Rokugo Masachika (六郷政速)
Masachika ROKUGO (1764 - November 29, 1812) was the seventh head of Honjo Domain, Dewa Province. He was the third son of the sixth domain head, Masashige ROKUGO. It is said that his mother was a concubine. His lawful wife was the daughter of Naoyoshi NAGAI. His first son was Masayoshi ROKUGO and the third son was Masazumi ROKUGO. His official court rank was Jugoinoge (Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade). He was Governor of Sado Province.
Career
His childhood name was Shozaburo (尚三郎). His name was Masatake. Masanao (政正). Masayasu. At first, the family reign was supposed to be succeeded by Masanori ROKUGO, the first son of the fifth domain head, Masanaga ROKUGO, however, as Masanori died young in April 1776, Masachika became the heir, and took over as head of the family on January 10, 1784, when his father retired. However, during his administration, he had to face various difficulties; in addition to the fire that occurred in the center of the town and a great earthquake, the domain was beset by a large-scale ikki (uprising), 'Manzawa sodo' (peasant's revolt in Manzawa) that broke out triggered by the corruption of nanushi (a village headman) and the successive injustice and mismanagement in the post-incident procedures, which provoked further confusions, and even conflicts between the urban wholesale merchants. In 1806 after the earthquake, the domain borrowed money of more than 1700 ryo (currency unit) from 52 merchants of the territory. As described later, it is also said that the money might have been used for land exploitation. On the other hand, during the Tenmei era, he set up hanko (a domain school) 'Shushin-kan' to educate the retainers within Sannomaru (outer part) of the castle. On November 29, 1812, he died at the age of 49. As his first son had been already disinherited, his third son Masazumi succeeded to the family.
Posthumous Buddhist name: Kankoin Nintatsu Ryochi (寛広院仁達良智)
Grave: Manryu-ji Temple in Nishi-Asakusa, Taito Ward, Tokyo.
Exploitation of Kisakata
Kisakata located in the Honjo Domain was famous for its picturesque view consisting of Tsukumo-jima Islands and Yasohachi-gata Lagoon, which was depicted as 'small islands floating in the sea with shoals' and where Basho MATSUO also visited on his journey of "Oku no Hosomichi" (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), however, Kisakata was uprooted by the above mentioned great Chokai earthquake (Kisakata Earthquake) and changed into 'an extensive land with scattered mounds.'
The Honjo Domain that was making efforts until then to maintain its picturesque view, placing an officer called Shimamori (guards of the island), tried to look this change from a different angle and took it as an opportunity. In short, an extensive and unexploited plain land had emerged.
The domain, after having raised the fund, launched the land reclamation project several years after the earthquake to make it an arable land
At the outset of the project, the domain intended to planarize the land, completely leveling the mounds (that were islands before), and the surplus earth and the logged pine trees were to be utilized to develop a vast agricultural land, however, the chief priest named Kakurin of Kanman-ji Temple, a local famous temple with a long history, began an opposition campaign. To see that the domain would not accept his claim, Kakurin went up to Kyoto and lobbied the Kaninnomiya family to get Kanman-ji Temple designated as an oratory, and promoted the opposition campaign backed by the authority of the Imperial Court. In that circumstance, the domain was incapable of openly intervening to neither Kanman-ji Temple or Kakurin.
However, the domain, which wanted to promote new land development, detained Kakurin while he was in Edo (the current Tokyo) and incarcerated him as a laic figure popularly called Kansuke, and Kakurin died in prison.
Since then, the domain's exploitation project made advancement but most of the mounds were left untouched. It is said that it was because the people were afraid of Kakurin's curse or it was the question of saving money and troublesome work.
In any case, the famous picturesque view of Kisakata has remained as described today as 'the hills scattered as if they were islands in the country view.'