わたしたちは現代の資本主義制度という社会システムのなかに生きている。そしてそれは人類史の進展過程で考えても、ごく合理的な社会制度だと思える。市場経済と政治の民主主義は根本的合理性がある。
　この制度は欧米では市民社会が「戦い取った」歴史であり、日本では明治維新という政治経済社会の急進的大革命によって成立した。いまでは空気のように感じられることが、しかし江戸期ではそうではなかった。
　幕末期（1850年代）の推定人口約3,200万人の中で武士は約190万人、つまり約6%を占めていた。この「働かない」階級に対して他の人びとはさまざまな税や貢物を強いられる。生産性が低い社会でこれは桎梏。そういった連中が政治軍事の決定権を持ち、経済社会をも支配し（ようとし）ていた。かれらにはまっとうな経済感覚は持てなかった。しかし社会の意思決定はかれらの専権だった。
　このギャップのなかで社会はさまざまな苦悩を体験する。家系の歴史をごく平明に理解したいと思ってみるとこの「闇」がどうしても深く差し掛かってくる。逆に、そういう社会背景の中でいろいろ苦悩したのでしょうね、という納得が浮かび上がって来る。その苦悩の中から社会の進歩の起動力は生まれ出てくる。
　そういう光明のような江戸期の社会システムのひとつとして「義倉・社倉」がある。これは飢饉や災害に備えて穀物を貯蔵した倉庫制度。統治機構が富裕層からの寄付などによって穀物を集め、非常時に窮民に支給する仕組みとして運用されていた。
　図は福山藩領でのこの義倉の会所建築と「府中」地域における社倉への出資者名簿。この地域に密着していた商家たちの名前と米穀の出資状況が明示されていて興味深い（福山市史より）。なかにわたしの家系が屋号とした「阿賀屋」の地域商人の名もある。
　合計で57石あまりとの記載。石という単位は基本的に１人の人間が１年間に食するコメの総量を示す。またこれだけの建築（明治期に描かれたもの）が、その出入り状況も含めて証明されている。
　義倉にはコメが貯蔵されるとともに飢饉発生時以外の通常時には、その「資本」が商人層に貸し付けられ、その運用金利が重要な収入源とされた。一種の「銀行機能」でもあった。
　江戸期商家のわが家系の多面な様子がうかがい知れる。義倉・社倉への出資はわが家系を含む商家層が、武家社会の闇のなかで「経済力で社会的責任と金融機能を担っていた」証明。しかしこの公的制度協力者であった商家は、その後の幕末の経済混乱期において「藩に協力して貯めた現銀を藩札と交換され、その藩札の崩壊によってすべてを失う」という、過酷な運命を辿ったことになる。・・・

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【Merchant Class Contributions to Edo Period Social Welfare “Gikura”】
Human society evolves gradually. As darkness and light intertwine, each lineage continues to experience its own rise and fall. …

　We live within the social system of modern capitalism. And even considering the progression of human history, it seems a highly rational social system. Market economies and political democracy possess fundamental rationality.
This system represents a history “fought for” by civil society in the West, and in Japan, it was established through the radical political, economic, and social revolution known as the Meiji Restoration. What now feels as natural as the air itself was not so during the Edo period.
　In the late Edo period (1850s), samurai numbered about 1.9 million out of an estimated population of 32 million—roughly 6%. The rest of the population was forced to pay various taxes and tributes to this “non-working” class. In a low-productivity society, this was a shackle. These individuals held political and military decision-making power and dominated (or sought to dominate) the economic and social spheres. They lacked sound economic sense. Yet societal decision-making was their exclusive prerogative.
Within this gap, society experienced profound suffering. When attempting to understand family history in plain terms, this “darkness” inevitably looms large. Conversely, one comes to understand that such suffering likely arose from this very social backdrop. It is from this suffering that the driving force for societal progress emerges.
　One such beacon of light within the Edo period’s social systems was the “Gikura/Shakura” (public granaries). This was a warehouse system for storing grain in preparation for famines and disasters. The governing body collected grain through donations from the wealthy and operated it as a mechanism to distribute grain to the destitute during emergencies.
　The illustration shows the meeting hall architecture for this gokura system within the Fukuyama domain and a list of contributors to the shakura in the “Fuchu” area. It’s fascinating to see the names of local merchants deeply rooted in this region and their grain contributions clearly listed (from the History of Fukuyama City). Among them is the name of the local merchant “Aga-ya,” the house name used by my own family lineage.
The total recorded is over 57 koku. The unit “koku” fundamentally represents the total amount of rice consumed by one person in a year. Furthermore, the existence of this building (depicted in the Meiji period) and its operational activities, including transactions, are documented.
The gokura stored rice, but during normal times outside of famines, this “capital” was lent to the merchant class. The interest earned from these loans served as a significant source of income. It also functioned as a kind of “banking system.”
　This offers a glimpse into the multifaceted nature of my family’s merchant house during the Edo period. Investment in public granaries and shrine granaries proves that the merchant class, including my family, “shouldered social responsibility and financial functions through economic power” within the shadows of samurai society. However, these merchant families, who had cooperated with the public system, faced a harsh fate during the subsequent economic turmoil of the Bakumatsu period: “The silver they had stored in cooperation with the domain was exchanged for domain notes, and they lost everything when those notes collapsed.” …

