小栗上野介の業績(東善寺) ●  日本最初の株式会社    兵庫商社・江戸の築地ホテル・小布施の船会社 

広辞苑による「商社」の説明では
【商社】(Companyを小栗上野介が訳した語)商業上の結社。自国における外国商社、外国におけるわが在外商社など、貿易上多く使われる言葉。
(岩波書店「広辞苑」より)
The Kojien dictionary explains "shosha" as follows.
"The word "shosha" is a translation of "company" by Kozukenosuke Oguri, and means "a commercial association." The word is often used in the context of trade, including foreign trading companies in one's own country and our overseas trading companies in foreign countries.

(From "Kojien", Iwanami Shoten) 
小栗上野介の株式会社 1
兵 庫 商 社
(日本初の株式会社)



村上泰賢『小栗忠順従者の記録』

第三部「小栗忠順のアメリカ」に詳しく記述してあります。
 Joint-stock company by Kozukenosuke Oguri #1:
Hyogo Shosha
(Japan's first joint-stock company)
















Detailed description is in Part 3 "Tadamasa Oguri's America" of Taiken Murakami's "The Record of Tadamasa Oguri’s Follower"

慶応3年(1867)、小栗上野介は日本最初の株式会社「兵庫商社」の設立建議書を提出した。万延元年(1860)に遣米使節として渡米の折パナマ鉄道で説明を受けた鉄道会社の仕組みが活かされている。

 In 1867, Kozukenosuke Oguri submitted to the shogunate a proposal to establish Japan's first joint-stock company, "Hyogo Shosha." When Oguri went to the U.S. as an envoy in 1860, he was given an explanation of the system of the Panama Railroad Company, which is utilized here.

建議書(要旨)

「このたび兵庫(神戸)を開港するについて、これまで長崎・横浜を開いてやってきたが、西洋各国が港を開いて国の利益を得ているのに反し、日本は開港するたびに国の損になっている。これは商人組合のやり方をとらないで、薄元手(小資本)の商人一人一人の損得で貿易を行ない・・・・・薄元手の商人が互いに競争で外国商人と取引するから元手厚(大資本)の外国人に利権が奪われてしまう。」「これは商人一人の損失ばかりか、結局国の損失になり、ついに全国の利権を失し、外国商人のために蔑視され・・・」てしまう。だから「外国人と取引するには、外国貿易の商社(西洋名コンパニーのやり方に基づかなくては、とても国の利益にはならない」
(『幕末外交談』田辺太一/『読史余録』塚越芳太郎/意訳 )

そしてコンパニーの利潤をもってガス灯書信館(ポストオフィシー・郵便電信制度)、鉄道の設置をすれば、国にとっての膨大な利益となる、と提議する画期的な構想であった。(渋沢栄一 『徳川慶喜公伝3』)
 出資者を二十人の大坂商人とし、100万両の資金を出資させる。ただ出資させるだけでは商人は動かないから代わりに同額の金札発行を許可し、利益が出るようにする。商社の役員は頭取の山中善右衛門(鴻池屋)ら3名、肝煎りに6名の商人、残りの11名は世話役とする構成。商社の事務所は商社会所と呼ばれて大坂中之島(西端)に置かれた。

 「
(小栗上野介の商社設立の構想・説明を聞いた嘉納)次郎作(は)御用掛の一員として商社の設立に尽力し、六月商社設立の議其実行を見しや、十四日商社の諸役を大阪総会所に招き、商人一人の私利を旨とせず、西洋商人より高利の金銭を借らず、協同一致して貿易の盛大を図るべしと諭し、備金に関しても亦演達する所あり。」(『神戸市史』別録一p44・「加納(嘉納)次郎作」)*加納次郎作は治五郎の父・廻船業を営む
 Proposal (Summary)

