1754 Horeki River Improvement Incident
Encyclopedia
1754 Horeki River Improvement Incident was an incident in which the Satsuma han
was given merciless river improvement works; Rivers which caused frequent floods should be divided into Kiso River
, Nagara River
and Ibi River
near Nagoya in the Horeki
age. It was an order of the Tokugawa Shogunate resulting in 51 Satsuma samurais in suicide and 33 persons in death from disease, and the responsible karo
, Hirata Yukie committed seppuku
. River improvement was finally completed in the Meiji era. The incident is also called Horeki Age River Improvement Incident and Nobi Plain River Improvement Incident.
controlled Satsuma province for roughly four centuries prior to the beginning of the Edo period and the establishment of the han, and towards the end of the 16th century, controlled nearly all of Kyushu. Despite being chastised by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
in his 1587 Kyushu Campaign, and forced back to Satsuma, they remained one of the most powerful clans in Japan. In the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate felt that the power of Satsuma han should be weakened.
The plain of Obi had a number of big rivers with complicated geographical features resulting in many floods. There was a strict rule that the levee
or dike of the river should be lower than the levee of the Owari han, which is one of the family of the Tokugawa shogunate. The division of the rivers into three was originally planned by Izawa Sobei, the government head of Mino
gun in 1735, but his plan was not accepted. Tokugawa Ieshige
, the 9th Edo
Shogununate ordered the river improvement construction works to be done by the Satsuma han
, in order to weaken the Satsuma han.
(家老, house elder), accepted the construction works with 947 persons. The works were tremendously difficult and 51 samurais died and 33 persons died of disease during the construction works. Hirata Yukie committed seppuku
for the great burden to the Satsuma han.
. The purpose of the Tokugawa shogunate was apparently to weaken the Satsuma han. Hirata Yukie sent a formal acceptance note on January 21, 1754, and the works started on January 21. A total of 947 persons joined the project from Satsuma. He borrowed 70,000 Ryo at Osaka, and reached Mino on February 9.
The works included the four places.
(1842-1913) a Dutch civil engineer and advisor to Japanese government.
which are the trees of Kagoshima Prefecture for 35 km along the Nanno-Sekigarara Route and named it Satsuma Kaikouzu Street.
In Kagoshima, there is also a monument of Satsuma Gishi (victims).
Shown here is a photograph of Ohguregawa, one of the sites of River Improvement Incident taken in 2008. It belongs to Kiso River
, separated from Nagara River
and flowing into Ibi River
. River Improvement finally completed in Meiji era.
Satsuma han
The Satsuma domain was one of the most powerful feudal domains in Tokugawa Japan, and played a major role in the Meiji Restoration and in the government of the Meiji period which followed...
was given merciless river improvement works; Rivers which caused frequent floods should be divided into Kiso River
Kiso River
The is a river in Japan roughly 193 km long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya. It is the main river of the Kiso Three Rivers and forms a major part of the Nōbi Plain...
, Nagara River
Nagara River
The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, the river was named Sunomata River . With a length of , it...
and Ibi River
Ibi River
The is a tributary of the Kiso River located in Gifu and Mie Prefectures in Japan. Along with the Nagara and Kiso rivers, the Ibi is the third of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. It is one of Japan's first-class rivers...
near Nagoya in the Horeki
Horeki
was a after Kan'en and before Meiwa. The period spanned the years from October 1751 through June 1764. The reigning emperor and emperess were and .-Change of era:...
age. It was an order of the Tokugawa Shogunate resulting in 51 Satsuma samurais in suicide and 33 persons in death from disease, and the responsible karo
KARO
KARO is a radio station licensed to serve Nyssa, Oregon, USA. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.It broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format as part of the Air 1 network.-History:...
, Hirata Yukie committed seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
. River improvement was finally completed in the Meiji era. The incident is also called Horeki Age River Improvement Incident and Nobi Plain River Improvement Incident.
Background
The Shimazu family in the present Kagoshima PrefectureKagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
controlled Satsuma province for roughly four centuries prior to the beginning of the Edo period and the establishment of the han, and towards the end of the 16th century, controlled nearly all of Kyushu. Despite being chastised by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
in his 1587 Kyushu Campaign, and forced back to Satsuma, they remained one of the most powerful clans in Japan. In the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate felt that the power of Satsuma han should be weakened.
The plain of Obi had a number of big rivers with complicated geographical features resulting in many floods. There was a strict rule that the levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
or dike of the river should be lower than the levee of the Owari han, which is one of the family of the Tokugawa shogunate. The division of the rivers into three was originally planned by Izawa Sobei, the government head of Mino
Mino
Mino is the name of several places in Japan:*Mino, Gifu, a city in Gifu Prefecture*Mino, Kagawa, a former town in Kagawa Prefecture*Mino, Tokushima, a town in Tokushima Prefecture*"Mino" is an alternate spelling of Minoh, Osaka, a city in Osaka Prefecture...
gun in 1735, but his plan was not accepted. Tokugawa Ieshige
Tokugawa Ieshige
Tokugawa Ieshige; 徳川 家重 was the ninth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.The first son of Tokugawa Yoshimune, his mother was the daughter of Okubo Tadanao, known as Osuma no kata. His childhood name was Nagatomi-maru. He underwent the genpuku coming-of-age ceremony in 1725...
