History of Asia

[Sankin-kotai] It's harsh for a daimyo! But is it gorgeous to the people?

" Change of attendance ( Sankin Kotai ) I think everyone has heard the word.

Recently, there are movies about it, and I think it's a bit of a boom.

In fact, the change of attendance is an interesting system.

Edo period peace that lasted more than 250 years The Daimyo procession was very popular with the people . That's how it was.

However, the hardships of the daimyo in each region are not overwhelming. Preparation over half a year And had to spend a lot of money Because.

Let's introduce "Sankin-kotai" in more detail.

History of change of attendance

Its prototype has existed since the 1192 "Let's make a good country Kamakura Shogunate" era, and courtesy of the servants to the shogun It was like.

There was also a system where people gathered in Kamakura during the Kamakura period and in Kyoto and Kamakura during the Muromachi period.

During the Warring States period, daimyo from all over the world had their servants live in the castle town of their own castle, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi ( ) Toyotomi Hideyoshi ) Also gathers and lives daimyo in Osaka ..

A daimyo who doesn't go up even if he calls to Osaka is regarded as an enemy. It's like a kind of hostage.

Ieyasu Tokugawa who opened the Edo Shogunate ( Tokugawa Ieyasu ) I also live in Edo following Hideyoshi.

It might have been pressured because it included courtesy to the general, but initially still voluntary It was.

"We will be loyal to the Tokugawa family!" It was an appeal.

And Tokugawa 3rd Shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu ( Iemitsu ) In that era, a system called "change of attendance" was created, and it became an obligation.

What is a change of attendance?

Under this system, daimyo from all over must go back and forth between Edo and their own country every other year to live.
Furthermore, Daimyo's regular room and his successor will continue to live in Edo It will be.

This yearly is harder than I imagined!

Obviously, there were no trains, cars, or bullet trains at that time, and everyone went to Edo on foot. Just thinking about it, I already want to take a break.

Even though it is the most difficult to move, this system, travel expenses, stay expenses, etc. are all borne by each daimyo I had to do it.

If you can afford it, "Well, do you want to go?" I think it will be, but when it comes to self-sufficiency, the gait will have become quite heavy.

"Is this time coming? It's annoying." When.

However, that is the aim of the Edo Shogunate!

The effect of spending a lot of money in each country reducing military power and preventing rebellion At the same time, hostages can be taken It was in shape.

It's a well-made system. You wouldn't think of going to the shogunate with such a troublesome system and being discouraged.

Perhaps because of that, peace in the Edo period for more than 250 years was.

In fact, it is said that it was a system for courtesy of the master-slave relationship between the shogun and the daimyo, and the purpose of lowering the military power was the theory that it happened to happen . There is also. It's like a botamochi from the shelf.

"Attendance" Is " reference ( Mai ) ( Mami ) Eru " means. "覲" "Work" The official made a mistake, and after that, it became this character. Is this true?

"Change" Is to return from Edo to your own country.

"San" is not "3". It would have been easier if it was every three years.

How hard was it?

The way it cost money was not odd.

For example, 1 million stones The Kaga Domain (Ishikawa Prefecture) has 2000-4000 people over a distance of 480km over a two-week period. A big move. The cost was 5000 cars.
Now over 400 million yen is! This is once a year ...

The farthest Satsuma Domain (Kagoshima Prefecture) is 2 months or more They come to Edo over time. That distance is 1700km!

Even if the shogunate spends too much money and the clan suffers financial difficulties, "Please come with the number of people appropriate for your status." I will mention that, but there is pride for each clan. Does not forgive.

People are also expecting it, so spend money to make it gorgeous Probably.

Especially Let's get enthusiastic in our own territory and in Edo territory Was different.

You want to maintain dignity. I had to bother to change into a gorgeous kimono and hire people to increase the number of people in the line. It's a so-called extra.

Then, when you leave your own country, you will be exempted from the role, the number of people will be reduced to about half, and you will change into clothes that are easy to move and head to Edo in a hurry.

That's where you can cut costs, and of course it's cheaper to arrive as soon as possible.

It was a really big event that traveled 30-40km a day.

When the Daimyo procession passes, people are dogeza There is an image that you should not look at the face of a person who passes by, but in the case of a procession other than the Tokugawa Gosanke, it was good to avoid it at the end It is. The Tokugawa Gosanke is a family of 9 men, 10 men, and 11 men of Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Perhaps because of this, many spectators were looking forward to it, and the daimyo were trying to make a daimyo procession that suits it. It's a festival-like parade.

However, crossing is considered rude and taboo, and for those who have done it, " Kiri-sute Go ( " I'm sorry Kirisute ) Was also accepted. This is a little scary.

The economic effect of the change of attendance is enormous !?

Weeks of big trips, and hundreds or thousands of people staying in each post town, which is profitable for inn owners, isn't it?

However, there are many times when the schedule does not go according to schedule due to weather conditions. Because it's a walk.

It is said that the troubles did not go away due to the sudden cancellation of the inn. It's not a cancellation of a couple of people. Thousands! Millions of accommodations per day It seems that it was!

The post town will continue to develop by building bridges over the river and improving the roads so that each clan can easily walk.

Moreover, since everyone goes back and forth between Edo and their own country, the good effect of spreading Edo culture throughout Japan It became.

It is said that the fact that there were an extremely large number of men in Edo than women at that time was due to the change of attendance.

There were so many single employees who were transferred to work, and as a result, Yukaku also prospered. It's peace.

End of change of attendance

1853 , Perry on that famous Kurofune Came to Japan.

Unless the shogunate is spending a lot of money to line up the daimyo, the period is once every three years . Then, the wives and children of the daimyo who lived in Edo were also sent back to their own country.

However, this is a big blunder for the Edo Shogunate!

As a result, each clan will have more and more power, and the power of the shogunate will weaken.

I'm trying to return the change of attendance to the previous system, but it's already late at time!

No one tried to obey, and the shogunate finally disappeared, and the Meiji era came.

And the system of "change of attendance" is completely abolished have become.

Summary

It's a very, very annoying system for daimyo, but peaceful world, economic effect I think it was a very wonderful system considering the above.

In fact, the world has been peaceful for more than 200 years since it was enacted, and as soon as the system was relaxed, the shogunate was weakened. Well, there was also the problem of Perry's arrival.

It was a clever system with good looks and pride.

It is said that he hasn't thought about it that much, but a successful example is "When I opened the lid, there was a botamochi that had fallen from the shelf." It's like that. Actually ...