Tenmei Famine

Japanese: 天明の飢饉 - てんめいのききん

This is one of the three major famines of the Edo period, along with the Kyoho famine and the Tenpo famine. Famines occurred throughout the Tenmei era (1781-89), with particularly devastating results in 1783 (Tenmei 3) and 1786. Western Japan, especially Kyushu, was hit by the famine in 1782, but in Western Japan, the famine subsided in the first half of the Tenmei era. The famine was more devastating in Eastern Japan, especially the Pacific side of the Tohoku region (Mutsu Province) and the northern Kanto region. In the Tsugaru region, there were signs of poor harvests as early as the end of the An'ei era (1772-81), but in the Hachinohe region, a "yamase" wind blew in the summer of 1783, causing cold damage and causing rice plants to wither, heralding the Tohoku famine. This was compounded by the major eruption of Mount Asama in Joshu in July of the same year, and the damage from the ashfall caused by the eruption extended throughout the Kanto and Shinshu regions. In northern Kanto (Kozuke, Shimotsuke) and Shinano, where the damage was most severe, poor harvests led to famine.

Thus, the famine of the year Udo (1783) occurred in Mutsu, which was said to be the worst crop failure since the reign of Emperor Jimmu. The famine was exacerbated not only by natural factors such as heavy rains, low temperatures, frost, and cold damage, but also by political and social factors such as the sacrifice of the harsh feudal exploitation and the policy of keeping grains and grains in the hands of the divided and divided ruling system. As a result, in the Tsugaru domain, between September 1783 and June 1784, it is recorded that more than 81,100 people died of starvation and disease (such as edema) out of the population of the domain, and in the Hachinohe domain, more than 30,000 of the 65,000 people died of starvation and disease. Also, horrific stories of cannibalism are told in various parts of the Mutsu borderlands.

[Tadao Yamada]

weather

Abnormal weather conditions continued from 1782 (Tenmei 2) to 1787, leading to a famine. The eruption of Mt. Asama in the summer of 1783 is believed to have been the cause, but since abnormalities had already been apparent as early as 1782, if the eruption had had an influence, it is likely that events prior to the 1783 eruption of Mt. Asama, such as the major eruption of Sakurajima since 1779 (An'ei 8), were also involved. 1783 was a summer of extremely low temperatures even by global standards, but in the case of Europe, the eruption in Iceland, which was closer to home, had a greater impact than the eruption of Mt. Asama.

[Nemoto Junkichi]

[Reference] | Famine | The Destruction of Tenmei

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

享保(きょうほう)の飢饉、天保(てんぽう)の飢饉と並ぶ江戸時代三大飢饉の一つ。天明年間（1781～89）には連年にわたって飢饉が発生し、とくに1783年（天明3）と86年は惨状が甚だしかった。西日本とくに九州は82年に飢饉にみまわれたが、西日本の場合、天明年間の前半には収束した。飢饉はむしろ東日本、とくに東北地方太平洋側（陸奥(むつ)国）、北関東一帯で猛威を振るった。津軽(つがる)地方では早くも安永(あんえい)年間（1772～81）末期に凶作の兆しがあったが、八戸(はちのへ)地方では83年夏に「やませ」が吹いて冷害となり、稲が立ち枯れ、東北飢饉の前触れとなった。そこへ同年7月の上州浅間山の大噴火が重なり、噴火による降灰の被害は関東・信州一円に及び、その被害の甚だしかった北関東（上野(こうずけ)、下野(しもつけ)）、信濃(しなの)では、凶作から飢饉となった。

　かくて陸奥では「神武(じんむ)以来の大凶作」といわれた卯歳(うどし)（1783）の飢饉となった。これは、霖雨(りんう)、低温、霜害、冷害などの自然的悪条件だけでなく、過酷な封建的搾取や分裂割拠の支配体制による津留(つどめ)・穀留(こくどめ)政策の犠牲という政治的・社会的原因が、飢饉の惨状を極度に悪化させた。このために津軽藩では1783年9月～84年6月にかけて、領内人口のうち8万1100人余の飢餓(きが)・病気（むくみなど）による死亡、八戸藩では6万5000人のうち餓病死者3万人余と記録されており、また陸奥辺境部各地では人肉相食(あいは)む凄惨(せいさん)な話が伝えられている。

［山田忠雄］

気象

1782年（天明2）から87年まで気象異変が続き飢饉となった。83年夏の浅間山の噴火が原因とされているが、すでに82年から異常が現れているところから、噴火の影響があるとすれば、83年の浅間山噴火以前の、たとえば1779年（安永8）以来の桜島の大噴火などが関与しているものと思われる。83年は世界的にみても著しい異常低温の夏であったが、欧州の場合は、浅間山の噴火よりは地元に近いアイスランドにおける噴火がより大きく影響していた。

［根本順吉］

[参照項目] | 飢饉 | 天明の打毀

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