Tokugawa Yoshimune

Japanese: 徳川吉宗 - とくがわ・よしむね

Year of death: 1751.7.12 (16.20.1751)
Year of birth: 1684.11.27 (10.21)
The 8th Shogun of the Edo Shogunate. His childhood names were Genroku and Shinnosuke. His given name was initially Yorikata, and later Yoshimune. He was the 4th son of Mitsusada, the 2nd feudal lord of the Kishu (Wakayama) domain, one of the three main branches of the Tokugawa clan. He was born in Wakayama. In 1695, he came of age at the age of 12, and was given a fief of 30,000 koku in Nyu County, Echizen Province (Fukui Prefecture). In 1705, he inherited 550,000 koku of land from the Kii Tokugawa clan after his eldest brother Tsunanori and his second brother Yorimoto died of illness in succession. Then, in 1716, the 7th Shogun, Ietsugu, died at the young age of 8, and a succession problem arose, but Yoshimune, who was already highly respected as the lord of the Kishu domain, was chosen to succeed the Tokugawa family and was welcomed as the 8th Shogun. Yoshimune changed the political system that had been overly focused on chamberlains and called for a return to the ways of Ieyasu's time, winning the support of the prestigious hatamoto and shogunate elders, as well as the various hereditary powers. He also began to rebuild the finances of the shogunate, which had become bankrupt due to the extravagance and extravagance of spending since the Genroku period. These reforms are known as the Kyoho Reforms. First, he implemented thorough frugality and, as a temporary measure, requested that the daimyo provide 100 bales of high-quality rice for every 10,000 koku of rice. On the other hand, he adopted the fixed tax system and encouraged the development of new fields by introducing the financial resources of merchants. Many of the systems related to Edo city government were also reformed and established during the Kyoho period, including the establishment of town fire brigades and the formation of associations and unions for merchants and industrialists. These were largely due to the contributions of Ooka Echizen no Kami Tadasuke, who was selected by Yoshimune to serve as Edo magistrate. Furthermore, the compilation of the "Kujikata Osadamegaki," a unified set of judicial guidelines, was undertaken primarily by the Hyojosho troupe, with Yoshimune himself repeatedly giving specific opinions and instructions on the original draft, which was completed in March 1742. Yoshimune also sought to improve the Shogunate's administrative system, and proceeded with the reorganization of the organization centered on the Kanjo-sho, but in 1727 he introduced the Ashitaka system as a system for promoting capable individuals to higher positions in order to further administrative and financial reform. This system set a standard rice yield for each position, and those with small stipends below that yield were paid the difference ("Ashitaka") only while in office. As a result, for example, even for the position of Kanjo Bugyo, with a yield of 3,000 koku, the proportion of Shogunate vassals with less than 500 koku rose to more than 40% thereafter. The development of the administrative bureaucracy, combined with the establishment of a legal system, was one of Yoshimune's greatest achievements. Another important aspect of Yoshimune's politics was that he did not simply pursue the interests of the shogunate itself, but also paid great attention to the nation's wealth and interests. With regard to trade with Nagasaki, Yoshimune supported Arai Hakuseki's Shotoku Shinrei as a permanent and good law, and implemented an industrial policy to prevent precious metals such as gold and silver from leaving the country, and to replace imported goods with domestic products as much as possible. Imported raw silk (white thread) and silk fabrics were being domestically produced during the 17th century, but Yoshimune dispatched medicinal envoys to all parts of the country in an effort to discover and cultivate domestically produced medicinal species. He tackled the cultivation of ginseng, which was considered difficult to cultivate artificially, and succeeded in domestic production after 20 years of trial and error. He also promoted the domestic production of sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and wax trees, and in particular, sweet potato cultivation was spread throughout the country by Aoki Konyo, and played a major role as an emergency crop. This domestic development policy was expanded to the Investigation of All Japan's Products (1734), which mobilized the feudal lords of the Tokugawa shogunate and was a comprehensive survey of the products and natural resources of Japan. Next, it became popular among the general public to hold product exhibitions in which products and rare items from all over the country were gathered in one place to be exhibited, and product studies aimed at industrial development developed. At the same time, it promoted the development of scientific thought by bringing more academic interest and knowledge to people in subjects such as natural history and natural history. Yoshimune encouraged practical studies that would be useful for industrial development, and in an effort to gain scientific and technological knowledge, he promoted the relaxation of import restrictions on Western books translated into Chinese. Furthermore, in order to directly absorb knowledge from European originals, he had Konyo and Noro Genjo study Dutch, and they became pioneers of Dutch studies. The series of policies promoted by Yoshimune played an important role in the modernization of our country. <References> Tsuji Tatsuya, Tokugawa Yoshimune Koden

