Meranosho - Meranosho

Located in the central-western part of Miyazaki Prefecture, Nishimera Village, Koyu County, and Higashimera District, Saito City, this is a hidden farming village in the Kyushu Mountains. It is also called Mt. Mera. It is located in the upper reaches of the Hitotsuse River, with mountains such as Ichifusayama (1,721 meters) and Ishidoyama (1,547 meters) towering above it. The settlements are scattered on the gentle slopes of the mountainside, and the main settlements along the main stream and tributaries include Murasho, Ogawa, Shiromi, and Ohae. The village was formed in the mountains around the Middle Ages, when the powerful Kikuchi clan of Higo fled into the mountains and took the name Mera. During the Edo period, the Mera clan belonged to the Hitoyoshi Domain, but was treated as a fudai daimyo (feudal lord) as a substitute for the family. The amount of rice produced was extremely small. Life in the mountain village consisted of slash-and-burn agriculture, forestry, and hunting, and Merayama was also designated as Takanosuyama (mountain of falcons) as a source of falcons used by the shogun family for hunting. The lord's residence was located in Ogawa, but today the village office is the center of the village, and is home to the Kikuchi Memorial Museum and the History and Folklore Museum.

[Junichi Yokoyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

宮崎県中西部、児湯(こゆ)郡西米良村、西都市(さいとし)東米良地区にあたり、九州山地内にある隠田(おんでん)百姓村。米良山ともいう。一ツ瀬(ひとつせ)川上流部に位置し、市房(いちふさ)山（1721メートル）、石堂(いしどう)山（1547メートル）などがそびえる。集落は山腹の緩斜面に散在し、本流、支流に沿う中心的な集落は村所(むらしょ)、小川(おがわ)、銀鏡(しろみ)、尾八重(おはえ)があげられる。山間に村を形成したのは中世ごろで、肥後(ひご)の豪族菊池(きくち)氏一族が逃れて入山し、米良姓を名のった。江戸時代は人吉藩(ひとよしはん)に属したが、米良氏は交替寄合(よりあい)家として譜代(ふだい)大名の待遇であった。米の石高(こくだか)はきわめて少なかった。山村の生活は焼畑、林業、狩猟などで、米良山は将軍家が狩に使う鷹(たか)の産地として鷹巣山(たかのすやま)にも指定されていた。領主館は小川にあったが、現在は村所が中心地になっていて、菊池記念館、歴史民俗資料館がある。

［横山淳一］

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