The 34th episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sundays at 8pm and other times), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , entitled "Arigatayama to Katatakei Eggplant" was broadcast on September 7th, depicting Matsudaira Sadanobu (Inoue Yuki), who had just been appointed as the chief senior councilor, proposing political reform and appealing to the common people through the Yomiuri newspaper (kawaraban).
In real life, Sadanobu was also sensitive to the trends in public opinion and the words and actions of daimyo and hatamoto. In episode 34 of " UNBOUND," Sadanobu is seen looking through a document and noticing a rumor that he "probably became a senior councilor by offering a huge bribe," and he orders his retainers to find out who is spreading the rumor. This document, later known as the "Yoshino Zoushi," is a report from secret agents. The report was kept strictly confidential, but it was copied and preserved to this day.
◇Encouragement of the arts and martial arts was also triggered by a secret report: Ota Nanpo's brilliant transformation
After Sadanobu seized power, he ordered his vassal Mizuno Tamenaga to gather gossip and information on happenings in Edo and within the castle. The task of gathering information was carried out by low-ranking shogunate officials who had become secret agents. They focused on gathering information on whether high-ranking officials and officials in the shogunate's various institutions, such as the magistrate's office, were doing their jobs properly, whether they were engaging in problematic behavior in their private lives, or whether they were expressing dissatisfaction with the shogunate, and regularly reported this information to Sadanobu. One of the purposes of this was to find out whether anyone was defending Sadanobu's political rival, Tanuma Okitsugu, who had been ousted from power.
Sadanobu called on the hatamoto and samurai retainers to encourage both the arts and martial arts, but this was also prompted by reports from secret agents. From 1790 onwards, reports began to frequently mention rampant thefts in Edo city. Moreover, the samurai residences of hatamoto and other retainers also became targets of thieves. Here is an example from one such report.
"These days, thieves are rampant, and they have begun to break into samurai homes in groups of four or five. It seems that houses with few retainers are no match for them. Even when it is discovered that thieves have broken into the home of a hatamoto neighbor, the hatamoto pretend not to know and do not rush to help. The hatamoto who have been victimized are also keeping it a secret to keep up appearances, so it seems that the authorities (the upper echelons of the shogunate) have not heard about it, and crackdowns are insufficient."
The secret agents also reported that it was rumored that some of the thieves were impoverished hatamoto. Weak hatamoto who were at the mercy of the thieves, hatamoto who had turned to banditry. Sadanobu felt a sense of crisis that the common people were spreading rumors about the decline of the shogun's retainers. Sadanobu argued at a cabinet meeting that this was because samurai who had become accustomed to a luxurious lifestyle during the Tanuma era and had become infected with frivolous trends had lost their "gi-ki (spirit of upholding justice)," and he set out a policy of strengthening encouragement of the arts and martial arts.
In the field of "literature," all studies other than Neo-Confucianism, which emphasized order, were prohibited, and an "academic examination" (examination) centered on Neo-Confucianism was conducted for the hatamoto and gokenin. In the field of "military," a "martial arts demonstration" was held every year in which martial arts practitioners were shown in front of the shogun. Those who excelled in each field were given preferential treatment when it came to promotion.
In the 34th episode of "UNBOUND," the samurai Ota Nanpo(Kenta Kiritani) is suspected of composing a kyoka poem satirizing the encouragement of the arts and martial arts, and is summoned for questioning by a high-ranking official of the shogunate. This interrogation was also based on rumors gathered by secret agents. Ota subsequently achieved top marks in the first academic examination in 1792 (Kansei 4), and was promoted to an official in the accounting office. He was then transferred to the Nagasaki Magistrate's Office and other positions, leading a comfortable life as a bureaucrat. He was under the watchful eye of Sadanobu, but his life was saved by Sadanobu's policies.
◇Are friends also secret agents? People are suspicious as scandal uncovered
The Yoshino booklet contains many stories, both happy and sad. In the case of Yagyu Hisamichi, the northern magistrate, the secret agents delivered a second and third round of scandalous reports to Sadanobu, like a modern-day "Bunshun Cannon." As a result, Yagyu was forced to resign after only one year in office.
Yagyu doesn't know what to question in court, so he repeatedly asks about things written in the records. As soon as the questioning begins, he quickly becomes lost for words. Furthermore, he is a person who is very particular about everything, and it was reported that "if there is one wormhole in the ledger, he will check to see if there are any others. Work does not progress at all, and the townspeople attending the trial are amazed, saying, 'What a stupid magistrate.'"
There is a sequel. After Yagyu resigned from his post as the Kitamachi Bugyo, he was appointed as the Finance Bugyo. It seems that Sadanobu thought that Yagyu's attention to detail would make him suitable for the position of Finance Bugyo, who was in charge of the finances of the shogunate. It must have suited his personality. Yagyu served as Finance Bugyo for 29 years, the longest in the history of the position.
Rumors spread that Sadanobu had many secret agents stationed throughout the city, and other government agencies, such as the magistrate's office, began to utilize secret agents. Edo became a "surveillance state" filled with secret agents, and perhaps as a result, various scandals were exposed.
Some samurai continued to extort money through honey traps. One magistrate died while gradually repaying embezzled public funds. Since the embezzlement would be discovered if a successor were appointed, his family hid the fact that the magistrate had died and continued to receive his salary, which they used to repay the debt. As a result of covert activities, a series of frauds were uncovered, and Sadanobu's discipline measures were implemented more thoroughly.
There is also this anecdote: The shogunate sent inspectors to its territories in the provinces to check for peace and corruption within the territory, and they would go in teams of four or five people. One of the inspectors, who was on a business trip to Shinshu, had lunch at a soba restaurant. One of them picked two chili peppers from a potted chili plant in the tokonoma alcove and took them home.
When the group returned from their business trip and went to the office of the treasurer to report, the magistrate and other high-ranking officials laughed and said, "Apparently, someone picked two chili peppers at a soba restaurant in Shinshu," and "They'll probably plant the seeds and do it as a side job." There was a secret agent among the group. The magistrates revealed the chili pepper incident to remind everyone that even the smallest of things were being monitored. Edo at the time seemed to be a society where people were suspicious of each other even in friendships. (Text by Komatsu Kenichi)
