Shigeru Narahara

Japanese: 奈良原繁 - ならはら・しげる

Year of death: August 13, 1918
Year of birth: Tempo 5.5.23 (1834.6.29)
A local government official and politician in the late Edo and Meiji periods. Born in Komyocho, under the castle of Kagoshima. His childhood name was Mijiro, and he grew up to be Kihachiro and Kogoro. He was active with the support of the Kagoshima faction, and was nicknamed the "King of Ryukyu" in the Meiji period. At the end of the Edo period, he worked hard for the country as a samurai of the Satsuma domain. His older brother Kizaemon, who was three years older than him, stabbed an Englishman in Namamugi (Kanagawa Prefecture) (the Namamugi Incident), and the Anglo-Satsuma War broke out over how to deal with the incident. Narahara was opposed to the anti-shogunate policies of Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, and was in a state of decline around the time of the Boshin War. In 1878, he became an official advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and later served as Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Chief Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce, Governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Public Works, first president of the Japanese Railway Company, member of the House of Elders, imperially appointed member of the House of Peers, imperial adviser to the Imperial Court, and head of the Kinkeikan. In July 1950, Narahara was appointed Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, and from then until April 1966, he monopolized the administration of Okinawa for 15 years and 10 months. He was supported by Matsukata Masayoshi and Ito Hirobumi. Narahara rapidly promoted the integration of Okinawa into the mainland in every aspect, and autocratically promoted the development of Okinawa, focusing on three major projects: education (imperialization), land consolidation, and the development of port facilities. He also recognized the role of newspapers, and cooperated in the publication of the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper, and supported the establishment of the Okinawa Prefectural Agriculture and Industry Bank to promote industry. Narahara attempted to establish private land ownership through land consolidation projects, bringing about the disintegration of the community-owned rural society, and sold off community-owned forests (soyama and irichi) under the pretext of providing relief to the samurai class, forcing through a prefectural administration that ignored the interests of farmers. The personnel of the prefectural office were also dominated by people from the mainland, mainly from the Kagoshima faction. The first person to criticize this prefectural administration under Narahara was Noboru Jahana, who advocated participation in national politics. In addition, Iha Fuyu's "Okinawa Studies," which advocated the uniqueness of Okinawa's regional culture and its own surname, contained resistance to the destruction of Okinawa's individuality due to the unification measures promoted by Narahara.

(Masao Ware)

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

Japanese:

没年：大正7.8.13(1918)
生年：天保5.5.23(1834.6.29)
幕末明治期の地方行政官僚,政治家。鹿児島城下高麗町に生まれる。幼名三次,長じて喜八郎,幸五郎。鹿児島閥をバックに活躍し,明治の「琉球王」の異名を持つ。幕末には,薩摩藩士として国事に奔走する。3歳上の兄喜左衛門が生麦(神奈川県)で英国人に斬りつけ(生麦事件),その処理をめぐって薩英戦争が起きた。奈良原は西郷隆盛,大久保利通らの討幕路線に反対したため,戊辰戦争前後は失脚の状態にあった。明治11(1878)年,内務省御用掛,その後,内務権大書記官,農商務大書記官,静岡県令,工部大書記官,日本鉄道会社初代社長,元老院議官,貴族院勅選議員,宮中顧問官,錦鶏間祗候などを歴任。25年7月に沖縄県知事に任命され,以後41年4月まで,15年10カ月にわたり沖縄県政を独占した。松方正義,伊藤博文の支持もあった。奈良原は,あらゆる面で急速に沖縄地方の本土化即ち一体化を推進し,教育(皇民化),土地整理,港湾施設の整備の3大事業を重点施政として,沖縄開発を専制的に推し進めた。新聞の果たす役割も認識し,『琉球新報』の発行にも協力,産業振興のための沖縄県農工銀行設立も支援した。奈良原は土地整理事業によって土地私有制の確立を図り,共同体農村社会を解体にもちこみ,共同体総有の山林(杣山,入会地)を士族救済名目で払い下げたり,農民の利益を無視した県政を強引にすすめた。県庁人事も鹿児島閥を中心として,本土出身者で占められた。このような奈良原県政への最初の批判者となったのが国政参加を主張した謝花昇であった。また,沖縄の地域文化の独自性,固有姓を主張する伊波普猷の「沖縄学」は,奈良原の推進した一体化策によって,沖縄の個性が崩壊していくことへのレジスタンスがこめられていた。<参考文献>秦蔵吉『南島夜話』

(我部政男)

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