Buzaemon Ikki - Buzaemon Ikki

In 1793 (Kansei 5), a peasant uprising broke out in Yoshida Domain (a branch of Uwajima Domain with 30,000 koku of rice) in Iyo Province (Ehime Prefecture) in opposition to the paper monopoly. It is said that the leader, Takezaemon, a peasant from Kaminoono Village (present-day Kihoku Town), organized the uprising by disguising himself as a chanter for religious services. It is also called the Yoshida Domain Paper Riot. The Yoshida Domain's tax collection was severe and the peasants' exhaustion was far greater than that of the Uwajima Domain. Seven years before this uprising, the Shikibu Riot occurred, in which the priest Doi Shikibu tried to rouse the peasants to help the peasants who were impoverished by the Tenmei Famine, but failed. However, the domain did not ease up on its harsh rule. After that, moneylenders such as Hokezuya, who were particularly parasitic on the domain's paper monopoly, lent silver to impoverished peasants and made huge profits by underpricing the paper and forcing them to repay it. Domain officials also colluded with the moneylenders to enrich themselves and continued to exploit the peasants so harshly that on February 9th, 5,000 peasants from 80 of the domain's 83 villages rose up in revolt, and by the time they fled to the territory of Uwajima domain, ignoring the attempts of the county magistrate, the number of participants had grown to 8,000. Finally, with the mediation of the Uwajima domain, the peasants' demands were met and the monopoly was relaxed, but the leader, Takezaemon, was captured and executed the following year.

[Akio Miyoshi]

"The History of the Peasant Uprisings in Iyo" by Tsutomu Kageura (1972, Ehime Bunka Sosho Publishing Society)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1793年（寛政5）伊予国（愛媛県）吉田藩（宇和島藩の分家で3万石）で紙専売制に反対して起こった百姓一揆。指導者の上大野村（現鬼北(きほく)町）百姓武左衛門は、祭文(さいもん)語りに身をやつして組織にあたったといわれる。吉田藩紙騒動ともいう。当藩は貢租の収奪が厳しく農民の疲弊も宇和島藩の比ではなかったが、とくにこの一揆の7年前にも、天明大飢饉(てんめいだいききん)で困窮していた農民救済のため、神官の土居式部(どいしきぶ)が農民を蹶起(けっき)させようとして失敗した式部騒動が起こったが、藩は苛政(かせい)を緩めなかった。その後とくに藩の紙専売制に寄生していた法華津屋(ほけづや)などの高利貸商人は、困窮農民に楮元銀(こうぞもとぎん)を貸し付け、紙を安価に見積もって返済させて巨利を得ていた。藩役人も高利貸商人に癒着して私腹を肥やし、厳しい収奪を続けたので、2月9日に蜂起(ほうき)した農民は、全藩83か村のうち80か村5000人に及び、郡奉行(こおりぶぎょう)の制止を抑えて宇和島藩領に逃散(ちょうさん)したときは、参加人員8000になっていた。ついに宇和島藩の仲介で農民側の要求はいれられ専売制も緩和されたが、指導者の武左衛門は翌年捕らえられ処刑された。

［三好昭一郎］

『景浦勉著『伊予農民騒動史話』（1972・愛媛文化双書刊行会）』

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