Structure and Management of the Hachisuka Family So-an Papers

Abstract

Preserved at the National Institute of Japanese Literature is a group of records titled So-an, a series among the Hachisuka family papers. They consist of copy letters written by the successive feudal lords of the Hachisuka family, most during the early Edo period. The letters written by the first three lords were particularly important to their successors as they were drawn upon as precedents. Their order was therefore carefully preserved. However, the So-an went through a major reprocessing during the era of the Tempo era (1830-44) after control had gradually been lost: the original date of each letter was clarified; the original order restored, and copies made. The present physical order of the So-an is that created during this reprocessing. The wrapping papers and labels attached at that time are still well preserved. This article analyses the nature of the So-an and draws attention to the Tempo era re-imposition of the original order by means of a detailed analysis of their dating. The So-an are a useful and important source for the study of politics and the social life of Daimyo in the early Edo period.