"In the past, Japan has opened ports in Nagasaki and Yokohama, but while Western countries have benefited from the opening of these ports, Japan has lost money every time it has opened a port. The reason for this is that Japan does not follow
the merchant union system, but instead trades according to the profit and loss of each individual merchant with a small capital. ・・・・・ Since merchants with small capital compete with each other to do business with foreign merchants, foreigners with thick resources (large capital) will take away their interests. "This is not only the loss of one merchant, but also the loss of the nation, and finally the loss of national interest and disdain for foreign merchants. Therefore, "dealing with foreigners must be based on the methods of a foreign trading company, or it will not be in the best interest of the country.
("Bakumatsu Gaikodan" by Taichi Tanabe / "Dokushi Yoroku" by Yoshitaro Tsukagoshi / paraphrase)

It was an epoch-making concept that proposed that the country would benefit enormously if it used the profits from the company to build gas lamps, post offices, and railroads. (Eiichi Shibusawa’s “The Biograpy of Yoshinobu Tokugawa, No. 3”)

The investors were to be 20 Osaka merchants, and they were to contribute one million ryo. The merchants would not act simply by investing the money, so instead they were allowed to issue gold bills in the same amount so that they could make a profit. The Shosha's board of directors consisted of three members, including the president, Zen-emon Yamanaka (Konoikeya), six merchants as kimoiri officers (community officials who mediate between people), and the remaining eleven as caretakers. The office of the trading company was called the trading company meeting place and was located in Nakanoshima, Osaka.

Jirosaku Kano, who had listened to Kozukenosuke Oguri's plan and explanation of the establishment of a trading company, made efforts to establish a trading company as a member of the Imperial Household Department. Seeing the plan of establishing the trading company in June (1867), he invited the officials of the trading company to the Osaka General Assembly on June 14, and explained that the trading company should not aim at the personal gain of any one merchant, nor borrow money at high interest from Western merchants, but should cooperate with each other to make trade flourish. He also told them that he would procure the necessary funds.

("Kobe City History" by Jirosaku Kano, Appendix 1, p. 44)
*Jirosaku Kano was the father of Jigoro Kano, a famous judo expert, and engaged in the shipping business.
 【参考書籍】
『読史余禄』塚越芳太郎(停春楼)著/『徳川慶喜公伝』巻三渋沢栄一著龍門社/『小栗上野介の生涯』坂本藤良著/
『幕末外交談』田辺太一『神戸市史』別録/『小栗忠順従者の記録』村上泰賢著
 (Reference book)
"Dokushi Yoroku" by Yoshitaro Tsukagoshi
(Teishunro) / "The Biography of Yoshinobu Tokugawa, No. 3" by Eiichi Shibusawa, Ryumonsha / "The Life of Kozukenosuke Oguri" by Fujiyoshi Sakamoto / "Diplomatic Talk at the End of the Edo Period" by Taichi Tanabe / "Kobe City History" Appendix / "The Record of Tadamasa Oguri's Follower" by Taiken Murakami
   
「坂本龍馬の海援隊」より早い設立


坂本竜馬の海援隊が日本最初の株式会社」と名付けたのは、経済学者の坂本藤良教授。坂本氏はその後数回、東善寺へ小栗上野介の業績調査においでになり
小栗上野介の兵庫商社のほうがもっと早くに役員・定款を備えたきちんとした会社であることがわかった
と語り
でも、取り消そうとしても坂本龍馬が有名で、海援隊に貼ったレッテルが私の手を離れて一人歩きしてしまって…
と苦笑しておられた。


兵庫商社こそ日本最初の株式会社である、というのが、現在の私の考え方である。興味あることに、兵庫商社の設立が発表された時(慶応三年六月五日)、特別に重要なことだけを記している『海援隊日史』にそのことが記されているのは、海援隊の受けたショックを示している。
 (坂本藤良著『坂本龍馬と海援隊』講談社/参照:坂本藤良著『小栗上野介の生涯』講談社
) 

 
 Japan's first joint-stock company established earlier than "Ryoma Sakamoto's Kaientai"

Professor Fujiyoshi Sakamoto, an economist, named Ryoma Sakamoto's Kaientai as the first joint-stock company in Japan. Mr. Sakamoto visited Tozenji several times after that to investigate the achievements of Kozukenosuke Oguri.