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Posted on 11月 28th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
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　幕末〜明治初期のわが家系の時間差探訪。商家として江戸期の社会に適合して生存戦略を立て、瀬戸内海地域の「松永」での塩業とその流通商家として尾道の「阿賀屋」株を入手し、同時に大名の参勤交代に伴う「本陣」ビジネスにも関与していた様子がわかってきた。
　そこからその当時の世相と実態をいろいろな手段で掘り下げようとするけれど、どうしても貨幣経済が完全に行き渡った現代の価値観をメガネにしてしまう。調べるほどに家系の出処進退と当時の社会の実相との整合性の解明が求められるのだ。
　わが家系は1873（明治６）年ころに福山市今津・松永地域から移転し、芦田川の内陸側、福山市中心部から約５ｋｍほどの親戚が多く住む「中津原」地域で農業に入っている。当時の当主は1831年生まれで、若年期には本陣ビジネスで接触する大名家との接遇にインテリ的対応が可能なように学問に励んでいた。この1873年・42歳時の農業転身に際し勤皇系の当時のインテリらしい「漢詩」を詠んだりもしている。
　江戸期の「参勤交代」に伴う本陣ビジネスは1862年頃には破綻しているので、その時期から11年で当時の当主は、家業であった商家ビジネスを見切ったことになる。どういった背景事情があったのか。
　まず第１に、本陣ビジネスでの大名家からの支払は果たして現銀だったのか？　これは調べるまでもなく経済的に破綻している多くの藩は「藩札」で決済していたに違いない。藩士への俸禄すら藩札で賄っていたとされるのだ。1871(明治４)年に廃藩置県となったが、多くの藩主はそのことを領地を奪われると受け止めるより「藩札の決済から逃れられる」と歓迎したとされるのだ。この年には福山藩・今津では藩主が東京に「華族」として移転することに抗議する暴動一揆が起こっている。「バカヤロー、責任を取れ！」
　さらに第２に、明治の政変前後の時期には異常な物価高騰が起こっている。1859（安政6）年から1867（慶応3）年までの8年間で物価は匁建て（銀貨基準）で約6.6倍になったとされる。それに対して各藩から藩札の価値保全責任を継承した新政府の決済率は、ほぼ６〜７掛け程度だったと言われる。弱り目にたたり目。
　こういう経済の実態推移を考えれば、江戸期商家を承継した家系の当主が農業への転身を図ったのは、ごく自然なことだと腑に落ちてくる。そしていまは亡き伯父の家に残っているその達筆としずかに相対したいと思っている。〜この項、つづく。
　＜写真とイラストは北海道・八雲に開拓入植した尾張徳川家藩士たちの復元家屋と土地状況＞

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The Collapse of Domain Currency and Hyperinflation That Struck Late Edo-Period Regional Merchants
The de facto end of the sankin-kotai system in 1862. Prices rising 6.6 times over the next eight years. The economic foundation crumbled. The family shifted to farming in their ancestral lands. …

