Family feud - Oie Soudou

Japanese: 御家騒動 - おいえそうどう

During the Edo period, this refers to turmoil within feudal domains that began with disputes over succession among feudal lords or power and factional struggles among their vassals. Although turmoil also occurred in the homes of farmers and townspeople, other than the Shogun or samurai, the term goke fudo generally refers to turmoil within feudal lord households. Famous family feuds include the Nabeshima Disturbance (Saga Domain), the Kuroda Disturbance (Fukuoka Domain), the Mogami Disturbance (Yamagata Domain), the Ikoma Disturbance (Takamatsu Domain), the Aizu Disturbance (Aizu Domain), the Date Disturbance (Sendai Domain), the Echigo Disturbance (Takada Domain), the Kaga Disturbance (Kanazawa Domain), the Satake Disturbance (Akita Domain), the Shirokuro Disturbance (Kokura Domain), the Sengoku Disturbance (Izushi Domain), the Oyura Disturbance (Satsuma Domain), and the Arima Disturbance (Kurume Domain), but there were many other disturbances within domains that did not develop into family feuds. In the case of the Shogunate, in the early days, there was a feud between the eldest son Iemitsu and the second son Tadanaga over the succession of the second Shogun, Tokugawa Hidetada, and at the end of the Edo period, there was a fierce struggle over the succession of the 13th Shogun, Iesada, between the Fudai faction, who supported Tokugawa Yoshitomi (later Iemochi), lord of the Kishu domain, and the Tokugawa clan, who supported Yoshinobu, head of the Hitotsubashi family.

In the case of family feuds among daimyo families, there were significant differences in their causes and nature between the early period when the shogunate-han system was established and the later period when it was disintegrating, but there were also gradual differences between the family feuds among tozama daimyo and those among fudai daimyo.

[Fujino Tamotsu]

Early family feuds

The early family feuds were the result of an explosion of contradictions inherent in the transition from the war-ready regime of the Sengoku period to the peacetime shogunate-han system, and often took the form of conflict and strife between the military-minded vassals who had shared life and death with the daimyo and built the foundations of the domain system, and the newer vassals who were bureaucratic and tried to carry out the will of the young hereditary lord and adapt to the new times. This is why family feuds broke out in the second and third generations following the founder of the domain. The Kuroda Disturbance is a typical example, but even if it did not develop into a family feud, this type of conflict and strife between old and new vassals was a common phenomenon seen during the establishment of the domain system. In this respect, the Nabeshima Uprising, known as the "Cat Ghost Incident," was an exception, as it arose from the grudge of Takafusa and Hakuan, the father and son who were direct descendants of Ryuzoji, when the feudal lord was replaced by the senior vassal Nabeshima. As the Mogami and Date Uprisings show, such conflicts and feuds between vassals escalated into fierce family feuds when a young lord took office. In these cases, they often took the form of a dispute over succession within a feudal lord's family, which was a manifestation of the contradictions inherent in the process of establishing the system of sole succession of the eldest son under the feudal domain system. The Shogun family was no exception in this respect. The feud between Hidetada's eldest son Iemitsu and his second son Tadanaga shows this, and as a result, Iemitsu's removal of Tadanaga established absolute power over the Tokugawa clan of the main Tokugawa family, the Shogun family. The fact that a family feud broke out under a young feudal lord indicates that the main family (the daimyo family) had not yet established absolute power over its subordinates and senior vassals, and the family feud led to the establishment and consolidation of the eldest son's sole inheritance system, strengthening the feudal lord's power. While early family feuds were more prevalent among outside daimyo, many of the family feuds among the Tokugawa clan and hereditary daimyo broke out one stage later, during the Tenna to Genroku periods (1681-1704). This indicates that these Tokugawa-related daimyo were established later than the outside daimyo, and it was only at this period that power and factional disputes among vassals came to the surface, intertwined with disputes over succession within the daimyo family.