He said, "I found out that Kozukenosuke Oguri's Hyogo trading company was a proper company with officers and articles of incorporation much earlier (than Kaientai)."

He then said with a wry smile, "Even if I tried to take it (the label he had put on Kaientai as the first joint-company in Japan) back, Ryoma Sakamoto was so famous that the label I put on the Kaientai was lost on me..."

"My current view is that Hyogo Shosha is the first joint-stock company in Japan. Interestingly, when the establishment of the Hyogo Shosha was announced (June 5, 1867 or Keio 3), the fact that it was mentioned in the Kaientai Nisshi (Dairy of the Kaientai), which only mentions matters of special importance, shows the shock that the Kaientai suffered."

 
("Ryoma Sakamoto and the Kaientai" by Fujiyoshi Sakamoto, Kodansha / "The Life of Kozukenosuke Oguri" by Fujiyoshi Sakamoto, Kodansha)
 


小栗上野介の株式会社 2
築地ホテル
築地ホテル館
ともいう
(日本初のホテル会社) 
 Joint-stock company by Kozukenosuke Oguri #2:
Tsukiji Hotel
Also called Tsukiji Hotel Kan
(Japan's first hotel company)

築地ホテル   
清水建設所蔵 提供
 The Hyogo Shosha was established at the end of the 3rd year of Keio (1867), but was soon dissolved due to the upheaval of the Meiji Restoration.  

Construction of the Tsukiji Hotel, which began in 1867, was completed in August of 1871, and until it was destroyed by fire in Ginza in 1872, it was the first full-scale hotel in Japan and was highly regarded by foreigners.
 兵庫商社は慶応三年末に設立されたが、まもなく明治維新の動乱によって解散してしまった。

 これより先、1867(慶応三)年に着工された築地ホテルは慶応四年八月に完成し、1872(明治五)年の銀座の大火で焼失するまで日本最初の本格的なホテルとして、外国人の評価も高いものであった。

              このホテルの開設について
 
江戸の町人を集めて、勘定奉行小栗上野介から、
今度江戸に外国人が住むことになる。ついてはホテルが必要だが、幕府は金がない。土地をただで貸すから、誰かホテル組合を作って町人から資金を集めてホテルを建設し、出来上がったあとは利用賃で運営し、それ以上に利益が出たら資本を出した者で分配してよい。やる者はいないか―
という話があった。

  
・江戸で初めて外国人が住んだ町は、もとは鉄砲洲といったいまの中央区明石町一帯。いま公園などに立教学院・明治学院・女子聖学院などの発祥の地を示す標石が見られ、聖路加国際病院が現存するのはその名残。

・ホテルの場所は勝鬨橋の右袂で、いま立体駐車場となっている。手前の角を右に入ると~波除稲荷~元築地市場となる。

 小栗の提案には、遣米使節の旅―パナマ鉄道で聞いた株式会社の手法がそのまま活かされている。すべて町人の手で建設運営させようとする手法は、PFI法案の先取りといえる。

 これに応じてさっそく手を挙げた(というより、小栗の根回しで手を挙げた)のが清水建設二代目の清水喜助。小栗上野介はホテルの規模内容は外国人に満足のゆくものを意図して、これを建設させた。彼の頭には、かつてワシントンで泊まったホワイトハウス近くの超一流ホテル、ウィラードホテルが思い描かれていたに違いない。

  About the opening of the hotel

Kozukenosuke Oguri gathered the townspeople of Edo together and told them the following:
"From now on, foreigners will be living in Edo. So we need a hotel, but the Shogunate has no money. We will lend you the land for free, but who will build a hotel? You'll collect funds from the townspeople to build the hotel, and once it's built, you'll run it on user fees, and if you make more profit than that, you'll divide it among those who provided the capital. Is there anyone who can do this?"

Note
s:
・ The town where the first foreigners lived in Edo was originally called Teppozu, which is now the Akashi-cho area of Chuo Ward. Today, you can see markers in parks indicating the birthplace of Rikkyo Gakuin, Meiji Gakuin, Joshi Seigakuin, etc., and the St. Luke's International Hospital is a remnant of this area.

