三宅坂
Miyake-zaka (three house hill; more at “Miyake Slope”)
A bar at Narita International Airport, empty due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Welcome to COVID-19, Bitches
Well, well, well. What do we have here? It seems we’re in the middle of a global freaking pandemic and people are locked up at home just drinking themselves to death[i] watching Netflix and bitching about the government on Facefook. Many writers, musicians, and dorky j-vloggers are taking advantage of the self-isolation requirements by churning out as much content as possible because… hey, who knows when you’ll have this much time off work again? Hopefully, most of you are getting in some quality reading time.
I’d like to take advantage of this opportunity, but my computer, my notes, and books are in Japan and, sadly, I am in the US until this whole thing dies down and I can actually get back to Tōkyō. All I have with me is an iPad, which is hardly conducive to my usual workflow. However, rather than doing my typical deep dives into Edo-Tōkyō places, I’ve chosen a few topics that I can write brief articles about over the coming weeks. Once this is all beyond us and we’re laughing with our friends about “Oh, remember that time when Wuhan Love™️ crashed the global economy and put us all out of work and 70,000[ii] people died? Wow, wasn’t that some shit?” Have no fear, if things come up that require deep dives, I think we can probably spin off some peripheral topics when this all dies down, or maybe in smaller, more concise article in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, I apologize for the brevity of these bite sized articles, but I’ll try to keep them educational and entertaining.
Miyakezaka as it looks today. (Spoilers: it’s a hill!)
Miyakezaka
Miyakezaka is a hill in 東京都千代田区 Tōkyō-to Chiyoda-ku Chiyoda Ward, Tōkyō Metropolis near 江戸城 Edo-jō Edo Castle[iii]. It essentially runs from 永田町 Nagatachō[iv] to 国立劇場 Kokuritsu Gekijō the National Theater, which means this is some pretty prime real estate. It’s a short walk to one of the castle’s more infamous gates, which will get to in a bit.
I should mention here that in the Edo Period, Miyakezaka was lined with two distinct types of trees and so it had two additional nicknames which we won’t get into today[v]. Those were: 皀坂 Saikachizaka Gleditsia Hill[vi] and 柏之木坂 Kashinokizaka Kashi Tree Hill[vii].
Saikachi tree pod 🧐
Let’s Look at the Kanji
|
三 |
three |
|
宅 |
house/houses |
|
坂 |
hill, slope |
This is essentially a compound word made by combining a family name 三宅 Miyake Miyake[viii] and the topography word 坂 saka hill.
As I mentioned before, this slope is located next to the castle. In fact, it’s right next to the 内堀 uchibori inner moat which separated the shōgun’s citadel from the palaces of his most loyal retainers, the 譜代大名 fudai daimyō, the hereditary lords whose ancestors had supported the 徳川家 Tokugawa-ke Tokugawa clan during the 関ヶ原の戦い Sekigahara no Tatakai Battle of Sekigahara in 1600[ix]. At the very top of the hill was a modest palace: 田原三宅家上屋敷 Tawara Miyake-ke kami-yashiki the upper residence of the Tawara Miyake clan.
The Miyake clan upper residence is in the center of the map (you can see Miyakezaka Syo Park written inside the compound).
The Miyake Clan?
Yeah, yeah. I’d never heard of them either. And seems that as far as nobility goes, they’re pretty damn forgettable. They were based in 三河国 Mikawa no Kuni Mikawa Province, modern 愛知県 Aichi-ken Aichi Prefecture. Allegedly, the clan traces their origins to the imperial court of the 1400’s, but they really didn’t come into their own until the 16th century. They had a long running – and often violent – rivalry with their neighbors, 松平家 Matsudaira-ke the Matsudaira clan. And for those of you who have forgotten, in 1568, a certain 松平元康 Matsudaira Motoyasu established his own family line and changed his name to 徳川家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Yes. That Ieyasu.
Anyhoo, the rivalry between the Miyake and Matsudaira came to end in 1558 when 三宅政貞 Miyake Masasada and his son 三宅康貞 Miyake Yasumasa became retainers of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In fact, the 康 yasu[x] is Yasumasa’s name was given to him by Ieyasu when the boy came of age. He served his lord well as a general and fought with the Tokugawa in two very important battles. One, 姉川の戦い Anegawa no Tatakai the Battle of Anegawa[xi] in 1570, and two, 長篠の戦い Nagashino no Tatakai the Battle of Nagashino in 1575. While loyal retainers of the Tokugawa, it does not seem like they participated in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. When Ieyasu gave up his former holdings and set up his power base in Edo, his Mikawa retainers and generals came with him, this would include the Miyake. This is just conjecture, bought perhaps Ieyasu wanted loyal men to protect his new capital during the Sekigahara campaign, you know… just in case.
Tawara Castle in Aichi Prefecture, castle of the Miyake clan
At any rate, in 1603, Ieyasu received the title 征夷大将軍 sei’i taishōgun (ie: shōgun) and began dividing up his 天下 tenka realm into 藩 han domains. He allocated 挙母藩 Koromo Han Koromo Domain in modern 愛知県豊田市 Aichi-ken Toyota-shi Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture to the Miyake, which was valued at 一万石 ichiman koku 10,000 koku[xii] and appointed Yasusada as the first hereditary daimyō of that fief under Tokugawa hegemony.
The family must have played its cards right, because in 1615, they were given a promotion – I assume this means they provided some service during 大坂夏の陣 Ōsaka Natsu no Jin the Siege of Ōsaka (summer campaign)[xiii]. I say this because they were promoted and given control over the prosperous fief of 亀山藩 Kameyama Han Kameyama Domain in 伊勢国 Ise no Kuni Ise Province, which is located in modern 三重県亀山市 Mie-ken Kameyama-shi Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture. This domain was valued at 二万石 niman koku 20,000 koku – double their previous worth!