[Fujino Tamotsu]

Later family disputes

The later Goka strife was the result of the emergence of contradictions inherent in the process of the dissolution of the shogunate-han system. In many cases, this took the form of a confrontation between the conservative faction of the clan, which placed the maintenance of the status quo first, and the middle and lower classes of samurai, who sought to break through the status quo and reform the clan government, amid a phenomenon of stagnation in the clan government's functions due to the financial difficulties of the clan. Therefore, the later Goka strife did not end as a fight between clan members and senior vassals over the position of clan lord, but took the form of a confrontation between old and new vassals over financial and economic policies to break through the instability of the clan government, and developed into a reform of the clan government. Otsuki Tomomoto (Denzo), who was involved in the Kaga strife, rose from foot soldiers to a position of authority with the trust of the clan lord, Maeda Yoshinori, and worked to rebuild the clan's finances, but he was opposed by the conservative faction of the clan, and was eventually exiled to Gokayama in Ecchu after a failed attempt to poison the clan lord's family, where he committed suicide. Even in the Yonezawa Domain, where the domain's lord Uesugi Harunori (Yozan) led successful reforms of the domain's government, the reformists, who were mainly from the middle and lower samurai classes, were opposed by the conservative faction of the clan, and Harunori ordered these opponents to either commit seppuku or retire and live in confinement. This shows that even if they did not develop into family feuds, later domain reforms were often accompanied by internal turmoil between new and old retainers. However, by the end of the Edo period, when the situation both inside and outside the domain became even more complicated, the conflict and rivalry between the reformists and conservatives intensified. A representative example of this is the Oyura Disturbance in Kagoshima Domain (Satsuma Domain), where a fierce family dispute broke out over the succession of the domain's lord Shimazu Narioki, between his legitimate son Nariakira and Narioki's concubine Oyura's son Hisamitsu. The appointment of Nariakira, a representative of the reform faction, as lord of the domain determined the direction of the domain during the restoration at the end of the Edo period, but the internal struggles within domains at the end of the Edo period, such as those of the Hagi domain (Choshu domain), show the height of the conflict and strife between the reform faction and the conservative faction. From this emerged the faction that supported the unification of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, or the faction that supported Sonno Joi and the anti-shogunate faction, which led to the Meiji Restoration.

[Fujino Tamotsu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

江戸時代、大名の相続争いや家臣の権力・派閥抗争を発端とする藩内騒動をいう。将軍家や武士以外の百姓・町人の家にも起こっているが、一般に御家騒動といえば大名家の騒動をいう。有名な御家騒動として、鍋島(なべしま)騒動（佐賀藩）、黒田騒動（福岡藩）、最上(もがみ)騒動（山形藩）、生駒(いこま)騒動（高松藩）、会津騒動（会津藩）、伊達(だて)騒動（仙台藩）、越後(えちご)騒動（高田藩）、加賀騒動（金沢藩）、佐竹騒動（秋田藩）、白黒(しろくろ)騒動（小倉(こくら)藩）、仙石(せんごく)騒動（出石(いずし)藩）、お由良(ゆら)騒動（薩摩(さつま)藩）、有馬(ありま)騒動（久留米(くるめ)藩）などがあるが、御家騒動にまで発展しないで終わった藩内騒動は数多い。将軍家の場合、初期には、2代将軍徳川秀忠(ひでただ)の後嗣(こうし)をめぐって長男家光(いえみつ)と次男忠長(ただなが)の確執があり、幕末には、13代将軍家定(いえさだ)の後嗣をめぐって、紀州藩主徳川慶福(よしとみ)（のち家茂(いえもち)）を擁立する門閥譜代(ふだい)層と、一橋(ひとつばし)家の当主慶喜(よしのぶ)を擁立する徳川一門の熾烈(しれつ)な抗争があった。

　大名家の御家騒動では、幕藩体制が確立する初期と解体する後期では、その原因や性格にかなり大きな違いがあるが、外様(とざま)大名の御家騒動と譜代大名のそれとの間にも段階的な違いがあった。