The hotel was located right next to the Kachidoki Bridge, which is now a multi-story parking lot. Turning right at the corner before the location, you will come to Namiyoke Inari Shrine and then to the former Tsukiji market.

Oguri's proposal is based on the methods of a joint-stock company that he heard about when he rode on the Panama Railroad as an envoy to the United States. The method of having the construction and operation done entirely by the townspeople is a precursor to the PFI bill.

Kisuke Shimizu, the second generation of Shimizu Corporation, immediately raised his hand in response. Kozukenosuke Oguri had the hotel built with the intention that it would be large enough to satisfy foreigners. He must have had an image in his mind of the Willard Hotel, a first-class hotel near the White House where he had stayed in Washington DC.
築地ホテルの建設を手がけた、清水建設の二代目▲清水喜助  清水建設提供
 ▲Kisuke Shimizu: The second generation of Shimizu Corporation, the builder of the Tsukiji Hotel (Courtesy of Shimizu Corporation)

▲ 錦絵 築地ホテル 三代目広重画 東善寺蔵  
(Nishiki-e) Tsukiji Hotel, By Hiroshige III (Collection of Tozenji)

▲錦絵 周重画  東善寺蔵
(Nishikie) By Chikashige Morikawa (Collection of Tozenji)


▲錦絵 海から見た築地ホテル 三代目広重画  東善寺蔵
(Nishiki-e) Tsukiji Hotel seen from the sea, By Hiroshige III (Collection of Tozenji)

この絵は、よ~く見ると側車輪のカバーの英語に謎がある
If you look closely at this painting, the English on the cover of the side wheel is a mystery.

▲「CITY OB YEDO」の「OB]は「OF]の誤りであろう。
いったい誰が間違えたか
船尾の旗が星条旗だから船会社のオーナーのアメリカ人が間違えたか、
描く段階でペンキ屋が間違えたか
絵を描いた三代目広重が間違えたか……

ナゾを秘めたまま客を運んでいる…


関連画像
平面図はこちら…国立国会図書館蔵

The "OB" in "CITY OB YEDO" is probably an error for "OF." Who on earth could have made that mistake? The flag on the stern is the Stars and Stripes, so maybe the American who owns the shipping company made a mistake. Or did the painter make a mistake during the painting process? Did Hiroshige III, who painted the picture, make the mistake? ......

The ship was still carrying passengers with the riddle...

Related images
Click here for the ground plan...National Diet Library
             
東京と名を変えた江戸の名所となり、このような錦絵が百種類以上作られ、作るそばから売れた。
  The hotel became a famous place in Edo, which was renamed Tokyo, and more than a hundred such nishiki-e (brocade painting) prints were made, selling as fast as they were made.
▲ ホテル展望台からの眺め 横浜開港資料館蔵
▲ View from the hotel observatory (Coutesy of Yokohama Archives of History Museum)
       1年で完成
 清水喜助は小栗上野介の指導を受けてさっそく出資者をつのり、資金は「1口100両で年百両の配当」、という途方もない触れ込みだったから「山師の仕事」などと評されながら、慶応三年八月着工した。
慶応四年八月に出来あがったホテルは勝鬨橋の右たもと、現在の築地魚市場の入口ふきんでいま立体駐車場のある一帯。

           
          ▲築地ホテル建設の経過を記録した
            『平野弥十郎幕末維新日記』 
             北海道大学 発行

   
      水洗トイレ付き
 当時最新の建物で、室数は102室、水洗トイレつき、ビリヤード室、シャワー室、バーも備え、「眺望が良い、食事も美味しい」と外国人も絶賛するホテルであった。

 外国人よりも驚いたのが日本人。ホテルや水洗トイレなど見たこともないから、連日押すな押すなの人気で江戸っ子やお上りさんなど、見物人が黒山のように押し寄せた。喜助は人を雇って門番をさせ、木戸銭(入場料)を取って見物させ、資金繰りに役立てた。

