昨日、次兄から驚ろかされる知らせが届いた。
　今年５月下旬、九州を旅した折り、わたしは単独日帰りで福岡県宗像から広島県東広島市へと向かった。わが家系は400年前の当時この広島の「故地」に根付いていたことが『広島県史』の公的資料とわが家の伝承によって裏付けられ、当時の檀家寺と推認される安芸門徒の「順教寺」を訪問する目的。
　わが家系はその後、1718（享保3）年に当地で起きた百姓一揆による「打ち毀し」被災を経て、隣の福山藩領・松永塩田へと移動の大きな転進を遂げる。しかしその際この地に留まった家系、すなわち別れた本家筋の一統が存在したことが推認されていた。事実『広島県史』では、一揆から10年ほど後の藩の記録として、その当時の当主の名が当時の故地の経済報告に記載されている。当主の息子（わが家系の直接の祖）が藩境を越えて福山藩領へ移動したにもかかわらず、なのだ。
　そこで５月の訪問時、順教寺のご住職にそれ以降の本家筋の消息をお尋ねしたのだった。まさに「あたって砕けろ」の心理。その際、次兄が編纂したわが家系史の書物をご住職にお預けしていたのだが、今回、そこから大きな「反応」が寄せられることとなった。
　寺院側は５月末頃にさっそくそのお宅を訪問してくださっていたようなのだ。ご高齢ということもあり、その場での直接の対話は叶わなかったものの、次兄の記した家系史の書物はご当主のもとに渡り、じっくりと読み進めていただけたという。

　そしてなんと、その読後感を綴った一統からの便りが「速達」で筆者である次兄宛に届いたのだ。
　ご高齢ゆえ読書や返信にも相応の時間を要したこととお察しするが、届いた便りの行間からは「ついに巡り会えた血脈」としての魂の震えが響いてくるようだった。
　手紙には百姓一揆の顛末を巡って本家筋には全く異なる奇異な「伝承」が語り継がれてきたことが詳細に記されていた。一方で、公的資料に基づいて明かされた事件の実相と以降のわが家系の歩みに触れ、「初めてすべての背景がわかり、深く腑に落ちた」という率直な心境が告白されていた。
　308年の時を超えた、枝分かれした一統の「再会」・・・。
　歴史の暗雲の中に埋もれていた事実が、こうして再生認識されたことに、ひとりの情報人として、また末裔として未踏の喜びを感じずにはいられない。
　写真はわたしが「四百年間のいのちの履歴書」と名付けて編纂中の一書の表紙画像撮影場所の真夏の風景。この喜ばしい前進でさらに家系の歩みと向き合いたい。あたって砕けろ（笑）。

●お知らせ
拙書「作家と住空間」幻冬舎から電子書籍で発刊
お求めはAmazonで。
https://amzn.asia/d/eUiv9yO

English version⬇

[After 308 Years, a Message from an “Old Acquaintance”…]
A reply that came like a distant thunderclap from a branch of the family that split off following the “destruction” caused by a peasant uprising in the Hiroshima Prefecture region in 1718. As a researcher, this brings me an unprecedented joy. …

　Yesterday, I received some surprising news from my second-oldest brother.
　In late May of this year, while traveling through Kyushu, I took a solo day trip from Munakata in Fukuoka Prefecture to Higashi-Hiroshima City in Hiroshima Prefecture. Official records from the *History of Hiroshima Prefecture* and our family’s oral traditions confirm that our family lineage was rooted in this “ancestral homeland” in Hiroshima 400 years ago, so my purpose was to visit *Junkō-ji*, a temple of the Aki Monto sect believed to have been our family’s parish temple at that time.
　My family line subsequently underwent a major relocation to the Matsunaga Salt Fields in the neighboring Fukuyama Domain after suffering damage from the “destruction” caused by a peasant uprising that occurred in this area in 1718 (Kyōhō 3). However, it had been inferred that a branch of the main family—one that had split off—remained in this area at that time. In fact, according to the *History of Hiroshima Prefecture*, a domain record dating from about ten years after the uprising lists the name of the head of the household at that time in an economic report on the former territory. This was despite the fact that the head’s son—the direct ancestor of our family line—had moved across the domain border into the territory of the Fukuyama Domain.
　So, during my visit in May, I asked the head priest of Junkyo-ji Temple about the whereabouts of the main family line since then. It was truly a case of “go for it and see what happens.” At that time, I had left the book on our family history—compiled by my second-eldest brother—with the head priest, and this time, it elicited a significant “response.”
　It seems the temple staff promptly visited the family home around the end of May. Although a direct conversation on the spot was not possible due to the head of the household’s advanced age, the book on our family history written by my second-eldest brother was handed to him, and he reportedly read through it carefully.

　And lo and behold, a letter from the head of the household—expressing his thoughts after reading it—arrived by “express mail” addressed to my second eldest brother, the author.
While I can imagine that, given his advanced age, reading the book and composing a reply took a considerable amount of time, the lines of the letter seemed to resonate with the soul-stirring emotion of having “finally encountered his bloodline.”
　The letter detailed how a completely different and peculiar “legend” regarding the outcome of the peasant uprising had been passed down through the main branch of the family. At the same time, it touched upon the true nature of the incident—revealed through official records—and the subsequent history of our family line, confessing his candid feelings: “For the first time, I understand the full context, and it has finally clicked.”
　A “reunion” of a branched lineage spanning 308 years…
As a researcher and as a descendant, I cannot help but feel an unprecedented joy that these facts, long buried beneath the dark clouds of history, have been rediscovered and recognized in this way.
　The photo shows a midsummer scene at the location where I took the cover image for a book I’m currently compiling, which I’ve titled “A 400-Year Resume of Life.” With this joyful step forward, I want to delve even deeper into the history of my family line. I’ll just have to dive in headfirst (laughs).

● Announcement
My book, “Writers and Living Spaces,” has been published as an e-book by Gentosha.
Available on Amazon.

Posted on 8月 6th, 2026 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 未分類