　A journey through the time gaps of my family lineage from the late Edo period to the early Meiji era. As a merchant family, we adapted to Edo-period society and devised survival strategies. We engaged in the salt industry in the Setouchi region under the name “Matsunaga” and acquired shares in the Onomichi-based ‘Agaya’ company as a salt distribution merchant. Simultaneously, we were involved in the “honjin” lodging business associated with daimyo feudal lords’ mandatory alternate attendance at the shogun’s court.
　I strive to delve into the social climate and realities of that era through various means, yet inevitably view it through the lens of modern values shaped by a fully monetized economy. The more I research, the more I feel compelled to clarify the alignment between my family’s rise and fall and the true nature of society at that time.
　My family lineage relocated around 1873 (Meiji 6) from the Imazu and Matsunaga areas of Fukuyama City. They settled in the Nakatsuhara region, located inland along the Ashida River, about 5 km from central Fukuyama City, where many relatives lived, and took up farming. The head of the household at that time was born in 1831. During his youth, he diligently pursued learning to ensure he could handle interactions with the daimyo families encountered through the honjin business with an intellectual demeanor. Upon this agricultural transition in 1873, at age 42, he composed a “Chinese-style poem” characteristic of the pro-imperial intellectuals of the time.
The honjin business associated with the Edo period’s sankin-kotai system had collapsed around 1862. Thus, within 11 years of that collapse, the head of the family had abandoned the merchant business that had been the family trade. What were the circumstances behind this?
　First, were payments from daimyo families for honjin services actually made in silver? This hardly needs investigation; many financially bankrupt domains undoubtedly settled accounts using domain-issued paper money. It’s said even samurai stipends were paid in such paper currency. When the abolition of the han system and establishment of prefectures occurred in 1871 (Meiji 4), many feudal lords reportedly welcomed it not as a loss of territory, but as an escape from settling debts with han notes. That same year, in Fukuyama Domain’s Imazu, riots erupted protesting the feudal lord’s relocation to Tokyo as a “noble.” “You bastard! Take responsibility!”
　Second, an abnormal surge in prices occurred around the time of the Meiji Restoration. Over the eight years from 1859 (Ansei 6) to 1867 (Keio 3), prices are said to have risen approximately 6.6 times based on the monme standard (silver coin basis). In contrast, the settlement rate of the new government, which inherited the responsibility for maintaining the value of domain notes from the various domains, is said to have been only about 60-70% of the original value. Adding insult to injury.
　Considering these economic realities, it makes perfect sense that the head of a family inheriting an Edo-period merchant house would seek to transition into agriculture. And now, I find myself wanting to quietly confront that beautiful calligraphy still preserved in my late uncle’s house. ~This section continues.

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Posted on 11月 26th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
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　わたしの家系は江戸後期に福山藩領・今津にほど近い塩田経済地域・松永で塩経済の１プレーヤーとして、交易都市・尾道の商家株を入手し活動していたことがほぼ確定している。それを立脚点にしながら、同時に今津で「本陣」宿を拝命する河本家の経済面を一部担っていた様子が伝わってきている。きのうのブログで平戸藩主・松浦静山の旅行随筆に先祖が記述されていることをお伝えした。
　江戸期の株制度に基づいた商家として活動する一方で、この時期の先祖は今津の本陣家への奉公関係から支援されて「独立」できた経緯もあり、本陣家（河本氏）に対し最側近的「ヘルパー」も兼ねていた。
　はるかな子孫としては、その当時の「本陣宿」の経済構造を知りたくなってくる。
　しかし今津本陣では江戸期と明治期に火災や「一揆焼き討ち」にあって資料が残っていない。そこで地理的に近い廿日市（はつかいち）と玖波（くなみ）の本陣宿記録が「福山市史」にあったので参照した。
　福山市史の解説では「伝馬人足」の収入が大きかったと。
　伝馬は1835（天保６）年段階で約1,000匹。人足はおおむね7,000人。AIに確認すると伝馬人足とは「人や物資の輸送のために用意された馬、およびその馬を扱う人夫（馬子）を指す。また大名の駕籠人足、重い荷物（武具、米、道具）の移動使役」。
　江戸時代は武家による独裁政治時代なので現代世界の常識は通用しない。なので公的通行への役務について一種の税と見なして無償奉仕させられることもあったが西国大名家50家内外が頻繁に往来する「山陽道」本陣宿では、他地域のように地元に無償奉仕させることはできず、対価が支払われた可能性がきわめて高いとAIは返答する。それなりに多額の「通行料収入」があったと推定。
　だとすると表の部分は貨幣で支払われた可能性が高い。推計させると年間で現代貨幣換算では5,000〜7,000万円相当とAIは返答。
　現代貨幣社会とは違ってこうした貨幣の「実質価値」は相当倍にあたっていることが推認出来る。なんといっても１日中貨幣を使わない暮らしが庶民にはごく一般的な時代なのだ。
　江戸期のわが家系の経済状況の一端、その解明のヒントが見えてくる。・・・