 お土産に作られた錦絵が100種(100枚ではない)以上も作られ、江戸の名所となった。いまでも土蔵や物置から「江戸ホテル」「都ホテル」「築地ホテル館」の封筒に入った錦絵が出てくることがあるから、旧家の方はお宝探しをしたらいい。
明治五年まで営業したのち、「銀座の大火」で焼けてしまったのは残念なことである。


       設計はブリジェンス
 
幕末に来日したアメリカ人。築地ホテルのほか、横浜でイギリス仮公使館、横浜イギリス領事館、横浜税関、横浜町会所、などたくさんの洋風建築の設計を手掛ける。また明治5年に完成した新橋―横浜間の鉄道の新橋駅・横浜駅(同じ設計図で両方を建設した)も設計している。
  Completed in One Year

Under the guidance of Kozukenosuke Oguri, Kisuke Shimizu immediately recruited investors and began construction in August of 1867 (Keio 3), despite being criticized as a "adventurer's work" because of the outrageous offer of "100 ryo per unit and 100 ryo per year in dividends."

The hotel, which was completed in August of 1868, was located on the right side of the Kachidoki Bridge, at the entrance to the current Tsukiji Fish Market, where the multi-story parking lot is now located.

The construction of the Tsukiji Hotel is documented in "Yajuro Hirano's Diary of the End of the Edo Period and the Meiji Restoration."
Published by Hokkaido University

Equipped with flush toilets

It was the latest building at the time, with 102 rooms, flush toilets, a billiard room, shower rooms, and bar, and foreigners praised the hotel for its "great view and delicious food."

More surprised than the foreigners were the Japanese. They had never seen a hotel or a flush toilet before, and the hotel was so popular that it was swarming with visitors every day. Kisuke hired people to guard the gates and charged them admission fees to help finance the event.

More than 100 types (not 100 printings) of nishiki-e were made as souvenirs, and the hotel became a famous place in Edo. Even today, nishiki-e in envelopes of "Edo Hotel," "Miyako Hotel," and "Tsukiji Hotel Kan" can be found in storehouses and storerooms, so those who live in old houses should go treasure hunting. It is a pity that the hotel was burned down in the "Great Ginza Fire" after operating until 1872.

Designed by R. P. Bridgens
Richard Perkins Bridgens is an American who came to Japan at the end of the Edo period. He designed the Tsukiji Hotel and many Western-style buildings in Yokohama such as the British Provisional Legation, the British Consulate in Yokohama, the Yokohama Customs House, and the Yokohama Town Hall. He also designed the Shinbashi and Yokohama stations of the Shinbashi-Yokohama railroad line, which was completed in 1872
(both stations were built from the same blueprints).
ブリジェンスの墓 ▲横浜外人墓地の19区画、シドモア桜の枝の下にある
Bridgens's Tomb ▲ Plot 19 under the branches of the Scidmore cherry tree in Yokohama Gaijin Cemetery
築地ホテルの模型
   築地ホテルの模型  制作者は金田さん(R大学・理工学研究科建築学専攻修士課程の学生さん)2008年4月、東京での小栗上野介展で披露し、現在は東善寺で展示中です。
▲ A model of the Tsukiji Hotel:
It was created by Ms. Kaneda, a student of the Master's Program in Architecture at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering at R University. It was shown at the Kozukenosuke Oguri Exhibition in Tokyo in April 2008, and is currently on display at Tozenji Temple.
関連ページ
清水建設→「築地ホテル」(リンク)
東京港アーカイブ→【錦絵でみる東京港】(リンク)
 Related pages
Shimizu Corporation→"Tsukiji Hotel" (link)
Tokyo Port Archives→"Tokyo Port in Nishiki-e" (link)
【参考書籍】
『平野弥十郎幕末維新日記』(北海道大学図書刊行会・平成12年)、『清水建設一八〇年史』(清水建設)
『小栗忠順従者の記録』村上泰賢著
 Reference Books
"Yajuro Hirano's Diary of the End of the Edo Period and the Meiji Restoration" (Hokkaido University Book Publishing Society, 2000)
180-Year History of Shimizu Corporation (Shimizu Corporation)
“The Record of Tadamasa Oguri’s Follower” by Taiken Murakami



