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解題・説明（英語）
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Hirosaki ko on’ezu (Illustration of Historical Hirosaki. See: Hirosakishi shi Tsūshi hen 2: Kinsei 1, pg. 189, fig. 69)
This illustration depicts the details of the Hirosaki castle town during the early Edo period, and is believed to have been completed in Keian 2 (1649). During May of 1649, a great fire destroyed much of the area around Teramachi (present day Mototeramachi), and Shinteramachi (“new” Teramachi) was established in March of the following year and the destroyed Teramachi temples were relocated there. By comparing with the earlier “Illustration of Tsugaru Hirosaki Castle” (In Illustrated Castles of the Shōhō Era [Shōho shiro ezu], National Archives of Japan), we see that allotments for temples like Montodera (Pure Land Temple) and Tendaidera (Tendai Buddhist Temple) are left blank; on the other hand, the new district of Shinteramachi is also absent. Therefore, we can infer that this illustration records the Hirosaki castle town as it was immediately following the Teramachi fire, but before the relocation of destroyed temples to Shinteramachi.
The drawing is almost square, measuring 218 cm by 215 cm. There is faint coloring throughout the picture, and residences are labeled with the names of both samurai and merchant families, and commoners' names are accompanied by their trade. The first character of each resident's name faces the street, clearly indicating which direction the entrance to the home was. Neighborhood and river names are also included. The illustration shows that the names of neighborhoods which constitute central Hirosaki today—Kamenokōmachi, Kon'yamachi (Indigo Dying neighborhood), Dotemachi, Kajimachi (Smithing neighborhood)—have basically maintained the same orthographic notation since they were founded in the early Edo Period.
A basic overview of the castle town includes the castle's Kakunai inner districts Ni no maru and San no maru, containing the houses of the daimyo's mid- to upper-rank retainers, and Mayachō in the Kakugai outer district, still considered part of the castle grounds despite being separated to the west by the Iwaki River. Additionally, the castle town contained residences for mid- to low-ranking retainers and commoners, as well as Seiganji Temple (Pure Land sect) and its sub-temples. Lower-rank samurai, servants to the warrior class, and merchants, including petty enfeoffed samurai [kochigyō], samurai servants [okobito], and foot soldiers [wakatō], lived to the north and east of the castle, where the Saishōin Temple and the Hachimangū Shrine under its administration were located. The Samuraimachi neighborhood lay to the east of the castle with mid- to low-ranking residences for retainers and commoners and a Tōshōgū Shrine honoring the Shogun Ieyasu. Further, until their loss in a great fire, Teramachi contained Buddhist temples of the Jōdo Pure Land, Tendai, Nichiren, and Jōdoshinshū True Pure Land faiths. Many manual laborers lived north of Nikai Barrier (in Watoku). The area south of the castle contained residences of the mid- to low-ranking retainers, as well as annexes of those high-ranking retainers who resided in the Kakunai inner district. It also contained a temple neighborhood (Chōshōji kō) comprised of commoner housing and Sōtō Zen Buddhist temples. The illustration also shows a large reservoir (Minami tameike). There was a diversity of townspeople and tradesmen, and we can see store names representing various domains and settlements from around the country. The map shows that many merchants from the western coast of the country and the Kinki capital region settled in this castle town, reflecting the strong connection running between the Tsugaru region and trade on the Japan Sea. (Chiba Ichidai)
References:
Ezu ni miru Hirosaki no machi no utsurikawari (Hirosaki shiritsu hakubutsukan, 1984).
Hasegawa Seiichi, “Hirosaki jōka ni tsuite,” in Tsugaru kinsei shiryō 1 Hirosaki jōka shiryō, Vol. 1, Edited by Tsugaru kinsei shiryō kankōkai, Hasegawa Seiichi (Hoppō shinsha, 1986).
Hasegawa Seiichi, “Keian ninen goro 'Hirosaki ko on'ezu' (Hirosaki toshokan zō): Jakkan no kaisetsu to fukugen,” in Bunka ni okeru 'kita' (Hirosaki daigaku jinbun gakubu jinbunka tokutei kenkyū jimukyoku, 1989).
Jōkamachi ko ezu sanpo 8: Sendai, Tōhoku, Hokkaidō no jōkamachi (Heibonsha, 1998).
Chiba Ichidai, “Jōkamachi no kensetsu: Hirosaki jō no machiwari,” in Zusetsu: Hirosaki, Kuroishi, Chūnan Tsugaru no rekishi, Edited by Hasegawa Seiichi (Kyōdo shuppansha, 2006).
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