma atmosphere had been cultivated in society at large, including among the feudal ruling class. In August 1786 (Tenmei 6), following the death of Shogun Ieshige, Okitsugu was suddenly ousted from his position as Senior Councilor and expelled from the shogunate. He was punished twice (retired and placed under house arrest, the family headship was passed on to his grandson Okiaki, his fief was reduced to 10,000 koku, Sagara Castle was destroyed, and he was transferred to Shimomura in Mutsu). He died in despair in Edo on July 24, Tenmei 8, and was buried at Shorin-ji Temple in Komagome.

[Tadao Yamada]

"The Tanuma Era" by Tsuji Zennosuke (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "The Early Modern Japanese National History: The Tanuma Era" by Tokutomi Soho (Kodansha Academic Library)" ▽ "Tanuma Okitsugu" by Goto Ichiro (1971, Shimizu Shoin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の老中。遠江(とおとうみ)国（静岡県）相良(さがら)城主。幼名は竜助。主殿頭(とのものかみ)と称す。享保(きょうほう)4年田沼意行(おきゆき)の嫡男として江戸に生まれる。意行は、紀州徳川吉宗(よしむね)の青年時代から近侍、吉宗の徳川宗家(そうけ)継統に際して随従した新参の旗本（小姓(こしょう)→小納戸頭取(こなんどとうどり)となる）。意次は1734年（享保19）に世子家重(いえしげ)付きの小姓を振り出しに、家重が徳川9代将軍となると、彼が隠退するまでその側近として勤仕、昇進した。51年（宝暦1）御用取次となり、58年加増され1万石となって大名に列した。翌々年10代将軍家治(いえはる)に代替わりしたが、意次はとくに前代の「またうと（全人＝正直な人）のもの」だから、ゆくゆく目をかけて用いよとの遺言で、むしろ家治の代に目覚ましく出世した。67年（明和4）側用人(そばようにん)に昇進、遠江国相良城主（2万石）となる。ついで老中格となって初めて表役人として正規の幕閣首脳の一員となり、72年（安永1）本丸老中＝加判に列した。表役人となっても依然として奥兼帯(けんたい)だったので、側用人の役割を老中になっても保持していたことになる。しかも家治代にはしばしばの加増で5万7000石になった。意次の出世ぶりは目を見張るものがあり、とくに嫡男の意知(おきとも)が83年（天明3）若年寄となり父子相並んで幕閣首脳に列したとき、世間では飛ぶ鳥を落とす勢いと評したが、意次昇進の道はすぐ先任の大岡忠光(ただみつ)、板倉勝清によって前例がつくられており、その延長線上に意次の栄達があって、いうなれば宝暦(ほうれき)期（1751～64）以後の幕府の側近政治がもたらした結果だった。

　普通、田沼意次の政治というと賄賂(わいろ)公行＝汚職政治の代名詞のように認識される傾向がある。確かに意次の行動の軌跡には明白な痕跡(こんせき)をとどめているとはいえよう。しかし彼に関する悪評の多くは、田沼没落後の噂(うわさ)話というだけでなく、失脚に追い込んだ反田沼派による儒教的批判に基づいた評価でもあった。田沼政権の多くに結び付けられた当代の経済政策の大半は、田沼よりも、むしろ前任老中だった松平武元(たけちか)（上州館林(たてばやし)藩主）の主導下に実施されたものだったように、すべて田沼に連結させる理解は歴史的に正しくない。しかし松平武元没後の田沼全盛期の天明(てんめい)年間（1781～89）になると賄賂が公行して幕政に作用したようで、このころになると封建支配層はじめ広く社会的に反田沼の空気が醸成された。1786年（天明6）8月、将軍家治の死を契機に突如意次は老中を失脚して幕府を追われ、二度の処罰（隠居謹慎、家督は孫の意明(おきあき)継承、1万石に減封、相良城地破却、陸奥(むつ)下村に移封）を受け、天明8年7月24日失意のうちに江戸で死に、駒込(こまごめ)勝林寺に葬られた。

［山田忠雄］

『辻善之助著『田沼時代』（岩波文庫）』▽『徳富蘇峰著『近世日本国民史　田沼時代』（講談社学術文庫）』▽『後藤一郎著『田沼意次』（1971・清水書院）』

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