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初期の御家騒動

初期の御家騒動は、戦国期の臨戦体制から平和時の幕藩体制に移行する過程に内在した矛盾が激発したものであり、そこでは、大名と生死をともにし、藩体制の基礎を築き上げた武功派の門閥家臣と、若き世襲藩主の意志を実行し、新しい時代に即応しようとする吏僚派の新参家臣の対立・抗争という形をとる場合が多い。藩祖（初代）に次ぐ2代、3代目に御家騒動が勃発(ぼっぱつ)した理由は、そこにある。黒田騒動はその典型を示しているが、御家騒動にまで発展しなくとも、この種の新旧家臣団の対立・抗争は、藩体制の確立期にみられる共通の現象である。この点、「猫化け騒動」で知られる鍋島騒動は、藩主が龍造寺(りゅうぞうじ)氏から重臣の鍋島氏に移行したことに起因する、龍造寺直系高房(たかふさ)―伯庵(はくあん)父子の怨念(おんねん)から発したもので、例外をなしている。こうした家臣団の対立・抗争は、最上騒動や伊達騒動の例が示すように、幼少の藩主の就任を契機に熾烈な御家騒動に発展する。この場合は、大名家の相続争いという形をとる場合が多く、それは、幕藩体制下の長子単独相続制の確立過程に内在した矛盾の現れであった。この点、将軍家も例外ではない。秀忠の長男家光と次男忠長の確執がそれを示しており、その結果は、家光の忠長に対する改易によって、徳川本家＝将軍家の徳川一門に対する絶対権が確立された。幼少の藩主のもとで御家騒動が勃発したということは、本家＝大名家の一門・重臣に対する絶対権が確立されていなかったことを示しており、御家騒動を契機に長子単独相続制が確立・定着し、藩主権力が強化された。初期の御家騒動が外様大名に多かったのに対し、徳川一門・譜代大名の御家騒動は、外様大名より一段階遅れて天和(てんな)～元禄(げんろく)期（1681～1704）に勃発したものが多い。それは、これら徳川系大名が外様大名より遅れて成立し、ようやくこの期に至って、大名家の相続争いと絡み、家臣の権力・派閥抗争が表面化したことを示している。

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後期の御家騒動

後期の御家騒動は、幕藩体制の解体過程に内在した矛盾が激発したものであり、それは、藩財政の窮乏を原因とする藩政機能の停滞現象のなかで、現状維持を第一とする門閥守旧派と、現状を打開し藩政を改革しようとする中下士層の対立・抗争という形をとる場合が多い。そのため後期の御家騒動は、藩主の地位をめぐる一門・重臣の争いにとどまることなく、藩政の動揺を打開するための財政・経済政策をめぐる新旧家臣団の対立・抗争という形をとり、藩政改革にまで発展する。加賀騒動の大槻朝元(おおつきとももと)（伝蔵）は、藩主前田吉徳(よしのり)の信任を得て足軽から立身出世し、藩財政の再建にあたったが、門閥守旧派の反対を受け、ついには藩主一族毒殺の失敗から越中(えっちゅう)五箇山(ごかやま)に流刑されて自殺した。藩主上杉治憲(はるのり)（鷹山(ようざん)）の主導によって藩政改革に成功した米沢(よねざわ)藩においても、中下士層を中心とする改革派に対して門閥守旧派の反対があり、治憲は、これらの反対派に対して切腹ないし隠居閉門を命じている。このことは、御家騒動にまで発展しなくとも、後期の藩政改革には新旧家臣団の藩内騒動が共通に存在したことを示している。それが、藩内外の情勢がいっそう複雑になる幕末には、改革派と保守派の対立・抗争がさらに激化する。鹿児島藩（薩摩藩）のお由良騒動がそれを代表し、藩主島津斉興(なりおき)の後嗣をめぐって、嫡子斉彬(なりあきら)と斉興の側室お由良の子久光(ひさみつ)との間に熾烈な御家騒動が勃発した。改革派を代表する斉彬の藩主就任は、幕末維新における同藩の方向を決定づけたが、萩(はぎ)藩（長州藩）をはじめ、幕末の藩内闘争は、こうした改革派と保守派の対立・抗争の極点を示している。そのなかから公武合体派あるいは尊攘(そんじょう)派・討幕派が成立し、明治維新を迎えたのである。

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