小栗上野介の株式会社 3
小布施の″船 会 社″
(日本初の郵船会社)

Joint-stock company by Kozukenosuke Oguri #3:
Obuse's "Shipping Company"

(Japan's first shipping company)  
新潟の港に船会社を興し、地域の物産を運んで外国人に販売し資本家だけでなく農民や工芸職人もうるおう「国民利福」の道を探りたい…構想だった。明治維新で小栗上野介は勘定奉行免職、幕府は解散となり、幻の船会社で終わったが、信越にも株式会社の芽が出はじめていた。
 The idea was to establish a shipping company in the port of Niigata, and to explore the way to "national prosperity" by transporting local products and selling them to foreigners, thereby enriching not only capitalists but also farmers and craftsmen. With the Meiji Restoration, Kozukenosuke Oguri was dismissed from his post as the accounting magistrate and the Shogunate was dissolved, ending with the phantom shipping company, but the seeds of a joint-stock company were beginning to grow in the Shinetsu area (the present-day Nagano and Niigata prefectures).

                                                           


▲高井鴻山像
 (高井鴻山記念館入口)

 長野県小布施町の高井鴻山は豪農商・画家・学者として知られる人物である。晩年の北斎が江戸から4回小布施を訪れてたくさんの絵を残したのも、鴻山が招いたからである。いま高井鴻山の屋敷をそのまま使った記念館に入ると、中庭に北斎のために建てた離れのアトリエ「碧漪軒・へきいけん」(
い…は、さんずい+ケモノヘン+奇=なみ)が残されている。

 Statue of Kozan Takai (At the Entrance of Kozan Takai Memorial Museum)

Kozan Takai of Obuse, Nagano Prefecture, was known as a wealthy farmer, painter, and scholar. In his later years, Hokusai Katsushika visited Obuse and left many paintings because he was invited by Kozan. If you enter the memorial museum, which is housed in Kozan Takai's mansion, you will find a separate studio called "Hekiiken" built for Hokusai in the courtyard.

 小布施の高井鴻山が幕末に松代藩に提出した「船会社設立案」建議書が町教育委員会に残る。                
 
「信越の富豪が結社して船会社を作り外国交易を行なえば、地域の物産振興、富国強兵につながる国民利福を図ることとなる」
 「船はとりあえず官船を借用し、米人ウェンリイ(ヴァン・リード)の指導を受けて操船・交易の指導をしてもらう・・・」
 「これは小栗上野介から示唆を得たもの」

であった。

 

  Kozan Takai of Obuse submitted a proposal for the establishment of a shipping company to the Matsushiro clan at the end of the Edo period, and the proposal remains in the town.                
The proposal reads,
"If the wealthy people of the Shin-etsu area join together to form a shipping company and engage in foreign trade, it will promote the local products and benefit the people, leading to a wealthy nation and strong military."
"For the time being, we borrow a government ship and receive guidance from Van Reed, an American, on ship operation and trading..."
"This was suggested by Kozukenosuke Oguri."
  慶応四年1月小栗上野介が勘定奉行を罷免されたためこの案はそのまま日の目を見ずに終わったが、そのことを悲しんだ鴻山は、幕府崩壊に際して会計総裁に任じられた大久保一翁(忠寛)から、至急江戸へ出てきて手を貸してほしいという招きに応じないで、代りの使者を駿河台の小栗屋敷へ送って挨拶をさせている。
「小栗上野介がいない江戸へ行っても、何ほどのことがあろうか」と受け止めている高井鴻山の落胆が痛いほど見えてくる。

【参考書籍】 山崎實著『高井鴻山物語』『続高井鴻山物語』「船会社の提案書」は小布施町教育委員会蔵『小栗忠順従者の記録』村上泰賢著

In January of 1868 (Keio 4), Kozukenosuke Oguri was dismissed from his post as an accountant, and this proposal never came to light.

