Misako Oguri - Oguri Misako

Japanese: 小栗美作 - おぐり・みまさか

Year of death: Tenwa 1.6.22 (1681.8.5)
Year of birth: 1626
He was a chief retainer of the Takada Domain in Echigo Province (Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture) in the early Edo period. His name was Masanori, and he was appointed Mimasaka no Kami, which led to him being commonly known as Mimasaka. He was born in Takada as the eldest son of the chief retainer Oguri Masataka. He became the chief retainer after his father was crushed to death in an earthquake in 1665 (5th year of the Kanbun era), and was given a stipend of 17,000 koku, giving him real power in the domain's administration. His many achievements included the reconstruction of the city after the earthquake, the repair of Naoetsu Port, the construction of the Nakae Irrigation Canal, the development of new fields in Ogasawara (a low-lying marshland near the Sea of Japan), and the mining of silver ores, and he brought the Takada Domain to its peak during his 15 years in power. It was largely due to his talent that the domain's official stipend of 260,000 koku increased to an internal stipend of 360,000 koku. However, he had a harsh and forceful side when it came to implementing policies. Looking at the Tenwa Land Survey Record from 1682, one is surprised at the large number of peasants who "deserted" in the mountain villages of Kubiki and Uonuma counties. Natural disasters may have been a reason for the stagnation, but in a land survey in 1671 in Kitaurada and Nishiurada villages (Matsunoyama Town) in Kubiki County, even areas in the shadows of the mountains and marshes that were difficult to turn into fields were reclaimed for cultivation, and many of the fields were given a higher rank in the ranking system (determining the level of quality based on the quality of the fields), which increased the burden on them and led to "desertion" ("Murayama Family Documents," included in Matsunoyama Town History), showing that the strictness of the land survey was the cause of the stagnation. Such a powerful maneuver caused resentment among other senior vassals, and the issue of the succession of the feudal lord Matsudaira Mitsunaga led to a family dispute (the Echigo Disturbance), and in 1681, the Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi ordered Mimasaka to commit seppuku.

(Nakamura Shinichi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：天和1.6.22(1681.8.5)
生年：寛永3(1626)
江戸前期の越後国高田藩(新潟県上越市)家老。名は正矩,美作守に任ぜられ美作が通称となる。家老小栗正高の嫡子として高田に生まれる。寛文5(1665)年の地震で圧死した父の跡を継いで筆頭家老となり,家禄1万7000石を譲り受け,藩政の実権を握った。その業績は,地震後の城市復興,直江津港の改修,中江用水の開削,大瀁(日本海に近い低湿地)の新田開発,銀鉱の採掘など数多く,執政15年間に高田藩の極盛期を現出した。藩の表高26万石が内高36万石になったのはその才腕によるところが大きい。しかし政策の実施には辛辣で強引な面があった。天和2(1682)年の『天和検地帳』をみると,頸城郡や魚沼郡の山村では「退転」百姓が多いのに驚く。退転の理由に自然災害などもあったかもしれないが,寛文11(1671)年,頸城郡北浦田,西浦田両村(松之山町)の検地で,山の陰や湿地で田畑になり難いところまで耕地に取り立て,また田畑の位付(良否による等位決定)で多くは一段上の位に定められたので,それだけ諸負担がかさみ「退転におよび申候」(「村山家文書」『松之山町史』所収)などとあるように検地の厳しさが退転の原因になっていることが分かる。このような辣腕を振るった美作に対し他の重臣の反感がつのり,これに藩主松平光長の継嗣問題が絡んでお家騒動(越後騒動)が起き,天和1(1681)年将軍徳川綱吉の親裁で,美作は切腹となった。<参考文献>『高田市史』,『上越市史』普及版

(中村辛一)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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