(Kazuhiko Kasaya)

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

Japanese:

没年：宝暦1.6.20(1751.7.12)
生年：貞享1.10.21(1684.11.27)
江戸幕府第8代将軍。幼名は源六,新之助。諱ははじめ頼方,のち吉宗。徳川御三家のひとつ紀州(和歌山)藩徳川家の第2代藩主光貞の4男。和歌山生まれ。元禄8(1695)年に12歳で元服し,越前国(福井県)丹生郡において3万石の領地が与えられる。宝永2(1705)年,長兄綱教,次兄頼職の相次ぐ病死によって紀伊徳川家55万石を相続した。次いで享保1(1716)年,7代将軍家継が8歳の幼少で死去すると後継者問題が起こったが,すでに紀州藩主としても声望の高かった吉宗が徳川宗家を継承することとなり,8代将軍として迎えられた。吉宗は,側用人偏重に流れていたそれまでの政治体制を改め,家康の時代のあり方への回帰を標榜することによって名門旗本や老中ら譜代諸勢力の支持を取り付けるとともに,元禄時代以来の華美と放漫な支出によって破産状態になっていた幕府財政の再建に着手した。いわゆる享保の改革である。まず倹約を徹底するかたわら,応急処置として諸大名に石高1万石につき米100俵の割合で上米を要請。他方では定免法を採用するとともに,商人の資力を導入して新田開発を奨励した。江戸市政に関する諸制度も享保期に改革整備されたものが多く,なかでも町火消の設置と商工業者の仲間・組合の結成などが重要だが,これらには吉宗によって抜擢され江戸町奉行を勤めた大岡越前守忠相の功績が大きかった。また統一的な裁判規範となる『公事方御定書』の編纂には,評定所一座が主体となって取り組み,吉宗自身も原案に対して具体的な意見や指示を繰り返し,寛保2(1742)年3月に完成した。幕府の行政制度の充実も計り,勘定所を中心として機構整備を進めたが,さらに行財政改革を推進するために有能者を抜擢登用する制度として享保8年に足高制を導入した。これは役職ごとに基準石高を設定し,その高におよばない少家禄者には,その差額(「足高」)を在職中に限り支給する制度である。これによって,例えば役職高3000石の勘定奉行についても,500石未満層の幕臣の任用される割合が,これ以降は4割以上にのぼったのである。法制の整備と相まって行政官僚制の充実発展は吉宗の功績の大なるもののひとつである。さらに吉宗の政治で重要なことは,単に幕府自身の利益の追求だけでなく,国富,国益というものに大きな関心を向けていったことである。吉宗は長崎貿易については,新井白石の正徳新例を永世の良法として支持し,金銀などの貴金属の国外流出を防ぎ,輸入品もなるべく国産物で代替していく産業政策をとった。輸入生糸(白糸)や絹織物は17世紀のうちに国産化が進行していたが,吉宗は全国各地に採薬使を派遣して,国内産薬種の発見や栽培に努めた。人工栽培が困難とされていた朝鮮人参の栽培に取り組み,20年にわたる試行錯誤の末その国産化に成功。甘蔗(さとうきび),甘藷,櫨などの国産化もすすめ,特に甘藷の栽培は青木昆陽によって国内各地に広められ,救慌作物として大きな役割を果たした。こうした国産開発政策は,幕府の諸大名を動員した日本国内の産物,自然物の総合調査としての諸国産物取り調べ(1734)へと拡大され,次に,全国各地の物産や希少品を一堂に会して展覧する物産会の開催を民間において流行させ,産業開発を目的とする物産学を発達させた。それとともに博物学や自然誌といった,より学術的な関心と知識とを人々にもたらすことによって科学思想の発達を促すこととなった。吉宗は産業の開発に役立つ実学を奨励し,科学技術的な知識を得ようとして,漢訳洋書の輸入制限の緩和をすすめた。さらにヨーロッパ原書の知識を直接吸収すべく昆陽や野呂元丈をオランダ語の学習に取り組ませたが,彼らは蘭学の先駆者ともなっていくのであり,吉宗の推進した一連の政策はわが国の近代化にとって重要な役割を果たしたのである。<参考文献>辻達也『徳川吉宗公伝』

(笠谷和比古)

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