Motomasa Hikosaka

Japanese: 彦坂元正 - ひこさか・もとまさ

Year of death: January 8, 1634 (February 5, 1634)
Year of birth: Unknown. Head magistrate in the early Edo period. His name can also be written as Motonari. Commonly known as Kogyobu. Eldest son of Imagawa Yoshimoto's vassal Hikosaka Kageyoshi. In 1589, he was the Mikawa Province land survey magistrate during the Tokugawa clan's five province land survey. He was known as the magistrate who issued the Seven Articles of Intent to Mikawa and Totomi Provinces. After entering the Kanto region in 1589, he became a town magistrate and had jurisdiction over Edo. He established a jin'ya in Okazu, Kamakura County, Sagami Province (Totsuka Ward, Yokohama City) as a magistrate's territory, and conducted land surveys in the unique Hikosaka style of ridge-walking system in Sagami Province and Izu Province, focusing on southern Kanto, and developed regional administration. In 1600, he served as a small cargo magistrate during the Battle of Sekigahara, and traveled with Okubo Nagayasu to seize Sawayama Castle in Omi Province (Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture) and take control of Iwami Silver Mine (Oda City, Shimane Prefecture). He also participated in the administration of transportation along the Tokaido Highway and other routes, and was instrumental in establishing Totsuka-shuku (Totsuka Ward, Yokohama City). His domain extended from Sagami Province and Izu Province (mines) to the Kanto and Tokai regions. In 1603, he was ordered to be temporarily confined to his homeland due to insufficient repairs to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. In 1605, he also took control of the Shirakawa District of Mutsu Province (Higashi Shirakawa District, Fukushima Prefecture), but in 1618 he was stripped of his position due to complaints of misconduct from farmers in the area. His eldest and second sons were also imprisoned. This downfall was seen as a political measure to eliminate the position of daikan-gashira, and he later served Doi Toshikatsu, lord of the Koga Domain in Shimousa Province, on the secret orders of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, but he never played an active role again. Immediately after entering the Kanto region, Hikosaka was counted as one of the "Sanmedai," "Sanpan Shomon," and "San Kanto Magistrates," along with Ina Tadatsugu and Okubo Nagayasu, and was valued as a skilled local figure. <References> "Regional Development of Kanagawa in Early Modern Times" edited by Murakami Sunao and Kanzaki Akitoshi, "Major Officials of the Edo Shogunate" by Murakami Sunao

(Murakami Nao)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛永11.1.8(1634.2.5)
生年：生年不詳
江戸初期の代官頭。名は元成とも書く。通称は小刑部。今川義元の家臣彦坂光景の長男。天正17(1589)年徳川氏の5カ国総検地において三河国の検地奉行。三河遠江国へ七カ条定書を発給した奉行として知られた。18年関東入国後,町の代官となり江戸を管轄し,代官領として相模国鎌倉郡岡津(横浜市戸塚区)に陣屋を構え,南関東を中心に相模国や伊豆国で畝歩制の独自の彦坂流の検地を実施し地域行政を展開した。慶長5(1600)年関ケ原の戦には小荷駄奉行を務め,近江国佐和山城(滋賀県彦根市)の接収,石見銀山(島根県大田市)を掌握するため大久保長安と赴く。また東海道などの交通行政に参画,戸塚宿(横浜市戸塚区)の設置に尽力した。支配領域は相模国,伊豆国(鉱山)を中心に関東,東海地域におよんだ。慶長6年鶴岡八幡宮修理造営不備のため,一時,閉門を命ぜられる。8年陸奥国白川郡(福島県東白川郡)地域も管轄したが,11年には支配地農民からの不正行為の訴えにより改易。長男,次男も縁座した。この失脚は代官頭消滅のための政治措置とみられ,のち,将軍徳川秀忠の秘命で,下総国古河藩主土井利勝に仕えたが,再び活躍することはなかった。彦坂は関東入国直後は伊奈忠次,大久保長安と共に「三目代」「三判証文」「関東三奉行」のひとりに数えられ,地方巧者として重視された。<参考文献>村上直・神崎彰利編『近世神奈川の地域的展開』,村上直『江戸幕府の代官』

(村上直)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Mount Hiko - Hikosan

>>: Right of asylum