Ooku - Ooku

Japanese: 大奥 - おおおく

The residence of the wives of the Tokugawa Shoguns. The residence of wives of samurai families was generally called oku (inner palace). Ooku was used exclusively for the Tokugawa Shoguns. There were areas called oku in the Honmaru, Nishinomaru, and Ninomaru of Edo Castle, and since they were all located to the north of each palace, they were called "Kita no Goten". The Honmaru palace had a floor area of 11,373 tsubo (approximately 37,530 square meters), of which the Ooku occupied 6,318 tsubo (approximately 20,850 square meters) (1845), but was not rebuilt after it burned down in 1863 (Bunkyu 3). The Ooku in Nishinomaru was 758 tsubo 4 go (approximately 2,500 square meters) (1864).

The Honmaru Palace was the residence of the Shogun and his wife, but it also contained offices for handling household affairs and politics, and so the areas suitable for ceremonies, guests' rooms, and offices were called "Omote," the Shogun's living room was called "Nakaoku" (also called "Chuoku"), and the Shogun's wife's living room was called "Ooku."

The O-oku was attached to the Ohiroshiki as an administrative office, where male officials worked. The Naka-oku and O-oku were separated by a copper wall, and only one or two "Ojoguchi" entrances were connected to each other. Only the Shogun could enter the O-oku through these entrances, and even the Ohiroshiki officials could not pass through.

[Yoshimoto Shinji]

Job and size

All matters in the Ooku, even nighttime security, were handled by female servants. It is said that during the Kan'ei period (1624-1644), the organization of maids in the Ooku was organized by Kasuga no Tsubone, the wet nurse of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. When Iemitsu died, over 3,700 maids were dismissed, and it is said that over 100 of them became nuns, so the scale of the organization can be imagined. After Iemitsu, successive shoguns married daughters of nobles or princes (called "midaidokoro" or "midaisama"), and the maids who accompanied them to Edo entered the Ooku, bringing with them the Kyoto-style lifestyle, and the Ooku of the Edo shogunate was formed.

The rooms in the Ooku consisted of over 60 rooms, including the resting room (35 tatami mats) used for the kitchen, with each room consisting of 2 to 5 rooms. The rooms were divided into the Kirigata room (10 tatami mats) used as a bedroom, the Tsuta room (15 tatami mats) used for the Shogun's visits, the Goza room (30 tatami mats on the upper level, 20 tatami mats on the lower level) for ceremonial occasions, the Okozashiki room, the reception room, the makeup room, the storeroom, the Kimono room, the Okiyo room, the Gozensho room, the Tamari room, and the Osan room (a room where the maids who cooked rice were kept).

There are maids who serve the shogun and those who serve the o-dokoro, but the titles and number of staff are almost the same. They are divided into 27 classes, including three upper-ranking servants from noble families, seven senior servants, guest attendants, middle-ranking servants, o-chu-sho, o-kosho, and o-joguchi-zume. Those who are ranked 20th or higher, or O-ki-te, are eligible to be seen by the shogun (O-memie or above), while those below them are eligible to be seen by the shogun. Servants in the Ooku were expected to serve for their entire lives, but those below the rank of O-kosho could be given leave of absence if they wished. Daughters of hatamoto vassals were originally employed in the Ooku, but even daughters of commoners could enter the Ooku as servants through the help of merchants or people of the O-chu-sho rank or above, and this became a career history. As the saying goes, "first, luck, second, ability," maids in the service had someone of the rank of Ojo or above as their caretaker, and their level of promotion varied depending on their rank. The concubines, including the Ojo, would bring beautiful women and talented women from Kyoto and other places in order to increase the influence of their faction, as the Shogun would favor the maids they provided.

[Yoshimoto Shinji]

Political aspects

The expenses of the Ooku were enormous, and in the late Edo period, it is said that the annual expenditures, excluding the salaries of the maids, were about 20,000 ryo (1 ryo of gold is about 60,000 to 70,000 yen, calculated in 1984). For this reason, the Ooku was a hidden force, and it had a major influence, secretly interfering in the political direction and personnel affairs of the "public" side. During the reign of the seventh shogun, Tokugawa Ietsugu, the Ooku was subjected to public purges, a corruption scandal centered on the senior councilor Ejima occurred, and as many as 1,500 people were implicated. This can be seen as an open offensive carried out under the special conditions of the Ooku being under a young shogun. Matsudaira Sadanobu, who implemented the Kansei Reforms, and Mizuno Tadakuni, who implemented the Tenpo Reforms, attempted to restructure the shogunate government by making financial soundness and moral discipline the guidelines, but it is said that the reason their reforms did not bear sufficient fruit was due to strong opposition from the Ooku. In addition, because the Ooku consisted of only women, there were many cases of moral violations.