＜写真イラストは広島県立博物館資料よりと今津脇本陣・蓮華寺「上段の間」＞

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【The “Economy” Under Samurai Autocracy: A Glimpse into the Revenue of Sankin-kōtai Headquarters】
The headquarters inns along the Sanyō Road, where roughly 50 daimyō families from the western provinces concentrated. This explores a facet of their annual economy. The reality of their precious “cash income” economy. …

　My family lineage is almost certainly confirmed to have operated as a player in the salt economy in Matsunaga, a salt-producing region near Imazu within the Fukuyama domain during the late Edo period. They acquired merchant shares in the trading city of Onomichi and conducted business activities. While grounded in this foundation, it has also been passed down that they simultaneously bore part of the economic burden for the Kawamoto family, who were entrusted with managing the “honjin” inn in Imazu. Yesterday’s blog mentioned that my ancestors are described in the travel essays of Matsuura Seizan, lord of the Hirado domain.
While operating as a merchant based on the Edo-period shareholding system, my ancestors during this period were also supported through their service relationship with the Honjin family in Imazu, enabling their “independence.” They also served as the closest “helpers” to the Honjin family (the Kawamoto clan).
　As a distant descendant, I find myself wanting to understand the economic structure of the “honjin lodging” at that time.
However, the Imazu honjin suffered fires and “rebellion arson attacks” during the Edo and Meiji periods, leaving no surviving records. Therefore, I referred to records of the honjin lodgings in the geographically close towns of Hatsukaichi and Kunami found in the “Fukuyama City History.”
　The Fukuyama City History commentary noted that income from “relay horse laborers” was substantial.
Relay horses numbered approximately 1,000 in 1835 (Tenpō 6). Laborers numbered roughly 7,000. AI confirms that “denma-ninjaku” refers to “horses prepared for transporting people and goods, along with the laborers (umako) who handled them. It also includes daimyo’s palanquin bearers and laborers tasked with moving heavy cargo (armor, rice, tools).”
　The Edo period was an era of feudal military rule, so modern-day common sense doesn’t apply. While labor for public passage was sometimes treated as a form of tax and provided without compensation, the AI response indicates that at the honjin inns along the Sanyo Road—frequently used by around 50 western daimyo families—it was highly unlikely that local residents were forced to provide unpaid labor as in other regions. Payment was instead almost certainly made. It is estimated that a fairly substantial amount of “toll revenue” was generated.
　If so, the red-marked sections on the chart likely represent payments made in currency. When estimated, the AI responded that this would equate to approximately 50 to 70 million yen per year in modern currency terms.
　Unlike modern monetary societies, the “real value” of such currency can be inferred to have been significantly higher. After all, this was an era where living without using currency all day was perfectly normal for commoners.
A glimpse into the economic circumstances of my family lineage during the Edo period emerges, offering clues to its understanding. …

