The 31st episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and other times), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , entitled "My Name is Heaven," aired on August 17. The opening scene depicts the Tone River bursting its banks due to heavy rain, flooding Edo, and Tanuma Okitsugu(Ken Watanabe) scrambling to deal with the situation.
Amidst all this, Hasegawa Heizo Nobuyoshi (played by Nakamura Hayato) made a dashing appearance. Inside Edo Castle, he walked briskly, full of energy, shouting, "Sorry to keep you waiting! Into the city!" When he reunited with Tsutaju in the city, he proudly said, "Actually, I became 'Osakite Yumi-gashira' the other day. So, next up I'll be a magistrate. So I'm patrolling the city day and night." His lively appearance, like a fish in water amid the chaos of Edo, was impressive.
◇ “Commander” Heizo was the youngest at 41 years old. The surprising reality of the Sente-gumi, which maintained public order in Edo.
The Osakite Yumi-gashira was the commander of the archery unit of the "Sen'te-gumi," the standing army of the shogunate, which maintained public order. At the time, there were 34 Sen'te-gumi, of which 10 were archery units and 24 were gun units. This elite unit served as the vanguard on the battlefield, but during the war-free Edo period, they were also tasked with guarding Edo Castle and maintaining public order within the city. The head of the 34 Sen'te-gumi units was a "bankata," the highest-ranking hatamoto military officer. Incidentally, civil servants were called "yakukata," and the top civil servants were Edo's magistrates and Ōmetsuke (inspectors for daimyo).
In July 1786 (Tenmei 6), Heizo was appointed head of the Second Division of the Advance Archery Unit. This was one month before Tanuma Okitsugu was dismissed from his position as Elder Councillor. Heizo's previous position was as the Nishinomaru Toto-no-Kami (Infantry Commander). It was customary for a person to serve as Toto-no-Kami for seven to ten years before being promoted to Toto-no-Kami, but Heizo had only served as Toto-no-Kami for a year and a half. This was an unusual promotion.
The story goes like this: the hatamoto head of the second group of Yumi died of illness while in office, and Ichioka Sadayu Masamine, head of the first group of Yumi and the leader of the entire Sente-gumi, put forward the names of several candidates. From these candidates, all the group leaders voted to decide on a successor, and Ichioka's favorite was Heizo. It is said that naturally, the votes went to Heizo.
Thus, Heizo became the head of the Second Archery Unit at the age of 41, the youngest of the 34 vanguard units. The other vanguard units were noticeably older, led by 81-year-old Ichioka, as well as 78-year-old Shimizu Yozen Toyoharu (head of the 18th rifle unit) and 77-year-old Kurahashi Sanzaemon Hisao (head of the 5th rifle unit). With the exception of Heizo, the average age was well over 65. In a time of great peace, being the commander of an elite unit was something of an honorary position.
Heizo was appointed as the leader of the first-in-command two weeks after the flood damage in Edo. With reconstruction efforts untouched, discontent among the impoverished people was growing, and an uneasy atmosphere hung in the air. In times of crisis, having only "old commanders" was unreliable.
Having worked his way up the elite ladder from Shoinban (study room attendant) to Shinmonoban (gift attendant) to Toto (assistant head), Heizo seemed the perfect person to rejuvenate the Sente-gumi. Heizo was praised for his "good work ethic" and "good at flattery," so he must have been a prominent presence.
The rejuvenation of the ranks soon proved effective. In May 1787, against the backdrop of rising rice prices, commoners launched widespread attacks on merchant houses in Edo, causing destruction. The shogunate selected 10 of the vanguard group leaders, including Heizo, and ordered them to lead the forces that would put down the unrest. The other nine vanguard group leaders were between 47 and 64 years old. Younger group leaders were selected from across the vanguard group, and the unrest was contained within a few days.
◇ Tanuma Okitsugu was also impressed by his "self-promotion"; historical sources say Heizo is "talented and resourceful."
On the other hand, some believe that Tanuma Okitsugu's appointment as the vanguard was Tanuma Okitsugu's intention. Historical records reveal an anecdote from late 1784, shortly after Heizo became a tutor. A fire broke out near Tanuma Okitsugu's main residence at Kanda-gomon Gate. Heizo, who was supposed to go to Edo Castle in the event of a fire or other emergency, excused himself and headed directly from his home to the Tanuma family's main residence. He led Okitsugu's family and others to evacuate to the Tanuma family's secondary residence in Hamamachi.
When Heizo left his home, he instructed his family to prepare meals for the soup kitchen, and on the way he stopped by a Japanese confectionery shop and ordered all the mochi sweets they had in stock. He had both delivered to his lower residence. This Japanese confectionery shop, called Suzuki Echigo, was one of the most luxurious in Edo, and each yokan (a type of jelly bean) cost one ryo (approximately 100,000 yen in today's value). Although Heizo ordered mochi sweets, it was undoubtedly a considerable expense. When Okitsugu heard about Heizo's actions, he was impressed, saying, "That's really thoughtful," and is said to have continued to keep an eye on Heizo thereafter. It is not surprising that Ienari wanted Heizo to be the Okitsugu to fill any vacancies in the Sente-gumi.
In any case, it's not hard to imagine that Heizo was enthusiastic about his unusually rapid promotion. The annual salary of the head of the Sente-gumi was 1,500 koku (roughly 60 million yen in today's value), a 500 koku increase from his time as a tutor. In episode 31 of "UNBOUND," Tsutae shamelessly revealed his ambition when they met again, saying, "Next up is finally magistrate." It wasn't a dream to rise from head of the Sente-gumi to become a magistrate in the shogunate's territories, such as Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Nagasaki (distant province magistrate), and even to become a town magistrate in Edo.
In real life, Heizo's ambitions were also seen through by those around him. One historical document that records character evaluations of hatamoto includes the following passage: "Heizo seems intent on achieving success and becoming magistrate at all costs. He's not a good character, but he has some talent," and "Heizo had hoped to become magistrate (in the next personnel changes), but he seems disappointed that Ikeda Chikugo no Kami Nagayoshi got there first." Both of these statements were written in 1789 (the first year of the Kansei era).
◇An incident during a city patrol that became popular among the common people
Also, in episode 31 of "UNBOUND," there is a scene where Heizo hears that a fight is breaking out nearby and bravely runs off. His attitude of actively patrolling the city and keeping an eye on any disputes is a common trait of the real Heizo, who later became an Arson and Theft Police Officer. Here is an anecdote about mediating a fight.
As Heizo patrols the city, he notices a crowd gathering around a tenement house. Approaching, he sees a dramatic quarrel between a husband and wife. The landlord tries to intervene, but is pushed aside and the situation becomes uncontrollable. Heizo intervenes, listens carefully to each side of the story, reveals his identity, and settles the matter.
Later, when Heizo stopped by the tenement house during one of his patrols, his wife was surprised but greeted him with a smile. She said that her husband had changed his ways and was working hard. Upon hearing this, Heizo said, "I see, I stopped by hoping to see that spectacular marital quarrel one more time, but I guess I'll never get to see it again. That's a shame... but at least I'm happy." The wife blushed and bowed her head. This incident spread among the people, and Heizo's friendly personality became well-known. (Text by Komatsu Kenichi)
