CRITERIO: GENERAL

Tosa’s many compounds in Edo formed a network in which each played a distinct role. In 1684, the domain maintained five establishments: the main compound at Kajibashi and others at Shiba, Shinagawa, Hatchōbori, and Shin- denjima. Interestingly, none of the compounds at this time were designated as “middle compounds.”41 Several decades later, the number had more than doubled to twelve, according to figures compiled at shogunal request in 1712 and 1725 (see Table 5.1).42

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The large number of compounds, however, is far in excess of what is apparent from an examination of books of military heraldry, which usually only list the two or three principal compounds whose land was granted by the shogunate. The large number of compounds is also not apparent from an examination of Edo city maps, which often reflect only putative ownership — or more precisely, only rights to occupancy of plots of land — rather than actual land usage. As will be discussed below, the number and size of a domain’s compounds varied over time, with officials purchasing and selling off land according to changing economic needs.

Tosa’s network of twelve compounds in 1725 (Table 5.1A) consisted of one main headquarters at Kajibashi on Daimyo Avenue, just inside the gate for which it was named; one middle compound, at Shiba (Mita); and one lower compound at Shinagawa Ōimura. These three principal compounds were es- tablished on land granted the Yamauchi lord by the shogunate. The remaining parcels were found at various locations on townsman or farmer land, purchased

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outside the city center. Tosa, like many other domains after the devastating Meireki fire, formally requested of the shogunate, and also sought to purchase on its own, land away from the congested central areas, and it was bequeathed a land grant at Shinagawa three years later in 1660. It was the most spacious of the compounds and grew from large (10,891 tsubo in 1712) to larger (16,891 tsubo in 1725). Five other parcels of land (numbers 4–8 in Table 5.1A) were treated as quasi–warrior lands, but came under the administrative authority of a Toku- gawa intendant; consequently land taxes and various other exactions were ap- plied to them. Two of the parcels (nos. 5 and 6) were on former agricultural land and were treated as townsman land; that is, they too were under the adminis- trative authority of an intendant, but for census purposes their inhabitants were included in townsman figures.43 Number 5, the parcel at Shinagawa Ōimura hama, was located near the lower compound, and the back portion of it, which faced the ocean, was used as an unloading and storage area for lumber. Number 6 was used to house retainers. Parcels 9 through 12 were purchased for the do-

Figure 5.4. Main residences of Hiro- shima (right and center-right) and Saga (left and center-left) domains. “Tōto meisho. Kasu mi gaseki zenzu.” Courtesy of Sakai Gankō, Ukiyoe bijutsukan.

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main by commoner proxies and with one exception (number 9) were under the administrative authority of the city magistrate. Number 9, located at Shimo- Takanawa, was contiguous with the domain’s other holding there (number 4) and the two together were treated as one. The water reservoir (number 10) was located across the street (Mita dōri) from the domain’s middle compound at Shiba.44 The final two parcels (numbers 11 and 12), at Minami Konya-chō and Minami Hatchōbori, were both warehouses.

Tosa, like many other domains after the Meireki fire, at its own initiative began purchasing farmland, classified as kakae yashiki, in villages outside the original boundary of Edo. At the time of the 1725 survey, it owned at least three such landholdings, which contributed to a drastic expansion of the informal city.

Retainers also lived in residences purchased by the domains in townsman areas, although it is not clear whether or not this was simply because the other residences were too crowded. For example, in the early eighteenth century, the mother of the Tosa lord, accompanied by a number of retainers, lived in at a res- idence in Shimo-Takanawa, close to (probably adjoining) the lower compound at Shinagawa.45 Some evidence for Satsuma domain suggests that these land- holdings were used to alleviate crowded conditions in the main compounds when the lord was in Edo; retainers living in townsman areas were ordered to return to the main compounds after the Shimazu lord returned home. Else- where, too, some retainers requested to live in these areas, perhaps out of dislike for barracks life.46