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Posted on 11月 24th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
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　北海道の渡島半島北部・八雲町の開拓期を学べる記念館での開拓期のいとなみ探訪。
　高齢期になってくると、写真のような素朴な人間の暮らしの様子に沈殿させられる。来し方行く末、という言葉があるけれど、ほぼ「行く末」の方に目が行くのがごく自然な人間社会のありよう。それに対してだんだんと、人間の素の生き様それ自体から「叫び声」を感じるようになってくる。
　わたしたちのいま現代の暮らしは、過去の無数のひとびとの営為によって紡ぎ出されてきたもの。
　とくにほんの150年程度の過去に原始のような環境に日々挑み続けてきたのが北海道。それなのに、その程度の過去の日々すら、忘却は強烈に進行してくる。それも人間社会としては当然なのでしょうし、それが社会のダイナミズムをも生み出すのでしょうね。
　こういう記録写真は北海道の開拓期がちょうど日本における写真メディアの最初期にも当たっているので、札幌での様子など北大などにけっこうの記録蓄積がある。その時代の「伝達者」たちの本能的なメディア精神の表出でもあったのでしょうね。ただ、そういう記録の保存ということも、最初期にはまだ不十分ではあったでしょうね。そういう状況に中で、こういう質朴な写真が残っているのは有意義。
　わたしはいま札幌の市街住宅地に日々暮らしている。冬の訪れが色濃くなってきて、ようやくヒグマの出没情報がやや沈静化してきたようにも感じるけれど、ことしは本当にまるで開拓期並みにヒグマが出没してきた。この写真の八雲は開拓着手した尾張徳川家の殿様が、あまりのヒグマの出没ぶりに驚き、またちょうど海外での「クマの彫り物文化」に接して、八雲でもそういう彫り物文化を奨励したのだという。困難を乗り越えていくアイデアとしたと推察。そのことで一時期は北海道「土産」の定番であったクマの彫り物「マーケット」ではこの八雲が主導役を果たしていたのだという。
　ピンチはチャンスでもあるのでしょう。
　そしてこの開拓の「来し方」のさまざまな掘り起こし努力というのも、開拓からの第４〜第５世代のわたしたちに課せられた役割でしょうね。ボーッとしてばかりもいられない（笑）。

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From the early Meiji era scenes of “fishing on the sea and rivers” during Hokkaido’s settlement
The “heartbeat” of daily life for our ancestors not so long ago. The “vibrations” conveyed through the sheer force of hauling in nets…

　Exploring the pioneering spirit at a museum in Yakumo Town, northern Oshima Peninsula, Hokkaido, where you can learn about the settlement era.
As one enters old age, one becomes deeply moved by the simple scenes of human life captured in photographs like this. There’s a saying about the past and the future, but it’s only natural for human society to focus almost entirely on the “future.” In contrast, one gradually begins to sense a “cry” emanating from the very essence of human existence itself.
　Our modern lives today have been woven together by the countless endeavors of people from the past.
Hokkaido, in particular, has been a place where people have continuously challenged a primitive environment for just about 150 years. Yet, even the days of that relatively recent past are fading into oblivion at an alarming rate. This is probably inevitable for human society, and it likely fuels the very dynamism of society itself.
　These documentary photographs are significant because Hokkaido’s pioneering era coincided with the very beginnings of photographic media in Japan. Consequently, considerable records of scenes in Sapporo and elsewhere are preserved at institutions like Hokkaido University. It was likely an expression of the instinctive media spirit of the “communicators” of that era. However, the preservation of such records was probably still inadequate in those earliest days. Given that context, the fact that these simple photographs remain is truly meaningful.
　I now live daily in a residential area of Sapporo. As winter’s arrival grows more pronounced, it finally feels like reports of brown bear sightings have somewhat subsided. But this year, brown bears have appeared with a frequency truly reminiscent of the pioneer era. This photo shows Yakumo, where the lord of the Owari Tokugawa family, who began the settlement, was so startled by the sheer number of brown bears appearing that he encouraged a carving culture there, inspired by the “bear carving culture” he had encountered overseas. I imagine it was an idea to overcome adversity. Because of this, Yakumo played a leading role in the bear carving “market,” which was once a staple souvenir of Hokkaido.
　A crisis is also an opportunity, I suppose.
And this effort to unearth the various “past” aspects of this settlement is surely a role entrusted to us, the fourth and fifth generations since the settlement began. We can’t just sit around spacing out (laugh).

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Available on Amazon.