, the 9th Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
Shogununate ordered the river improvement construction works to be done by the Satsuma han
Satsuma han
The Satsuma domain was one of the most powerful feudal domains in Tokugawa Japan, and played a major role in the Meiji Restoration and in the government of the Meiji period which followed...
, in order to weaken the Satsuma han.
Hirata Yukie
A formal order of Tetsudai Fushin (Special order from the shogunate such as building a castle and others) was given to Satsuma han daimyo Shimazu Shigetoshi, 7th lord of the Satsuma han and 24th head of the Shimazu clan. Hirata Yukie (1704-1755) a karoKARO
KARO is a radio station licensed to serve Nyssa, Oregon, USA. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.It broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format as part of the Air 1 network.-History:...
(家老, house elder), accepted the construction works with 947 persons. The works were tremendously difficult and 51 samurais died and 33 persons died of disease during the construction works. Hirata Yukie committed seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
for the great burden to the Satsuma han.
River Improvement Works
The order was apparently a harassment to the Satsuma han, and some samurais of Satsuma han were of the opinion that they should fight against the Shogunate. At that time, the finance of the Satsuma han was in the red with 660,000 Ryo or TaelTael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....
. The purpose of the Tokugawa shogunate was apparently to weaken the Satsuma han. Hirata Yukie sent a formal acceptance note on January 21, 1754, and the works started on January 21. A total of 947 persons joined the project from Satsuma. He borrowed 70,000 Ryo at Osaka, and reached Mino on February 9.
Headquarters and the places of works
The headquarters of the projects were named Motogoya, size in 4900 tsubo. The working people reached 2000 including those hired there. There were other branch stations.The works included the four places.
- Ichino Te: Aichi PrefectureAichi Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
Sofue cho, Shinmeitsu Wachu to Hajima city, Kuwana cho, Koyabu Wachu.
- Nino Te: Aichi PrefectureAichi Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
Kaibe gun Yatomi cho , Moritsu Wachu to Mie PrefectureMie Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan which is part of the Kansai regions on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Tsu.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, Mie prefecture was known as Ise Province and Iga Province....
, Kuwana gun, Kisomisaki cho, Tashiro Wachu.
- San no Te: Yasuhachigun Sumimata Wachu to Motoami Sinden Wachu.
- Yon no Te: Kaizu cho Kanamarari Wachu to Kuwana city Jizohguchi.
Harassment
The river improvement works started on February 27. The harassment of the Tokugawa shogunate was apparent because the dike was destructed three times under the direction of the Tokugawa side and Nagayoshi Sobee and Otokawa Sadabuchi committed seppuku in protest against the Tokugawa shogunate. However, Hirata did not make it clear to the shogunate, since it might become a cause of the extinction of the Shimazu family. The harassment included that the meals should be restricted to a poor one dish and one soup, how hard the works might be, and the neighboring peasants should not sell straw raincoats and straw sandals at a low cost. In August 1754, 157 persons were infected with dysentery and of them, 33 persons died. On May 22, 1755 the works finished, and on the next morning Hirata committed seppuku. The cost was estimated to be about 400,000 Ryo or more than 30,000,000,000 yen. A loan of 220,298 was obtained from Osaka.Completion of River Improvement in Meiji era
Ironically enough, floods increased after the completion of the river improvement works and modern technology completed the works in the Meiji era under the direction of Johannis de RijkeJohannis de Rijke
Johannis de Rijke was a Dutch civil engineer and a foreign advisor to the Japanese government in Meiji period Japan.-Early life:...
(1842-1913) a Dutch civil engineer and advisor to Japanese government.
Monuments and a Shrine
In 1900, at the completion of the division of the river, Horeki Chisuishi (Horeki River Improvement Monument) was erected at the southern tip of Senbon Matsubara, In 1938, 85 Satsuma gishi (those who died) were enshrined at Chisui Jinja, Gifu Prefecture, Kaizu shi, Kaizu Machi Aburashima (previously Kaizu gun Kaizu cho). InKaizu there is a Horeki Chisui Historic Spot Preserving Society (Head; Hirano Yoshiaki) which planted Kaikozu trees Erythrina crista-galliErythrina crista-galli
Erythrina crista-galli is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, native to Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. It is widely planted as a street or garden tree in other countries, most notably in California...
which are the trees of Kagoshima Prefecture for 35 km along the Nanno-Sekigarara Route and named it Satsuma Kaikouzu Street.
In Kagoshima, there is also a monument of Satsuma Gishi (victims).
Shown here is a photograph of Ohguregawa, one of the sites of River Improvement Incident taken in 2008. It belongs to Kiso River
Kiso River
The is a river in Japan roughly 193 km long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya. It is the main river of the Kiso Three Rivers and forms a major part of the Nōbi Plain...
, separated from Nagara River
Nagara River
The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, the river was named Sunomata River . With a length of , it...
and flowing into Ibi River
Ibi River
The is a tributary of the Kiso River located in Gifu and Mie Prefectures in Japan. Along with the Nagara and Kiso rivers, the Ibi is the third of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. It is one of Japan's first-class rivers...
. River Improvement finally completed in Meiji era.