Economic conditions directly affected the number of compounds a domain maintained. In 1768, forty-odd years after the previous census, Tosa domain was in possession of four fewer parcels of land, which reduced the overall area of its holdings by 11,000 tsubo, almost 25 percent.47 The reduction in landhold- ings was no doubt due to the serious economic difficulties the domain was experiencing mid-century, conditions which led Tosa to undertake a reform program in the Tenmei period (1781–1789).48

The last survey figures available, from 1842 (Table 5.1B), show an economic recovery in the domain, as seen by the substantial increase in landholdings in Edo, slightly in excess of the levels of the early eighteenth century (44,883 vs. 44,455 tsubo). The domain sold or traded away its two small warehouses at Minami Konya-chō and Minami Hatchōbori, but acquired two large new ones (listed as lower compounds) from the shogunate, at Tsukiji and Fukagawa. Tsukiji was a substantial holding, nearly the same size as the middle compound at Mita. With the compound at Fukagawa, the domain acquired for the first time property on the eastern side of the Sumida River. It also acquired a small parcel (606 tsubo) of contiguous land, classified as townsman land, and then enclosed it with its shogunal land grant, a common strategy that domains pur-

Daimyo Compounds: Place and Space 143 sued to increase the size of land grants. At first glance there appears to have been much activity in Shinagawa, with the domain leasing six small parcels of land totaling 1,050 tsubo. In fact, nothing about Tosa’s landholdings in Shina- gawa had changed since the earlier censuses of 1725 and 1802 except the manner in which they were reported to the Tokugawa. The six parcels had been part of the lower compound at Shinagawa since the early eighteenth century, but were recorded individually for the first time in 1842. The properties were listed as rentals for official purposes, since each was an individual land grant from the shogunate to other parties and therefore technically could not be alienated, but they were all joined to Tosa’s official land grant of 15,851 tsubo.

Some scholars have assumed that the picture of land use with regard to the daimyo compounds, as least after the Meireki fire of 1657, remained largely static.49 As the discussion above indicates, however, the situation was quite dif- ferent. Records for at least twenty-five land transactions for Tosa in Edo reveal that the domain bought and sold property according to economic need and also for status considerations; it and other domains tried to expand individual plots whenever possible or to create large holdings through a series of purchases of smaller plots. Larger landholdings for the primary compounds improved the daimyo’s status in a society that was obsessed with such social distinctions. They also ameliorated conditions at the densely populated main and secondary compounds.

While the land granted by the shogun could in principle be traded for an- other similar piece of land, it could not be sold. Yet an examination of Tosa’s land transactions reveals that it only slightly disguised purchases of shogunal- granted land through fictitious land exchanges. For example, if one domain wanted to buy some of this land from another, on paper the two agreed to an “exchange” (aitai gae) of land. They did this to receive official permission for the transaction, but it is clear that the land was in fact sold. This is what hap- pened with Tosa’s lower residence at Shinagawa, which, as noted, consisted of one parcel of land granted from the Tokugawa and six (illegal) purchases.50 Tosa’s main residence remained at Kajibashi for the duration of the Tokugawa period (and the area figures for 1802 and 1842 were identical at 7,052 tsubo), which might seem to indicate that the landholding was static. In 1698, however, significant changes occurred when the Tokugawa redistributed the land grants of a number of domains after a major fire inflicted substantial damage to the central part of the city. Tosa found three-quarters of its so-called Levee Resi- dence and two-thirds of its middle compound confiscated by the shogunate. As dispenser of land to the daimyo, the shogunate reserved the right to take land back, and it exercised this right from time to time, as in this instance.51 Both of these parcels of land were close to the main compound: the middle compound just to the east; and the Levee Residence, per its name, located on an embank-