Posted on 11月 22nd, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
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　先日参観した北海道八雲町の「開拓記念館」に江戸末期から明治にかけての尾張徳川家の当主の写真が展示されていた。歴史好きだけれど、こういう人物写真に触れるのは初めてだったので、いろいろの妄想を刺激されていた。
　どういう興味かというと残っている人物写真、それも血縁関係で明確な世代更新痕跡が表現された数世代の顔写真から、さかのぼって数百年単位先代の「想像図」は可能なのだろうか、ということ。尾張徳川家の場合、３世代程度の写真画像は保存されているだろうから、ひょっとすると「徳川家康」の想像画像が可能かもということ。男系の写真だけでは母系のDNA影響を加味できないから難しいと思うけれど、可能性としての「類推画像」程度は可能かも知れないという考え。
　ちょっと気になったのでAIのGeminiに＜親子４代の写真からその前の世代の面影を想像することは可能か？ ＞と問いかけてみたら、以下の返答。
　「はい、AI画像操作によって、親子4代の写真からそれ以前の世代の面影を想像することは可能です」という断言。オイオイ大丈夫かよ？なんですが、・・・
　「これは、特徴抽出と融合、年齢退行・進展と顔の変化予測という手法によって●先祖顔の生成: 4代の顔の特徴を統合し、そこに現れていないが遺伝的に存在しうる「仮想の先祖」の顔を生成。●「曾祖父母の若かりし頃」の再構築: 曾祖父母の顔写真から、その若い頃（例えば、彼らの親がその年齢だった頃）の顔を推測して生成。●遺伝的特徴の強調: 複数の世代にわたって現れる特徴（例えば、特定の目の形や鼻の高さ）を抽出し、それを強調した画像を生成することで「家系の顔」の傾向を視覚化します」
　ということなのだそうです。
　まぁ、検証はしようがないことですが「類推画像」の範囲であれば利用価値はあるかも知れない。あるいは３世代の顔写真から４世代前を類推させて、その画像と見せていないホンモノの４世代前前画像とを対比する、イジワル検証もあり得る。それを反映させ精度を高める工夫もあり得るかと。
　先日あるAI利活用のWEB講演を聞いていましたが、まだまだ黎明期のようで、日本人的な「進化」のさせ方というものがあり得るようにも思っています。

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English version⬇

【AI Analysis of Owari Tokugawa Family Portraits: “Inferring” Ieyasu’s Face?】
Ideas for its application are truly in their infancy. Couldn’t it be used for all sorts of purposes? What’s being tested is imagination. …

　The other day, I visited the “Pioneer Memorial Museum” in Yakumo Town, Hokkaido, where photographs of the heads of the Owari Tokugawa family from the late Edo period through the Meiji era were on display. While I’m a history buff, this was my first time encountering such portraits of historical figures, and it sparked all sorts of imaginings.
　My curiosity centered on this: Is it possible to create an “imagined portrait” of ancestors from centuries ago, based on surviving photographs—specifically, several generations of portraits showing clear generational succession through blood ties? In the case of the Owari Tokugawa family, photographs spanning about three generations are likely preserved. So, perhaps an imagined image of “Tokugawa Ieyasu” might be possible. I suspect it would be difficult using only paternal lineage photos, as it wouldn’t account for maternal DNA influence, but I wondered if creating a “reconstructed image” as a possibility might be feasible.
Curious, I asked the AI Gemini: “Is it possible to imagine the likeness of generations preceding four generations of parent-child photos?” It responded:
　“Yes, it is possible to imagine the likeness of generations prior to the four generations of photos using AI image manipulation.” Huh? Are you sure about that? But…
“This is achieved through feature extraction and fusion, age regression/progression, and facial change prediction techniques: ● Ancestral Face Generation: Integrating facial features from four generations to generate a ‘virtual ancestor’ face that isn’t present but could exist genetically. ● Reconstructing ‘Great-Grandparents in Their Youth’: Inferring and generating the faces of great-grandparents during their younger years (e.g., when their parents were that age) from existing photos. ● Emphasizing Genetic Traits: Visualizing family facial tendencies by extracting features common across multiple generations (e.g., specific eye shapes or nose heights) and generating images that accentuate them.”
That’s apparently how it works.
　Well, verification is impossible, but within the scope of “inferred images,” it might have some value. Or, a mischievous verification could involve inferring the face of someone four generations back from photos of three generations and then comparing that image with the actual, unseen image of the person four generations back. Efforts to reflect that and improve accuracy might also be possible.
　I recently attended a web lecture on AI utilization, and it seems we’re still in the early days. I suspect there might be a distinctly Japanese approach to “evolving” this technology.

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Posted on 11月 20th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
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