"Deep History of the Meiji Restoration" Series III: The Truth of the Restoration IV - Historical Non-fiction Writer Masaaki Hori

Echigo Fukuhara, Who Became a God

It was on May 16, 1865 (Keio 1), that Echigo Fukuhara, who had been executed as a traitor under the shogunate system, was enshrined as a god at Kotozaki Hachiman Shrine.

This fact appears in the "Ishin Shokonsha Enki" ("Chronicle of the Meiji Restoration Shokonsha") as follows.

"May 16, 1865 (Keio 1): For the first time, the divine spirit was temporarily invited to Kotozaki Shrine, and Shimosa Aoyama, a priest of the Hagi Tsubaki-go Shrine, was invited to perform the rites of the festival. The chief priest was the heir, Goro Fukuhara."

Shimosa Aoyama is an alias for Kazusanosuke Aoyama, who is none other than Kiyoshi Aoyama, the first chief priest of Yasukuni Shrine.

Enshrining a political criminal at a shrine on one's own land was an illegal activity that was strictly forbidden, which is why he deliberately used an alias.

This Shokon-sai (spirit-inviting festival) was undoubtedly a hostile ritual against the Tokugawa family that contained an anti-shogunate consciousness.

On the other hand, in April 2015 (Heisei 27), Sakurayama Shrine in Shimonoseki City was designated as a city cultural property and announced with the nuance that it was the first Shokonsha in Japan.

However, in reality, it was August 6, 1865 (Keio 1), three months later than the enshrinement of Echigo Fukuhara in Ube.

In fact, it can be confirmed from the "Diary of Shoichiro Shiraishi" that Kiyoshi Aoyama (Kazusanosuke Aoyama) also held a Shokon-sai in Shimonoseki.

In other words, that day (August 6, 1865) was the day the shrine building was completed, and it was the day of the first Shokon-sai to enshrine Kiheitai soldiers as gods.

According to the "Diary of Shoichiro Shiraishi," at a time when the current Akama Shrine was still called Amidaji Temple, Kyosuke Yamagata (Aritomo Yamagata) and Guntaro Miyoshi went there, and at the residence of Shoichiro Shiraishi, Kazusanosuke Aoyama (Kiyoshi Aoyama) wrote the Shinto prayer for the Shokon-sai.

Soon after, Ikusuke Oga arrived, so Shiraishi finished his lunch early and headed to Sakurayama Shokonsha with Aoyama and the others.

Before long, the Kiheitai departed from the Yoshida camp.

They took a break at Gokenya, organized their ranks, and headed for Sakurayama Shokonsha.

Aoyama, Shiraishi, Oga, Yotaro Nagano, and two shrine attendants entered the newly completed shrine building.

Shiraishi went to the place of Shinsaku Takasugi, the commander of the Kiheitai, and after confirming the Shinto prayer, he offered offerings as the ritual magistrate on behalf of the commander, dressed in armor and a hitatare robe borrowed from Takasugi.

Oga and Nagaoka (possibly Kiheitai soldier Yokichi Nagaoka) were the offering officials, and Aoyama was the prayer priest.

The above is an outline of August 6th from the Diary of Shoichiro Shiraishi.

On the other hand, in the Complete Works of Shinsaku Takasugi, Volume 2 (Poetry), the following Chinese poem by Shinsaku Takasugi appears, titled 'August 6th, Shokon-ba (Spirit Invocation Site) Ritual, attended by members of the Kiheitai, marching in military attire on this day, as if heading to the front'.

<The fierce Kiheitai, what is their ambition? They seek to repay the nation with a single death. How joyful it will be, after fame is achieved and merit is earned, to become flowers upon the spirit invocation site together.>

It is a spectacular account featuring famous historical figures such as Shoichiro Shiraishi, Aritomo Yamagata, and Shinsaku Takasugi.

However, that alone does not make the Sakurayama Shokonsha the first spirit invocation shrine in Japan.

