Heizo Hasegawa

A samurai of the late Edo period. His childhood name was Tetsusaburo, and his given name was Nobutame. He was the son of Hasegawa Nobuo, who was an arsonist and thief inspector. In 1773 (An'ei 2), after his father's death, Heizō joined the Kobushingumi, but at that time, he was so dissolute that he was called "Honjo no Tetsu." However, the following year, he became a guard in the shoin of the west maru of Edo Castle, and after that, he was promoted steadily, and in 1786 (Tenmei 6), he was appointed as the lead archer, and the following year, he was appointed as an additional officer in the arson and thief inspection. Heizō also proposed the construction of a labor camp to house homeless people in Edo and provide employment services, by order of the senior councilor Matsudaira Sadanobu. In 1890 (Kansei 2), he was ordered to manage the labor camp, but was dismissed two years later and devoted himself to fire and theft control until his death in 1895. In his later years, he was known by the public as "Ima Ooka" (the reincarnation of the famous magistrate Ooka Echizen no Kami Tadasuke) for his fairness in handing out rewards and punishments. In recent years, his work as a fire and theft control officer has become famous in works such as Ikenami Shotaro's Onihei Hankacho, but many people confuse this with the work of his father, Nobuo. His posthumous name was Kaiun-in-den Kouen Hiyo Koji. He was buried at Kaigyoji Temple in Yotsuya, but his gravestone is no longer available.

[Akira Baba]

"Hasegawa Heizo - His Life and Labor Camp" by Takigawa Masajiro (1975, Asahi Shimbun)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の旗本。幼名銕三郎(てつさぶろう)、諱(いみな)は宣以(のぶため)。火付(ひつけ)盗賊改(あらため)役（火盗改(かとうあらため)）長谷川宣雄(のぶお)の子。1773年（安永2）父の死にあい小普請組(こぶしんぐみ)入りするが、当時の平蔵は「本所の銕」とよばれるほどの放蕩(ほうとう)ぶりであった。しかし、翌年江戸城西の丸書院番士となって以降は順調に昇進し、86年（天明6）に先手弓頭(さきてゆみがしら)、その翌年には火盗改の加役(かやく)を命ぜられた。また平蔵は、老中松平定信(さだのぶ)の命により、江戸市中の無宿人を収容して授産事業を行うための人足寄場建設を建議している。90年（寛政2）には人足寄場取扱を命ぜられるが、2年後に罷免、95年の死まで火盗改役に専念した。晩年は、賞罰の公正さにより世人から「今(いま)大岡」（名奉行(ぶぎょう)大岡越前守(えちぜんのかみ)忠相(ただすけ)の再来）と称されたという。近年、火盗改役としての彼の活躍は、池波正太郎の『鬼平(おにへい)犯科帳』などで有名だが、父宣雄の業績と混同されているものが少なくない。法名海雲院殿光遠日耀居士。四谷(よつや)の戒行寺に葬られたが、墓石は現在伝わらない。

［馬場　章］

『瀧川政次郎著『長谷川平蔵――その生涯と人足寄場』（1975・朝日新聞社）』

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