Konzan was saddened by this and, when he was invited by Ichio Okubo (Tadahiro), who had been appointed as the treasurer at the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, to come to Edo immediately and lend a hand, he declined it and instead sent a substitute messenger to the Oguri residence in Surugadai, Edo to greet him.

We can painfully see the disappointment of Kozan Takai, who was thinking, "What good would it do to go to Edo without K
ozukenosuke Oguri?"

(Reference Book)
"Kozan Takai Monogatari" and "Kozan Takai Monogatari #2" by Minoru Yamazaki
"Proposal for a shipping company," owned by Obuse Town Board of Education
“The Record of Tadamasa Oguri’s Follower” by Taiken Murakami
高井鴻山頌徳碑(東善寺・小栗上野介)

▲高井鴻山頌徳碑(左)と解読板(右) 
 
 北斎の天井絵「鳳凰」で名高い岩松院の境内の頌徳碑には、小栗上野介の名も刻まれている。

頌徳碑文中の小栗上野介

鴻山と小栗上野介のつながりが再確認され、いま小布施の人々は小栗上野介の業績についての関心が高い。

(頌徳碑-石碑は大正6年4月建立。日下部鳴鶴の書)

 ▲ Praising Monument to Kozan Takai (left) and deciphered board (right) 
 
The name of Kozukenosuke Oguri is inscribed on the monument in the precincts of Ganshoin Temple, which is famous for Hokusai's ceiling painting "The Phoenix."

Kozukenosuke Oguri in the text of the monument ⇒

The connection between Kozan and Kozukenosuke Oguri has been reconfirmed, and now the people of Obuse are highly interested in the achievements of Kozukenosuke Oguri.

(The Praising Monument to Kozan Takai, a stone monument, erected in April 1917. Calligraphy by Meikaku Kusakabe)
      高井鴻山と小栗上野介
 
 小栗上野介は慶喜に罷免され、「帰農土着願」の許可を得て権田村に移る直前に、彰義隊の渋沢成一郎(喜作)が訪ねてきて彰義隊の隊長に着くよう依頼されるが、断っている。  
 主戦論を唱えながらなぜ、と言われるところだが、「将軍が立ち上がらない以上、大義名分のない戦はしない」といって断った。
(by蜷川新「維新前後の政争と小栗上野の死」)  儒学では、「主君に三度諫言して之を容れざれば、之を去る」と説いていて、これほど言っても聞き入れない主君はこちら(家臣)から去る、と教えている。俗に言えば慶喜に愛想を尽かした、この人では戦っても無駄になる、という気持ちであろう。
 単純に勝海舟は恭順論の平和派、抗戦を主張した小栗上野介は主戦派と決めつけるのは早計で「だから西軍に殺されて当然」と受け取られる恐れがある。
 小栗上野介は 渋沢にこうも言っている 「(政権交代後に、)もし強藩が互いに勲功を争い内輪もめとなって群雄割拠するようなら、主君を奉じて天下に檄を飛ばすつもりはある」 として
「三百年に亘って施した徳川家の恩沢をまだ忘れない者も多くいるであろうから・・・。またそのようなこと(群雄割拠)がなければ自分は前朝の頑民として田舎で世を送るつもり…」                                     ・筆者(村上泰賢)は以前から「恩沢を忘れないもの」としてこの時小栗上野介が誰をイメージしていたのか課題としていたが、岩松院境内の高井鴻山の頌徳碑に
吾ら三百年の驩虞
(かんぐ)の沢を受く宜しく資産を挙げて以て危急を救うべし・・・」
とあることこそ
小栗上野介のイメージを体現した人物の言葉と理解した。
 江戸ー北信小布施と離れていながら、互いに心を通わせて、国事に心を痛めていた人が居たことを物語る石碑、と言えよう。
  Kozan Takai and Kozukenosuke Oguri

Kozukenosuke Oguri was dismissed by Yoshinobu Tokugawa and, just before moving to Gonda Village with the shogunate's permission of his "Application for Returning to Farming," Seiichiro Shibusawa of the Shogitai came to visit him and asked him to become the commander of the Shogitai. However, Oguri refused the request.

