英語訳
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (The Situation at the Time of Nobuaki's Return to Office) 332
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**The Selfish Retired Lord**
Originally, Hitotsubashi Harusada, the biological father of the shogun, was such a person that he was rumored in the world as "the selfish retired lord," and even the senior officials of the shogunate found him quite troublesome. However, he had many sycophantic retainers who flattered him, all with the intention of using this Harusada to accomplish something for themselves. Even the great Sadanobu struggled with this situation. This is precisely why, after Sadanobu's resignation, in just three or four years, in the 2nd month of Kansei 9, that Mizuno Tadatomo returned to service, and in the 11th month, this person finally returned to the position of Senior Councilor of the Western Citadel - this too was said to be Harusada's will.
**Mizuno Tadatomo**
Indeed, this Tadatomo had ingratiated himself with Okitsugu during the Tanuma era, becoming a personal attendant and eventually being appointed to a position equivalent to Senior Councilor. His adopted son Tadanori was actually Okitsugu's second son, and these two men colluded with each other to manipulate power. However, as I mentioned before, when Okitsugu was dismissed in Tenmei 6, Tadatomo immediately changed his allegiance and even severed relations with his adopted son, shocking the world with his fickleness. Nevertheless, though this man was soon dismissed from office, he returned to service again in Kansei 9 as I mentioned, causing Senior Councilor Honda Tadakazu to find the situation absolutely unbearable and resign from his palace duties. This made people worry that all of Sadanobu's painstaking efforts would come to nothing. However, Tadatomo soon died on the 20th day of the 9th month of Kyōwa 2 at the age of 72.
Now, the influence of those clinging to Harusada only continued to spread, and in the following third year, as I described in the previous chapter, Nobuaki found himself in unavoidable circumstances that forced him to retire from office. In the following year, Bunka 1, Harusada's faction finally gained power, and Tadatomo's adopted son Mizuno Dewa-no-kami Tadashige became a Junior Councilor and was appointed to palace duties, gradually attempting to extend his influence into political affairs.
**Mizuno Tadashige**
Of course, this too was said to originate from Harusada's will. This Tadashige was originally the second son of Okano Bizen-no-kami Tomochika. After Tadanori's separation, he became the adopted son and succeeded Tadatomo. He was quite a schemer, no less than his father, and it was truly this person who greatly disturbed the world in later years. Even though those of Hisada and Tachibana's faction were later dismissed as I mentioned before, Harusada's faction still maintained control over one area of influence.
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Publisher and Printer: Sanyo Printing Partnership Company, 48 Konya-cho, Toyohashi City; Editor: Nakanishi Kenzo; Publisher and Printer: Kuno [?]kichi
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Sanyo Newspaper Issue 4,225 Supplement (Published November 26, Taishō 1)
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At this time, Nobuaki's return to office was believed to have involved truly extraordinary difficulties. Moreover, foreign diplomatic problems had already become quite active at that time.
**The Arrival of Russian Envoy Rezanov**
As you all know, the Russian envoy Rezanov first came to our Nagasaki seeking trade exactly in Bunka 1, which was during Nobuaki's period of resignation. Even before this, from around Kansei 2-3, Russian ships had frequently come to the northern seas, causing various incidents each time.
**English Warships Come to Nagasaki**
Then, in the year after next following Nobuaki's return to office - that is, in Bunka 5 - English warships came to Nagasaki and conducted raids. The Nagasaki magistrate at the time, Matsudaira Zusho-no-kami Yasuhide, was deeply enraged by their violent behavior and deliberately supplied them with firewood and water to make them careless, planning to catch them off guard and launch a night attack. However, before the recruited soldiers could be assembled, the English ships had already weighed anchor and departed. Yasuhide regretted missing this opportunity and, unable to contain his indignation, committed seppuku - a remarkable incident.
**Matsudaira Yasuhide's Death by Indignation**
Thus, while our nation's borders faced foreign issues both north and south, and while those like Nobuaki and Tadakazu who had continued Sadanobu's policies had retired, and as I mentioned before, those belonging to Harusada's faction gradually gained power, the capital increasingly indulged in luxury, political discipline gradually loosened, and people's hearts began to flow toward weakness - a situation that seemed to be recreating the Tanuma era.
**The Strange Incident at the Fukagawa Hachiman Festival**
Indeed, during the Fukagawa Hachiman Shrine festival in Edo on the 19th day of the 8th month of Bunka 4, the parade floats and decorative displays competed in elegance and splendor, drawing crowds of spectators in numbers rarely seen in recent years. As a result, the Eitai Bridge collapsed in the middle, causing over 1,500 drowning deaths - such is the famous story.
Given such circumstances, when Nobuaki returned to office, he simultaneously faced this difficult situation and sought governance solely through imperial will. There is also a letter that Sadanobu sent to Nobuaki, preserved in the Ōkōchi family collection, dated the 9th month of Bunka 5, which I believe is truly precious historical material for understanding that time. I would like to first discuss this letter here.
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (The Situation at the Time of Nobuaki's Return to Office) 333