Farmer soldier - Nouhei

They were established by the shogunate and various feudal domains at the end of the Edo period for the purposes of coastal defense and maintaining public order, and were mainly recruited from farmers, with the majority organized into rifle corps. By the mid-Edo period, local fiefs had disappeared and it became common for samurai to live in castle towns, and their lifestyles became extravagant, with the decadence of the samurai spirit becoming evident. The idea of ​​peasant soldiers based on the idea of ​​samurai remaining indigenous was advocated by Kumazawa Banzan, Ogyu Sorai, Fujita Toko and others, but it was not until the end of the Edo period that it was put into practice, primarily for the purpose of coastal defense and to shift the financial burden that came with it onto farmers and townspeople. Tsutsui Masanori, a member of the shogunate's council, twice, in 1846 (the 3rd year of the Koka era) and 1848 (the 1st year of the Kaei era), opposed the strong conservative stance that called for the relaxation and repeal of the order to repel foreign ships, and submitted a petition to the shogunate arguing that the establishment of farmer soldiers was more important for strengthening national defense than the order to repel foreign ships, but his petition was rejected.In addition, since 1846, the proposal by Egawa Tarozaemon Hidetatsu, the magistrate of Nirayama in Izu, to establish farmer soldiers in order to reorganize the military for coastal defense was also not accepted.

Later, in 1861 (Bunkyu 1), the proposal to establish farmer soldiers at the Egawa Daikansho changed from coastal defense to a policy to maintain public order in rural areas, and the shogunate also deepened its discussion of the farmer soldier system and sought consultation from various sectors, and in 1863, the Egawa Daikansho and other shogunate magistrates were given permission to establish farmer soldiers. The farmer soldiers at the Egawa Daikansho were mainly selected from the children of landowners and wealthy farmers, and according to the "Taigo Shiho," each platoon consisted of 25 men, with each platoon assigned five officers, including two heads, two juhei group leaders, and one sashihiki officer. The remaining 20 men were divided into five-man groups, with one kogashira officer assigned to each group. A platoon was established for each village association consisting of a dozen or more villages, and soldiers were recruited at a ratio of one per 100 people. Funds for establishing the peasant soldiers came from donations from landlords and wealthy farmers, and guns and their accessories also came from donations, which were loaned to each unit. The peasant soldiers of the Egawa Daikansho played an important role in establishing the peasant soldiers, forming the core of the suppression forces during the Bushu Reform Rebellion in 1866 (Keio 2).

The Tosa domain began establishing farmer soldiers in 1854 (Ansei 1), with officials made up of ronin, village headmen, and local samurai, and soldiers made up of farmers, sailors, and hunters. The Mito domain also began the following year, 1855, while the Kishu domain conducted training for its Western-style rifle corps in 1863, and in the same year the Choshu domain formed various units, including the Kiheitai, in preparation for an attack by the Shikoku Combined Fleet. The Kiheitai, commanded by Takasugi Shinsaku, fought in the Second Expedition to Choshu and defeated the shogunate forces with a landslide victory. In the Kanto region, various domains established farmer soldiers after suppressing an uprising by the Egawa Daikansho Farmer's Corps, and by the Meiji Restoration, the majority of domains across the country had farmer soldiers.

[Odate Uki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代末期に幕府や諸藩が海防や治安維持の目的で設けたもので、主として農民から募集し、大半が銃隊に組織された。すでに江戸時代中期に地方知行(じかたちぎょう)が消滅し、武士の城下町居住が一般化するとともに、彼らの生活は奢侈(しゃし)となり士風の退廃が顕著となった。武士土着論の農兵策は熊沢蕃山(ばんざん)、荻生徂徠(おぎゅうそらい)、藤田東湖(とうこ)らによって説かれたが、実施に至るのは幕末期のことで、もっぱら海防と、それに伴う財政負担を農民・町人に転嫁するためからであった。幕府の寄合(よりあい)筒井政憲(まさのり)は1846年（弘化3）、48年（嘉永1）の二度にわたり、異国船無二念(むにねん)打払令の緩和撤回を主張する保守派の強硬論に反対し、打払令よりも国防強化のために農兵の設置が肝要であると幕府に上申したがいれられず、46年以来、伊豆韮山(にらやま)代官江川太郎左衛門(たろうざえもん)英龍(ひでたつ)の行った、海防軍事再編成のための農兵設置案の建言も許されなかった。

　その後1861年（文久1）、江川代官所の農兵設置の建言は海防から農村の治安維持策に転換し、幕府も農兵制についての議論を深め、各界の諮問を求めた結果、63年江川代官所をはじめ幕府の諸代官に農兵設置を許可した。江川代官所の農兵はおもに地主・豪農層の子弟を選び、編成は「隊伍(たいご)仕法」によると、一小隊25名とし、小隊には頭取(とうどり)2、什兵(じゅうへい)組頭2、差引(さしひき)役1、計5名の役方が置かれ、残る20名を5名ずつの伍卒(ごそつ)組とし、組ごとに一名の小頭(こがしら)役を置いた。隊は十数か村以上を連合した組合村ごとに置かれ、100名につき1名の割合で募兵された。農兵設置の資金は、地主・豪農層の献金、鉄砲とその付属品も彼らの献上によるもので、これを隊ごとに貸与されるという形式をとった。江川代官所の農兵は1866年（慶応2）武州世直し一揆(いっき)の蜂起(ほうき)に際し鎮圧軍の中核となって活躍し、農兵設置の重要な役割を果たした。

　諸藩における農兵設置は1854年（安政1）土佐藩が着手し、役方は浪人・名主・郷士、兵士は農民・水夫・猟師で編成された。水戸藩も翌55年に着手し、紀州藩では63年洋式銃隊の訓練を実施し、同年長州藩では四国連合艦隊の攻撃に備えて奇兵隊をはじめとする諸隊が結成され、高杉晋作(しんさく)の指揮する奇兵隊は第二次征長戦に抗し、幕府軍に圧勝した。関東では江川代官所農兵隊の一揆鎮圧をみて諸藩が農兵を設置するなど、維新期には全国で大半の藩が農兵をもつに至った。

［大舘右喜］

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