Horeki Flood Control Incident - Horeki Flood Control Incident

In the mid-Edo period, the Satsuma Domain suffered many casualties during flood control works on the Kiso River ordered by the shogunate. In December 1753 (the 3rd year of the Horeki era), the shogunate ordered the Satsuma Domain to assist in the construction of rivers in Mino, Ise, and Owari. The Satsuma Domain appointed their elder retainer Hirata Yukie as the chief magistrate, their chief inspector Ijuin Juzo as the deputy magistrate, and dispatched about 1,000 people, including samurai. The works extended to the Kiso, Nagara, and Ibi rivers, and began in February 1754 and were completed in March 1755. The area was divided into four sections, covering 193 villages, and under the strict supervision of the shogunate, emergency work was carried out in the spring and full-scale construction in the fall. Due to the difficult construction of the Aburajima closure embankment and the Ogure River wash weir, the construction cost far exceeded the expected 140,000 to 150,000 ryo, reaching 400,000 ryo. The domain borrowed about 220,000 ryo from Kamigata, and the rest was covered by raising taxes and borrowing from the domain. This construction dealt a devastating blow to the domain's finances, but this was also the shogunate's intention. This was also the reason why the exploitation of brown sugar from Amami Oshima and other islands was strengthened thereafter. Due to the shogunate's tyranny and excessive labor, the construction cost 55 people to commit seppuku, 34 people to die of illness, a total of 89 people (4 of whom were on the shogunate side), and Hirata Tsuneyuki committed suicide after the inspection and handover in May. Later, they came to be known as Satsuma Gishi (Lord Satsuma) and were grateful to the people of the Waju region of the Nobi Plain, who benefited greatly from this construction work.

[Izumi Haraguchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代中期、幕命による木曽(きそ)川治水工事で薩摩(さつま)藩が多くの犠牲者を出した事件。1753年（宝暦3）12月、幕府は薩摩藩に美濃(みの)・伊勢(いせ)・尾張(おわり)の川々御普請(ごふしん)の御手伝いを命じた。薩摩藩は家老平田靭負(ひらたゆきえ)を総奉行(そうぶぎょう)に、大目付伊集院十蔵(いじゅういんじゅうぞう)を副奉行に任じ、藩士以下約1000人を派遣した。工事は木曽・長良(ながら)・揖斐(いび)三川に及び、54年2月着工、55年3月竣工(しゅんこう)した。193村にわたる広域で、四工区に分けられ、幕府の厳しい監督のもと、春の応急工事と秋の本格工事が行われた。油島(あぶらじま)締切堤や大榑(おぐれ)川洗堰(あらいぜき)の難工事のため、工費は14万～15万両の予想をはるかに上回り、40万両に及んだ。藩は上方(かみがた)から約22万両借り入れ、残りは藩内の増税と借り上げでしのいだ。この工事は藩財政に壊滅的な打撃を与えたが、幕府の意図もここにあった。以後、奄美(あまみ)大島などの黒糖搾取が強化されたのもこのためである。幕府の横暴、過重な労働から工事の犠牲者は割腹55名、病死34名、計89名（うち4名は幕府側）に及び、平田靭負は5月検分引き渡し終了後、自刃した。のちに彼らは、この工事により多大の恩恵を受けた濃尾(のうび)平野の輪中(わじゅう)地帯の人々から薩摩義士とよばれ感謝されるようになった。

［原口　泉］

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