Island

It is also read as "Ontou" and is commonly called "shimanari". It was also called "ruzai" (exile), so it seems to be the successor to "onru" (far exile) from the Ritsuryo period, but far exile means banishment to a remote area, which is different from "toshima". According to the provisions of the Edo Shogunate's Kujikata Osada Megaki (Kujikata Osada Megaki), from Edo, they were to be sent to one of the Izu Seven Islands of Oshima, Hachijojima, Miyakejima, Niijima, Kozushima, Mikurajima, and Toshima, and from Kyoto, Osaka, Saigoku, and Chugoku, they were to be sent to Satsuma, the Goto Islands, Oki Province, Iki Province, and Amakusa County. The fields, houses, and household goods of the person were to be confiscated.

For example, in the case of Edo exile, the court issues an order for exile, and the destination is announced the night before the ship sets sail. Until then, the exile is forced to remain in prison, and if no relatives send them anything, they are given a small allowance. The exile is placed in the exile room in the prison the day before the ship sets sail, and is allowed to buy food and drink of his choice for 400 mon from his allowance. On the morning of the day of departure, the exile is taken through the back gate of the prison to the Imperial Ship Guard Station on Reiganjima. The ship for exiles has a capacity of 500 koku, and the exiles are placed in the ship's prison, but exiles who have been granted an audience with the Emperor or above and women are kept in separate enclosures. The ship stays at Teppozu for three days, and during this time, if family members or relatives request to send food or drink, the officials have the discretion to meet them and give them to them. After setting sail, the ship would stop at a guardhouse in Uraga, Sagami (Kanagawa Prefecture), where the exiles would be examined, their report would be filed at the government office here, and they would receive a copy of it before the ship headed for the designated island. Exile was said to be less severe than execution, but to carry a greater sorrow than death.

Life on the islands was said to be better on Oshima, Miyakejima, and Hachijojima, and worse on Toshima, Kozushima, and Mikurajima. Later, it was decided to exile only to three islands: Hachijojima, Miyakejima, and Niijima. Among the good islands, Miyakejima was said to be better than the others, and among the exiles, those who had a household took in a water-drawing woman as a wife. For this reason, those exiled to Hachijojima were made to stay on Miyakejima for a few months to allow them to get used to exile life. However, even though life on Miyakejima was easy, those who could not afford to have a household lived in ancient cave dwellings called huts. Hachijojima was far from Edo, but the life of the exiles was good. It is well known that Ukita Hideie, who sided with the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, was exiled to Hachijojima by the Edo Shogunate, and that town artist Taga Choko (later known as Hanabusaiccho) was also exiled to Miyakejima for a painting of Oden, a concubine of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, beating a drum in a boat while Tsunayoshi oared a stern. At the end of the Edo period, when foreign ships began to appear in nearby waters, the Shogunate, fearing contact with foreigners, decided in 1862 (Bunkyu 2) to exile them to a remote island in Ezochi (Hokkaido). The following year, they reverted to the old custom of exiling them to the Izu Islands.

Exiles from the Kansai region were gathered in Osaka and sent out on ships, but exiles from Kyoto were sent to Osaka on a Takase boat accompanied by police officers from the Kyoto Magistrate's Office. When a person was convicted of a crime and exiled to an island, it was customary in Kyoto to summon a relative to the prison to introduce him to the exile and give him leave. Mori Ogai's novel "Takase-bune" tells the story of an exile sent on a Takase-bune.

[Ryosuke Ishii]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「おんとう」とも読み、俗に島流しともいう。流罪(るざい)ともよばれたので、律令(りつりょう)時代の遠流(おんる)の後身のようにみえるが、遠流は辺地に放逐することで、遠島とは異なる。江戸幕府の公事方御定書(くじかたおさだめがき)の規定では、江戸からは大島、八丈島、三宅(みやけ)島、新(にい)島、神津(こうづ)島、御蔵(みくら)島、利(と)島の伊豆七島のうちに遣わし、京、大坂、西国(さいごく)、中国からは、薩摩(さつま)、五島の島々、隠岐(おき)国、壱岐(いき)国、天草郡に送ることになっていた。その者の田畑、家屋敷、家財は闕所(けっしょ)（没収）になる。

　例を江戸からの遠島にとって述べると、裁判所では、遠島だけが申し渡され、出帆の前夜に行き先が言い渡される。それまでは在牢(ざいろう)させられ、身寄りの者からの差し入れがないときは若干の手当銭が支給される。流人(るにん)は出帆の前日に牢屋の中の遠島部屋に入れられ、この際、手当銭のなかから400文で好きな酒食がとれる。当日の朝、流人は牢屋裏門から、霊岸島(れいがんじま)にある御船手番所(おふなてばんしょ)に連れて行かれる。遠島の用船は500石積みで、流人は船牢に入れられるが、御目見(おめみえ)以上の流人と女流人は別囲(かこい)である。船は鉄砲洲(てっぽうず)に3日間滞船し、この間、家族親戚(しんせき)などから飲食物を贈りたい旨の申し出があれば、役人の裁量で会わせて渡させる。出帆ののち、相州浦賀（神奈川県）の番所に船を止め、流人は改めを受けて、流人の始末書はここの役所に収められ、その写しをもらって、船は予定の島に向かう。流刑(るけい)は斬罪(ざんざい)よりは軽いが、死に勝る悲しみがあるといわれた。

　島での生活は、大島、三宅島、八丈島はよいほうで、利島、神津島、御蔵島は悪いといわれた。のちには、八丈島、三宅島、新島の3島にだけ流すことになった。よい島のなかでも、三宅島は他の島よりもよいといわれ、流人のなかでも、一軒の所帯をもつ者は水汲(みずくみ)女を抱えてこれを妻とした。そういうわけで、八丈島に流す者も、流人生活に慣らす意味もあって、数か月ほどは三宅島に滞留させた。しかし、三宅島の生活が楽だといっても、一軒の所帯をもてない者は、小屋と称する古代の穴居のような生活をするありさまであった。八丈島は江戸からの距離は遠いが、流人の暮らしはよかった。関ヶ原の戦いで西軍についた宇喜多秀家(うきたひでいえ)が江戸幕府によって八丈島に流され、また町絵師多賀長湖（後の英一蝶(はなぶさいっちょう)）が、5代将軍徳川綱吉(つなよし)の愛妾(あいしょう)おでんが舟中で鼓(つづみ)を打ち、綱吉が棹(さお)をさすところを描いて、三宅島に流されたことは有名である。幕末になって、外国船が近海に現れるようになると、幕府は、外国人との接触を恐れて、1862年（文久2）蝦夷地(えぞち)（北海道）の離島に送ることにした。翌年からは旧に復して伊豆諸島に送ることになった。

　関西の流人は大坂に集めて出船したが、京都の流人を大坂に送るには、高瀬舟に乗せて、京都町奉行所(ぶぎょうしょ)の同心が同行した。罪科が決まって島に流されるときは、京都では牢屋敷に親戚の者を呼び出して、当人に引き合わせて暇(いとま)をさせるのが定法であった。森鴎外(おうがい)の小説『高瀬舟』は高瀬舟で送られるある流人の身の上話である。

［石井良助］

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