As we have already seen, the enshrinement (spirit invocation ritual) of Echigo Fukuhara at Kotozaki Hachiman-gu Shrine took place three months earlier than this.

Moreover, Kazusanosuke Aoyama (Kiyoshi Aoyama) was involved with both shrines.

Now, the spirit of Echigo Fukuhara in Ube was later transferred from Kotozaki Hachiman-gu Shrine on December 5, 1867, to the Ishin Shokonsha, which had been built on Ishin-yama on November 19, 1866.

This leads to the current Ube Gokoku Shrine.

The important point is that in the case of a Shokonsha, the time when the deity was enshrined as a god is considered the founding.

This means that Ube Gokoku Shrine was founded on May 16, 1865, when the spirit of Echigo Fukuhara was enshrined at Kotozaki Hachiman-gu Shrine.

Since this was three months before the founding of the Sakurayama Shokonsha, I once petitioned the Ube City Board of Education to designate Ube Gokoku Shrine as a cultural property, shortly after Shimonoseki City designated part of Sakurayama Shrine as a municipal cultural property.

However, at that time, it was rejected on the grounds that the only evidence indicating the date of the spirit invocation ritual on May 16, 1865, was the 'Ishin Shokonsha Enki'.

In fact, I conducted a thorough investigation after that.

Then, as mentioned above, it was also recorded in the 'Ube Village History' that 'Lord Echigo passed away, and on May 16, 1865, his family temporarily enshrined his spirit at Kotozaki Shrine'.

Alternatively, Kamenosuke Yamada also wrote in 'Ube Local History Tales' that 'On May 26, 1865, it was permitted to enshrine the Lord's spirit at Kotozaki Shrine, and on August 10 of that year, the domain ordered the burning of the evidence of Echigo's crimes'.

Furthermore, the 'Yasukuni Shrine Centennial History: Materials Volume, Part 2' also provided the following explanation for 'Ube Gokoku Shrine'.

'Former name: Ishin Shokonsha, Asa-naka Ube Shokonsha. Founded on May 16, 1865, by Goro Fukuhara, enshrining 22 martyrs of the Kinmon Incident. Government-sponsored Shokonsha in September 1877.'

There is more.

As a primary source, there is the description of 'Echigo Fukuhara' in the 'Outline of Retainer Achievements' held by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives.

'On the 16th day of the 5th month of the same year (Genji 2, 1865), his spirit was revered and made a deity. He was enshrined with a mirror, a sword, and ritual offerings, and since then, the 28th of the 8th month has been designated as the annual festival day.'

The "same year" seen here refers to Genji 2, which is Keio 1.

Regarding the meaning, it describes that (at Kotozaki Hachimangu Shrine) a soul-inviting ritual was performed with a mirror, a sword, and ritual offerings to "make him a deity," and since then, Fukuhara Echigo's birthday, the "28th of the 8th month," has been the annual festival.

Also, as a primary source, there is an entry in the "Fukuhara Echigo Oe Mototake Curriculum Vitae," which is part of the "Masuda Chikasane Chronology, Kunishi Chikasuke Family Genealogy Excerpts, Fukuhara Echigo Curriculum Vitae" held by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives.

This is almost identical to the aforementioned "Shoshin Jiseki Gairyaku" and contains the following wording.

'On the 16th day of the 5th month of the same year (Genji 2, 1865), his spirit was revered and made a deity. He was enshrined with ritual offerings, a mirror, and a sword. Since then, every year, the 28th of the 9th month is the festival day, which is the anniversary of his birth.'

Therefore, including the "Ishin Shokonsha Enki," there are actually six pieces of evidence that Fukuhara Echigo was enshrined as a deity at Kotozaki Hachimangu Shrine on the 16th day of the 5th month of Keio 1, which is now an undeniable fact.

Based on the above, it is clear that the Sakurayama Shokonsha in Shimonoseki is not the first Shokonsha in Japan, and the Ube Gokoku Shrine, which precedes it, is an extremely valuable Meiji Restoration historical site.

I strongly hope that Ube City will designate it as a cultural property.