However, fifty years later. Bruh. Somebody dropped the ball big time. The family was demoted in rank and sent to 三河国田原藩 Mikawa no Kuni Tawara Han Tawara Domain, Mikawa Province in present day 愛知県田原市 Aichi-ken Tawara-shi Tawara City, Aichi Prefecture[xiv]. This field was only valued at a measly 一万二千石 ichiman nisen koku 12,000 koku. It’s 2000 koku better than where they started, but, c’mon dawg[xv]. From 1644 until 1873 (Meiji 3), the Miyake would hold on tight to these lands in their ancestral Mikawa for the rest of the Edo Period.
The modest Miyake residence, the sprawling Ii palace, and the Sakurada Gate
The End of an Era
As for their palace on the top of Miyakezaka, it was located next to one of the most prestigious mansions on the grounds of Edo Castle – 彦根井伊家上屋敷 Hikone Ii-ke kami-yashiki the upper residence of the Ii clan of Hikone Domain. This clan had served Tokugawa Ieyasu well in the Battle of Sekigahara and ever since had been among the most elite and loyal fudai daimyō families. In the final days of the shōgunate, the shōgunal regent, 井伊直弼 Ii Naosuke, wisely ordered the country to slowly open and trade with the technologically advanced western powers in order to procure weapons and military strategies to protect the country from being overrun and bled dry by imperialism like all the rest of Asia. Some samurai disagreed with this policy and turned to terrorism in order to get their way. On March 24, 1860, they assassinated Ii Naosuke as he proceeded from his palace to the castle. Because he was killed in front of the 桜田御門 Sakurada Go-mon Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle, this event was called 桜田門外の変 Sakuradamon-gai no Hen the Sakuradamon Incident. The gate still stands today, not too far from Miyakezaka.
How the Miyake estate looks today. Compare it to the Edo Period map under “Let’s Look at the Kanji.” You can see the Miyakezaka Syo Park label.
When the domain system was abolished, all the lords were sent back to their lands and the majority of palaces were demolished. The palaces of the Miyake and Ii clans were torn down and the Meiji government used these spaces as the new home of 大日本帝国陸軍 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun the Imperial Japanese Army until 1941. At this time, they were considered too close to the castle, so operations were moved out to 市ヶ谷 Ichigaya.
Today there is a park called 三宅小公園 Miyake Shōkōen Miyake Small Park and 三宅坂交差点 Miyakezaka Kōsaten Miyakezaka Junction[xvi] that some of you fancy car-drivin’ types might like[xvii]. But for the most part, the hill is just a memory in the minds of local history nerds.
Miyakezaka Small Park commemorated the birthplace of bakumatsu era painter Watanabe Kazan who liked western art and committed seppuku in Tawara.
Epilogue
Well, I think I succeeded in crafting a bite-sized article for the first time in years. At this pace, I think I can bang out a few more until all this craziness dies down. Definitely could’ve gone way deeper, but here we are, huh? Anyways, I know this pandemic thing is cramping people’s lifestyles, costing people their incomes and jobs, and generally causing a real sense of unease and fear[xviii]. Oh, and it’s killing people. Let’s not forget that. Stay home. Call loved ones. Wash your hands. Stay six feet apart. Don’t smoke all your weed in one week. And most of all, be safe.
I’ll see you soon.
Further Reading:
- What does Edo mean?
- What does Chiyoda mean?
- What does Nagatachō mean?
- What does Kioichō mean?
- What does Ichigaya mean?
- What does Marunouchi mean? (fix article title!!!!)
- What does Tameike-Sannō mean?
- What does Akasaka Mitsuke mean?
- What does Hanzōmon mean?
- What does Kitami mean? (regarding Iemitsu’s fickle love life)
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[i] Because I know most of you blew through your cocaine stash the first week of lockdown.
[ii] The number as of the time this article was being written. Frighteningly, this will definitely go up by the time the next article is published.
[iii] The current 皇居 Kōkyo Imperial Palace (but we don’t use that word around here).
[iv] Home of 国会議事堂 Kokkai Gijidō the National Diet, ie: Parliament.
[v] In 岡山県 Okyama-ken Okayama Prefecture, this family name is usually spelled with 御 go-/o-/mi– honorable/divine instead of 三 san/mi– three, ie: 御宅 Miyake. This spelling variance occurs with many ancient names (family names, temple/shrine names, place names, etc).
[vi] This is the battle from which the first shōgun, 徳川家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu, emerged as the dē factō ruler of Japan.
[vii] Because it’s boooooooooring.
[viii] Gleditsia is also known as Japanese honey locust, if that means anything to you.
[ix] Kashi refers to a family of trees called Fagaceæ which is common in the Kantō area, if that means anything to you.
[x] The kanji means “peaceful.”
[xi] Or, the Battle of the Ane River.
[xii] One koku is considered enough rice to feed an adult male for a year.
[xiii] However, a quick search through the interwebs doesn’t show the name Miyake on any list of generals at the siege. If you know something I don’t, please let me know!
[xiv] Nobody knows where the fuck this place is. JK, actually, nobody wants to know where it is.
[xv] I couldn’t find anything to explain why the clan was demoted and moved, but this happened during the reign of the third shōgun, 徳川家光 Tokugawa Iemitsu, which sets off all sorts of alarms in my head. Iemitsu was notorious for making 旗本 hatamoto direct retainers and low ranking daimyō his lovers and fast tracking them to really prestigious ranks, then when he got bored with his boy toys, he demoted them and humiliated them. What a bitch.
[xvi] This marks the junction of National Route 20 and National Route 246.
[xvii] Why the fuck would you drive in Tōkyō??
[xviii] And let’s be honest, a lot of boredom.
