Nabeshima Naomasa

Lord of Saga Domain in the late Edo period. His childhood name was Sadamaru, and he was originally called Narimasa. After the Meiji Restoration, he changed his name to Naomasa and took the pen name Kanso. In 1830 (Tenpo 1), he succeeded his father Narinao as head of the family, but the domain's finances were on the verge of collapse due to the previous generation's extravagant financial practices. He placed reformers such as Koga Kokudo as his close aides, promoted talented people from the domain school, Kodokan, and revamped the personnel system, carrying out the Tenpo Reforms. He implemented an equal-field system, adopted a policy of maintaining the traditional peasants, established a domestic production department, developed pottery, wax wax, and paper, and increased coal production, and restored the domain's finances. In addition, the Saga domain was in charge of guarding Nagasaki, and Naomasa himself often traveled to Nagasaki. He recognized the importance of guarding foreign countries and the superiority of Western technology, and therefore implemented Western-style military reforms early on. In 1852 (Kaei 5), he successfully constructed the first reverberatory furnace in Japan, purchased a large number of guns and artillery, and made efforts to manufacture and purchase Western ships. He also encouraged Dutch studies and implemented vaccinations, and nurtured the power of the powerful domains that were commonly known as Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hi during the late Edo period. Despite the success of his domain government reforms, Naomasa was consistently cautious about intervening in the political struggles surrounding the shogunate and imperial court at the end of the Edo period. In 1860 (Man'en 1), Naomasa firmly refused a summons from the shogunate, and retired the following year in 1861 (Bunkyu 1), handing over the family headship to his second son, Naohiro. He was invited to Tokyo many times after that, but was cautious about participating in political struggles. During the Boshin War, he played an important role in the Imperial Army with his powerful military power, and sent powerful men from the domain such as Okuma Shigenobu and Eto Shinpei to the new government. He also served as a council member, assistant to the Military Defense Bureau, and then assistant to the Institutional Bureau. He later served as chairman of the Upper Bureau, director of Ezo development, and chief of the Hokkaido Development Agency, and was appointed Dainagon. He died on January 18, 1871.

[Katsuo Inoue]

"The Story of Lord Nabeshima Naomasa, edited by Kume Kunitake, 7 volumes (1920-21, Nabeshima Family Editorial Office)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末の佐賀藩主。幼名貞丸、初め斉正(なりまさ)。維新後直正と改名し、閑叟(かんそう)と号した。1830年（天保1）父斉直(なりなお)から家督を継いだが、前代の放漫財政によって藩財政は破綻(はたん)寸前であった。古賀穀堂(こがこくどう)らの改革派を側近に置き、藩校弘道館(こうどうかん)出身の人材を登用して人事を刷新し、天保(てんぽう)の改革を行った。均田制を施行して本百姓(ほんびゃくしょう)維持政策をとり、国産方を設置し、陶器、櫨蝋(はぜろう)、紙の開発や石炭の増産を行い、財政を立て直した。また、佐賀藩は長崎警備の任にあり、直正自身しばしば長崎に赴き、外国警備の重要性、西洋技術の優秀性を認めていたため、早くから洋式軍制改革を実施した。1852年（嘉永5）わが国で初めて反射炉の建設を成功させ、大量の銃砲を購入し、西洋艦船の製造・購入に努めた。また蘭学(らんがく)を奨励し、種痘(しゅとう)を施行し、幕末に薩長土肥と通称される雄藩の実力を養った。藩政改革の成功の反面、幕末の幕府・朝廷をめぐる政争への介入には一貫して慎重であり、直正は1860年（万延1）の幕府の召命を固辞し、翌1861年（文久1）隠退して二男直大(なおひろ)に家督を譲った。その後も招きによって再三上京したが政争への参加には慎重であった。戊辰(ぼしん)戦争では、強力な軍事力によって官軍に重きをなし、大隈重信(おおくましげのぶ)、江藤新平(えとうしんぺい)ら藩の実力者を新政府に送り込み、自らも議定につき、軍防事務局輔(すけ)、ついで制度事務局輔を兼任した。その後、上局議長、蝦夷(えぞ)開拓督務、開拓使長官を務め、大納言(だいなごん)に任ぜられた。明治4年1月18日没。

［井上勝生］

『久米邦武編『鍋島直正公伝』全7巻（1920～21・鍋島家編輯所）』

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