Chuya Marubashi

A ronin (masterless samurai) from the Edo period. His real name was Chuya. He went by the name Ichigen Koji. He was one of the masterminds behind the Keian Incident. He opened a dojo for Hozoin-ryu spearmanship in Ochanomizu, Edo, but was invited by Yui Shosetsu to join an anti-Shogunate conspiracy. He was put in charge of the attack on Edo Castle, and made preparations with his disciples and ronin, but was discovered through internal investigations and tip-offs, and was captured and crucified in Shinagawa. A story circulated quite early on that in order to capture Chuya, a master spearman protected by his disciples, someone took advantage of his reckless nature and shouted "fire" outside the dojo, arresting him when he ran out to check it out. In literary works, he appeared under the name Marigase Shuya in "Taiheiki Kikusui no Maki" (The Chronicle of the Great Peace) in 1759 (Horeki 9) and "Gotaiheiki Shiraishi Banashi" (The Tale of Shiraishi) in 1780 (An'ei 9), out of fear of the shogunate. His real name was established in the so-called "Keian Taiheiki" after "Kusunokiryu Hanamino Makubari" (1870) which is famous for the scene at the edge of the moat where stones are thrown into the moat of Edo Castle to measure its depth.

[Akira Takagi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代の牢人(ろうにん)。正しくは忠也。一玄居士(いちげんこじ)と号す。慶安(けいあん)事件首謀者の1人。江戸・お茶の水で宝蔵(ほうぞう)院流槍(そう)術の道場を開いていたが、由比正雪(ゆいしょうせつ)から誘われて反幕府の陰謀に加担。江戸城攻撃を受け持ち、門人や牢人を語らって準備を進めたが、内偵と密告によって発覚して捕らえられ、品川で磔刑(たっけい)に処せられた。門人に守られた槍(やり)の達人である忠弥を捕らえるため、軽率な性格につけこんで、道場の外で「火事だ」と騒ぎ、見に飛び出してきたところを捕縛したという話はかなり早くから流布していた。文芸作品では幕府をはばかり、1759年（宝暦9）『太平記菊水之巻』、1780年（安永9）『碁太平記白石噺(ごたいへいきしらいしばなし)』などでは鞠ヶ瀬秋夜(まりがせしゅうや)の名で登場している。いわゆる『慶安太平記』のなかで本名で定着したのは、江戸城の堀に石を投げ込んでその深さを測る堀端の場で著名な1870年（明治3）『樟紀流花見幕張(くすのきりゅうはなみのまくばり)』以降のことである。

［高木昭作］

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