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ment just inside Kajibashi gate just across the street to the east of the middle resi- dence.52 In exchange, Tosa was given land amounting to 7,041 tsubo, 800 tsubo more than the parcels confiscated. This was added to the main compound, dras- tically changing the configuration of that landholding and regularizing what had been an oddly shaped parcel into a shape close to a rectangle.53 As a result of this change, the number of daimyo compounds on the block was reduced from five to two (Tosa and Awa), with Tosa occupying the northern portion.54 After the alterations of 1698, however, the main residence at Kajibashi remained largely unchanged except for a minor redistribution of land in 1834 in which a small portion was confiscated from one part of the compound and a larger piece, in another section, granted, resulting in a net increase of 303 tsubo.55

The compound at Shiba Mita provides a good example of the sometimes substantial changes that could occur to a single landholding. Beginning in 1628 as a modest parcel of land of only 100 tsubo (331 sq. m), it became home to the young heir Tadatoyo three years later. Conditions there were cramped, however, so two parcels of land adjoining the original grant were purchased in 1669, increasing the area of the compound to 8,479 tsubo. This made it consid- erably larger than the main compound (then 7,052 tsubo). After two separate fires raged through the Shiba area in 1735, the shogunate decided to widen the road running between Tosa and Satsuma domain’s compounds, confiscating a slice of Tosa’s residence but giving it a corresponding piece adjoining another side; by this time Shiba had been designated the middle compound.56 Fifteen years later (1750), the Tokugawa granted Tosa a second middle compound, at Hibiya, of 1,126 tsubo, and in exchange confiscated 1,519 tsubo from Shiba.57 As a result, according to various records, conditions at Shiba became cramped and the domain’s fire brigade, which performed duty for the Tokugawa at Zōjōji, was moved from Shiba to Hibiya.58

Tosa’s compounds at Fukagawa and Tsukiji provide good examples of the way land granted by the shogunate was alienated late in the period, evidence that for most intents and purposes the daimyo were treating it as private prop- erty. Seeking to acquire the compound of a Tokugawa bannerman next door to its compound at Fukagawa, Tosa officials went through the required motions of trading one piece of granted land for another. In 1835, the two thousand–

tsubo holding was acquired by “trading” it for a much smaller parcel of only

one hundred tsubo. The internal Tosa domain record documenting this clearly notes that its piece of land was handed over in “name only.” It was clear to all concerned, including the shogunate, which gave its sanction, that the transac- tion was a simple purchase. Such fictive exchanges increased significantly late in the Tokugawa period. These could involve multiple parties — witness the six-way transaction involving Matsudaira Sadanobu while he was serving as shogunal senior councilor — and money.59

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The “Flowers of Edo”

Fires, like fights, were known by contemporaries as the “flowers” of Edo, col- orful like fireworks (hanabi, or “flower-fires” in Japanese), which light up the sky. A major conflagration affecting a broad swath of the city occurred roughly once every six years.60 This was a fact of life given the prevalence of wood as construction material and the high population density in the city, particularly in commoner sections.61 In reading the Edo diaries of Tosa Confucian scholar Miyaji Umanosuke, one is struck by the frequency with which he mentions fires in the city. In much of his account, which covers the years 1839 through 1842, a notation about a fire occurs daily; on some occasions he records each of the four or five that had broken out in different areas, where and when the fire started, and importantly the time by which it had been put out, indicating just how much fires entered the consciousness of people living in Tokugawa Ja- pan’s largest city. These were not just distant fires of course. Residents in Tosa’s Edo compounds had to deal with at least twenty-one major fires at the main residence and twelve at Shiba while the latter was the middle compound. Its other compounds in outlying areas were also affected, though not as frequently. Earthquakes, too, occasionally resulted in substantial damage.62

The spacing of the three principal residences of any domain took into con- sideration the frequency of fires in Edo. When there was a fire near the main residence, the lord and his entourage would be moved, depending on the di- rection of the fire, to either the middle or lower compound. The frequency of fires may have inured some people, including the lord, to them. From an upper floor at the main residence, Lord Toyosuke viewed the fire, which had already burned down the domain’s compounds at Tsukiji and Hatchōbori, and gave instructions before he went to sleep to his attending retainer that he should be awakened if the fire came closer.63 A warning of fire, with wooden clappers and bell, was sounded from the fire-watch tower at the main residence, but senior advisor Gotō Seijun recorded in his diary that the fire still seemed far away so he felt no need to report to the lord’s residence.64 On another occasion Mori Yoshiki was at the main residence at Kajibashi when a fire broke out in Shiba, and despite being on duty he was able to go with several colleagues to watch the fire, which burned one hundred homes. The following day he went “sightsee- ing” to witness the extent of the damage. On duty again four days later, fires struck closer to home. The watchman hit the alarm twelve times (indicating the fire’s close proximity?) and called out that the fires could be spotted in seven different places, but in the end none reached the residence.65