[Yoshimoto Shinji]

"Chiyoda Castle Ooku" by Nagashima Imashirō and Ota Tsuneo (1892, Hayashi Shobo; reprint of the title "Edo Castle Ooku" 1968, Shinjinbutsu Oraisha)" ▽ "Ooku no Maids" by Ikeda Koen (1894, Tomiyama Shobo)

[Reference] | Eshima-Ikushima Incident | Edo Castle

Floor plan of the Ooku (Honmaru, Edo Castle)
©Shogakukan ">

Floor plan of the Ooku (Honmaru, Edo Castle)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

徳川将軍家の夫人の居住区。武家の夫人の居所を奥と汎称(はんしょう)する。大奥は徳川将軍家に限って用いられていた。江戸城本丸(ほんまる)、西の丸、二の丸に、それぞれ大奥とよばれる区画があり、いずれも各御殿の北側に設けられていたので「北御殿(きたのごてん)」とよばれていた。本丸の御殿の建坪は1万1373坪（約3万7530平方メートル）で、そのうち大奥は6318坪（約2万0850平方メートル）を占めていた（1845）が、1863年（文久3）の焼失後は再建されなかった。西の丸の大奥は758坪4合（約2500平方メートル）であった（1864）。

　本丸御殿は将軍夫妻の居所であるが、家政や政治向きの事務処理機関も含まれているので、儀式向きの部屋や、客間や事務所のある部分を「表(おもて)」、将軍の居間にあたる部分を「中奥(なかおく)」（「ちゅうおく」とも）、夫人の居間にあたる部分を「大奥」と区別していた。

　大奥の管理事務所として「御広敷(おひろしき)」が付属していて、そこには男の役人が勤務した。中奥と大奥との間は銅塀で仕切られており、1か所あるいは2か所の「御錠口(おじょうぐち)」が通じているだけである。そこを通って大奥に入れる男性は将軍だけであり、御広敷の役人も通れなかった。

［進士慶幹］

職務と規模

大奥での諸事は、夜間の警備までもが女(おんな)奉公人で処理されていた。寛永(かんえい)（1624～1644）のころ、3代将軍徳川家光(いえみつ)の乳母(うば)春日局(かすがのつぼね)によって、大奥女中の職制が整えられたといわれている。家光が没したとき、3700余人の女中たちに暇(いとま)が出され、尼になった女中たちが100余人もあったといわれるから、その規模が察せられよう。家光以後、歴代の将軍は、公家(くげ)や親王家の娘を夫人としている（「御台所(みだいどころ)」「御台様(みだいさま)」という）ので、それに従って江戸に下ってきたお付きの女中たちが大奥に入り、京都風の生活様式が持ち込まれ、江戸幕府の大奥風が形成されていった。

　大奥の部屋は、御台所用の御休息の間（35畳）をはじめ、主要なものだけでも60余間(ま)あり、1間は2～5室をもって形成されていた。寝室用の切形の間（10畳）、将軍お成りの際の寝所蔦(つた)の間（15畳）、式日用としての御座(ござ)の間（上段30畳、下段20畳）、御小座敷(おこざしき)、御対面所、御化粧の間、御納戸(おなんど)、呉服の間、御清(おきよ)の間、さらに御膳所(ごぜんしょ)、溜(たまり)の間、御三(おさん)の間（飯炊き下女の詰めている部屋）などに分かれる。

　女中には御台所付きと将軍付きとがあるが、役職名や人員はほぼ同じである。公家出身の3人の上﨟(じょうろう)をはじめ、7人の御年寄、御客会釈(おきゃくあしらい)、中年寄、御中﨟、御小姓(おこしょう)、御錠口詰など27階層に分かれ、20位の御切手(おきって)以上が御目通(おめどお)りに出られる役向き（御目見(おめみえ)以上）で、それ以下は御目見以下の役であった。大奥の奉公は一生奉公をたてまえとしたが、御小姓以下は願いによって御暇(おいとま)を与えられた。旗本の娘が大奥奉公にあがるのが本来であるが、庶民の娘でも、旗本を仮親にし、出入り商人などの手づると御中﨟以上の人たちの斡旋(あっせん)で奉公に出て、それが一つの履歴となった。「一引き、二運、三器量」というように、奉公の女中たちは御中﨟以上のだれかを世話親(せわおや)とし、その引きによって昇進の度合いが異なった。御台所をはじめ側室(そくしつ)方は、自分のほうから差し出した女中を将軍が寵愛(ちょうあい)することによって、自派の勢力を大きくしようと、京都をはじめ各所から美女、才媛(さいえん)を連れてくるようなことが行われていた。

［進士慶幹］

政治的側面

大奥の経費は莫大(ばくだい)なもので、江戸末期には、女中方の給料を別にして、年間約2万両（金1両は約6～7万円。1984年での換算）といわれている。それだけに大奥は隠然たる勢力として、「表」の政治向き、人事などにも陰から容喙(ようかい)し、大きな影響を与えていた。7代将軍徳川家継(いえつぐ)のときに、大奥に表の粛正の手が入り、御年寄の絵島(えじま)を中心とする疑獄事件が起き、1500人にも上る連座者を出しているのは、幼将軍の大奥という特殊な条件のもとに行われた表の攻勢といえよう。幕政立て直しを図り、財政の健全化や風紀の粛正などを指標とした、寛政(かんせい)の改革の松平定信(まつだいらさだのぶ)や、天保(てんぽう)の改革の水野忠邦(みずのただくに)が、その改革の実を十分にあげえなかったのも、大奥の強い反対にあったためであるという。また、女性ばかりの集団という点から、風紀上の乱れも多かった。

［進士慶幹］

『永島今四郎・太田贇雄著『千代田城大奥』（1892・林書房／改題復刻版『江戸城大奥』1968・新人物往来社）』▽『池田晃淵著『大奥の女中』（1894・冨山房）』

[参照項目] | 絵島・生島事件 | 江戸城

大奥の平面図（江戸城本丸）

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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