He may be questioned why he, who advocated the idea of a major war, decided against the request, but he said to Shibusawa that "I would not fight a war without a cause as long as the shogun did not stand up."
(Ref. “Political Strife Before and After the Meiji Restoration and the Death of Kozukenosuke Oguri” by Arata Ninagawa)


Confucianism teaches that, if the lord does not listen to you even after you have admonished him three times, you should leave him. In layman's terms, you probably felt that you had run out of love for the lord and that it would be futile to fight with him.


It is too early to simply assume that Kaishu Katsu was a pacifist who believed in reverence, while Kozukenosuke Oguri, who insisted on fighting, was a warrior. If we assume so, we may be perceived as saying that Oguri deserved to be killed by the Western forces.

Kozukenosuke Oguri also said to Eiichi Shibusawa, "If (after the change of government) powerful clans fight each other for merit and become divided into groups, I will send a message to the world in the name of my lord. There are many who have not forgotten the benefits of the Tokugawa family over the past three hundred years.... And if there are no such conflicts, I will live out my life in the countryside as a stubborn citizen of the previous dynasty...

I, Taiken Murakami, have long been trying to figure out who Kozukenosuke Oguri imagined as "the one who he never forgets the benefits of" for a long time. However, I found the monument to Kozan Takai in the precincts of Ganshoin Temple that read as follows. "We have received three hundred years of exchange of councils, and we should raise our assets to save ourselves from danger..." At that moment, I realized that these were the words of a man who embodied the image Kozukenosuke Oguri had.

This is the very stone monument that tells us that there were men who were in touch with each other and cared about the affairs of the country despite being far away from Edo and the Hokushin area (northern Nagano prefecture).


 高井鴻山の墓

小布施町祥雲寺(小布施堂の少し東)境内にある
戒名 「耕文院泰賢鴻山居士」
…とある。奇しくも道号泰賢とは、(このページの制作者村上泰賢と同名で)ありがたいご縁。
 
 Tomb of Kozan Takai
It is located In the precincts of Shounji Temple in Obuse Town (a little east of Obusedo).
Posthumous Buddhist name: "Kobun-in Taiken Kozan Koji" ...is written. Coincidentally, it has the same name as the creator of this Web site, Taiken Murakami, for which I'm grateful.
ヴァン・リード

 オランダ系アメリカ人。ハワイ王国総領事の資格で慶応2年に来日し、横浜93番地に住んで貿易業務を行っていた。この図では「ウェンライト」、ほかに「ウェンリイ」と書かれることもある。

 生麦事件の時、薩摩藩士に斬られたリチャードソンたちより早くに島津久光の行列に出会っていたが、リードは日本の習慣をよく理解していて下馬し脱帽して道端によけたのでトラブルにならなかった。

▲ヴァン・リードの住居 「横浜全図」より
▲Van Reed's Residence in "Yokohama Map"
 Van Reed
Dutch-American. He came to Japan in 1866 (Keio 2) with the status of Consul General of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and lived at 93 Yokohama, where he was engaged in trading. In this chart, he is written as "Wenwright," and sometimes as "Wenlii" in other occasions.

At the time of the Namamugi Incident, he met Hisamitsu Shimazu's procession before Charles Lennox Richardson and his men, who were cut down by the Satsuma clan. However, Reed understood Japanese customs so well that he dismounted, took off his hat, and moved to the side of the road, causing no trouble.
 
 

横須賀明細一覧図を読む…図から読み取れる産業革命の地横須賀
Reading the "Detailed Drawing of Yokosuka""We can read from the drawing that Yokosuka was the place of the Industrial Revolution in Japan.
■関連情報:「門前の小僧」さんの「春の小布施訪問記」 岩松院の方丈さんや町の皆さんとの交流になりました。http://www.sign104.com/pc/oguri/obuse/obuse2002.04.23.html

 Related Information: Monzen-no-Kozo's "Spring Visit to Obuse"
It was a great opportunity to interact with the priest of Ganshoin Temple and the people of the town.

http://www.sign104.com/pc/oguri/obuse/obuse2002.04.23.html
(2002・平成14年4月)