The frequency of fires necessitated an escape plan, and most if not all do-

mains had them. For Tosa, a fire in the vicinity of the main residence gener- ally sent the lord and a small number of his retainers to the Shiba or Hibiya

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compound. When a fire struck close to the Shiba residence, the plan called for evacuation to the main residence or to nearby Zōjōji temple, which had a large amount of open space. If both the main and middle compounds were under threat, the contingency plan was to move essential personnel to the lower resi- dence at Shinagawa, on the outskirts of the city.66

While the wide spatial distribution of a domain’s principal compounds may have lessened the impact of major fires, the economic effects of Edo’s many conflagrations was nonetheless considerable. The cost of rebuilding the main compound after the fires in 1772 and 1780 was a contributing factor in Tosa’s dire fiscal conditional as well as its decision to apply to the shogunate to per- form Edo-related duty at the reduced status of 100,000 koku (instead of the regular level of 200,000) for ten years. Tosa was not alone in this, of course, as the 1772 event was particularly devastating, leaving a path of destruction fifteen miles long and more than two miles wide. This reduced status would aid the domain in its program of domestic economic change, known as the Tenmei Reform. In practical terms this meant Tosa could reduce expenses in gift giving to the shogun and his officials. It also meant that while the lord would continue to perform duty at full status (e.g., continue fire prevention duty at Zōjōji) for the shogun, the numbers in his entourage could be reduced.67

While the fires that struck the main and middle compounds did not always result in complete disasters, the damage was often considerable and displaced many residents. When a principal compound burned down it often took years to rebuild. It took a full six years before the main residence at Kajibashi could be occupied again after a fire in 1756. Other major fires struck the main compound again in 1780 and 1784, and it was eight years before the lord was able to return. As a result, conditions at the middle compound became terribly cramped.68 When an Edo residence burned, it was not uncommon for other daimyo, Tokugawa officials, as well as religious prelates to assist the victims by sending emergency relief — “sympathy gifts” (mimai hin) — to the stricken domain. For example, in 1780, fire razed Tosa’s main residence, and four hundred rice balls, a load of rice gruel, two barrels of sake, one thousand pieces of wood (to rebuild fences), steamed dumplings, and candlesticks were among the items received. That fire, one of three that broke out in its compounds and spread to a neigh- boring domain’s, resulted in Tosa’s being punished by the shogunate. In this case, the domain was put under orders of self-restraint (ontashinami) for eight days, which meant that social contacts at all of Tosa’s compounds, not just at the offending main one, had to be kept to a minimum. Windows and gates in the barracks were shut and only unavoidable official business was permitted. Special fire watches throughout the night were also mandatory.69

When buildings burned in Edo, the flames could be felt, in a figurative sense, by retainers back in Tosa, who paid for reconstruction through stipend reduc-

Daimyo Compounds: Place and Space 147 tions. After the main compound burned in 1760, a 50 percent reduction was considered, but because of the severe consequences of such a drastic cut, sti- pends were reduced by a little more than 25 percent in 1761 and continued at that rate for an undetermined number of years.70 Reductions of 50 percent did follow a major fire in 1772, prompting the domain to excuse retainers in Kōchi of less than two hundred koku from participating in the New Year’s horse- riding competition, a major event in the castle town.71 Edo-based samurai, in contrast, usually did not suffer these cutbacks, though they might lose valu- able personal possessions in the flames. For example, Tosa retainer Hiraimiishi