《81》The Dawn of Early Modern Hakata and Hakata Merchants (Part 5)...The Hakata Reconstruction Project and Kamiya Sotan ( First Half )
- Kamiya Sotan, a wealthy merchant in Hakata, was born in 1553 as the sixth head of the Kamiya family. According to the "Kamiya Family Genealogy", Jutei Kamiya, who discovered the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, was his great-grandfather. This blog has already introduced Jutei in an article titled "Medieval Hakata - Japan-Ming trade (the tally trade) (Part 3)...Kamiya Jutei and Iwami Ginzan" in January of this year. Please refer to it.
- The year of Sotan's birth was two years after Ouchi Yoshitaka (1507-1551), a powerful feudal lord who ruled Hakata, was rebelled against by his vassal, Sue Takafusa, and the Ouchi clan at its peak was suddenly destroyed. This was also a truly unfortunate time for Hakata merchants, as the subsequent Japan-Ming trade (the tally trade) was cut off. The coincidence of the two dates cannot be considered a coincidence, and it seems as if Sotan was born with the revival of Japan-Ming trade as his destiny.
- Perhaps in his childhood, Sotan must have often heard from his parents and relatives about the heyday of the Kamiya family in the past. Or perhaps it would be better to say that he was trained by the expectations of those around him regarding the revival of the Kamiya family. It is assumed that this was the germ of Sotan's plan to revive Hakata.
*The photo shows the current Hakata Bay. /
近世博多の黎明期と博多商人（その５）…博多復興計画と神屋宗湛（前半）
- 博多の豪商神屋宗湛は、神屋家第六代当主として1553年に生まれました。『神屋家系譜』 によれば、かの石見銀山を発見した神屋寿禎は曾祖父にあたります。なお、本ブログでも寿禎については、すでに今年１月の「中世博多-勘合貿易（その３）…神屋寿禎と石見銀山」というタイトルの記事でご紹介をしております。ご参照下さい。
- 宗湛生誕の年は、博多を支配した有力大名である大内義隆（1507-1551）が家臣の陶隆房に謀反を起こされ、全盛期の大内氏が突如滅亡した年の２年後にあたり、その後勘合貿易が途絶するという博多商人にとっては誠に不運な時期でありました。この時期の一致は偶然とは思えず、あたかも宗湛は勘合貿易の復活を宿命として背負い生まれ出てきたかのように思えます。
- 恐らく幼少期の宗湛は、いにしえの神屋家全盛期の様子を父母や親族から度々聞き及んでいたに違いありません。或いは神屋家復興について周囲の期待を一身に託されて薫陶を受けていたといった方がよいかも知れません。これが宗湛の博多復興計画の萌芽となったと推測されます。
※写真は、現在の博多湾のすがたです。