Tojiro Hirano

Japanese: 平野藤次郎 - ひらの・とうじろう

Year of death: June 10, 1638 (July 21, 1638)
Year of birth: Unknown. Head of Ginza (silver mint) in the early modern period, family of red seal ship traders. His father, Sueyoshi Jirobei (Naganari), was the third son of Sueyoshi Tozaemon (Masuhisa), and later changed his name to Hirano. His uncle was Sueyoshi Kanbei (Toshikata). Tojiro was the second son, and his names were Masatsugu and Masasada. He succeeded the successive Hirano Tojiros. In 1601 (Keicho 6), when the Sueyoshi Toshikata were in charge of the Fushimi Ginza, ten Ginza heads were appointed, three of whom were members of the Sueyoshi clan. Magozaemon (Yoshiyasu), who succeeded Nishi Sueyoshi Toshikata, Tojiro's older brother Kuroemon of the Hirano family, and Tojiro. Tojiro was at the heart of management as Ginza head and lived in Kyoto. In the same year, he worked with Yasui Kyubei, a wealthy Osaka family, and Yasui Doton, one of the Seven Famous Sakanoue Families of Hirano (Osaka City), on the development of Minamiborikawa (Dotonbori) in Osaka, completing the project in 1615. However, during the Siege of Osaka (1614-15), Hirano Gocho (Higashi Ward, Osaka City) became an important battlefield, and Tojiro cooperated with Sueyoshi Magozaemon and joined the Tokugawa side, achieving great success. After the war, both men were appointed to magistrate positions, and Tojiro's various privileges over Dotonbori were given to his younger brother, Hirano Jirobei (Choji), who exercised these privileges with Yasui Kyubei as the person in charge of collecting the eight wards of Dotonbori. Yasui Doton, who made such a great contribution, sided with Toyotomi and was killed in battle on the day Osaka Castle fell. Furthermore, from 1626 (Kan'ei 3), Tojiro engaged in red seal ship trade, traveling to Taiwan, where he and the Nagasaki ship Suetsugu Heizo caused trouble with the Dutch and became involved in the so-called "Taiwan Incident." Subsequently, during the Kan'ei era (1624-1644), he sent red seal ships to Annam, Tokyo, Kochi (Indochina Peninsula), and other places, but these were banned during the Kan'ei period of national isolation. After that, he launched a campaign to revive trade with influential red seal ship owners, but was unsuccessful. <References> "Yasui Family Documents" (Osaka City Museum), Iwao Seiichi, "Research on the History of Red Seal Ship Trade," Nakata Yasunao, "Research on the History of Early Modern Foreign Relations," and "Sueyoshi Magozaemon and the Sueyoshi Hirano Unification" (Nihon Rekishi, no. 501).

(Yasunao Nakata)

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

Japanese:

没年：寛永15.6.10(1638.7.21)
生年：生年不詳
近世初頭の銀座(銀貨鋳造所)頭役,朱印船貿易家。父の末吉次郎兵衛(長成)は末吉藤左衛門(増久)の3男家で,のち平野と改称。伯父は末吉勘兵衛(利方)。藤次郎は次男で,名を正次,正貞。代々の平野藤次郎を継承した。慶長6(1601)年,末吉利方による伏見の銀座差配の折,10人の銀座頭役が任命されるが,その中で3人が末吉一族となる。西末吉家利方を継承した孫左衛門(吉安),平野家の藤次郎の兄九郎右衛門,そして藤次郎。藤次郎は銀座頭役として経営の中枢に立ち,京都に居住した。同17年,大坂の南堀川(道頓堀)の開発に関し,大坂の豪家安井九兵衛,平野(大阪市)の坂上七名家の安井道頓らと共同で当たり,元和1(1615)年に完成させた。ところが,大坂の陣(1614～15)で,平野郷町(大阪市東区)が重要な戦場となり,藤次郎は末吉孫左衛門と協力,徳川方に参加して大きな功績をあげ,戦後,2人は共に代官職に任命されたので,藤次郎の道頓堀の諸特権は弟の平野次郎兵衛(長次)に与えられ,安井九兵衛と道頓堀八丁取立の責任者として特権を行使した。なお功労者の安井道頓は豊臣方について大坂城落城の日に戦死していた。さらに寛永3(1626)年より,藤次郎は朱印船貿易に従事,台湾に渡航したが長崎の末次平蔵船と共にオランダとのトラブルを起こし,いわゆる「台湾事件」に関係した。次いで寛永年間(1624～44)安南国東京・交趾(インドシナ半島)などに朱印船を出していたが,寛永鎖国で禁止された。その後,有力な朱印船主と貿易復活運動を展開したが果たされなかった。<参考文献>『安井家文書』(大阪市立博物館蔵),岩生成一『朱印船貿易史の研究』,中田易直『近世対外関係史の研究』,同「末吉孫左衛門と末吉平野一統」(『日本歴史』501号)

(中田易直)

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

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