The {{nihongo, Ejima-Ikushima affair, 江島生島事件, Ejima Ikushima jiken was the most significant scandal in the
Ōoku
The refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term.
History
The ''Ōok ...
, the
Tokugawa shōgun's harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
during the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
of the
history of Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inven ...
, that occurred in February 1714.
Background
The
Ōoku
The refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term.
History
The ''Ōok ...
was a complex of
Edo Castle
is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo and is therefore also known as .
Tokugawa Ieyasu established the ...
, the seat of the ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
'' of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
, that served as a residence for women connected to the reigning ''shōgun''. It functioned as a
harem
Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
with different sections that housed the ''shōguns
official wife (''
Midaidokoro
The ''midaidokoro'' (御台所) was the official wife of the ''shōgun''. During the Edo period, she resided in the '' Ōoku'' of Edo Castle and sometimes wielded considerable political power behind the scenes.
Heian period
* Miyoshi Takako, wif ...
'') and her children, his
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
s and their children, widows of previous ''shōgun'' (''
Ōmidaidokoro
''Ōmidaidokoro'' (大御台所) was a title that can only be given to the past ''shōgun''s official widow or retired ''shōgun''{{'s chief consort/wife. These women had an extraordinary or considerable political power behind the scenes, leading ...
''), his mother, and their various servants. The Ōoku was highly regimented and controlled, resident women were held to strict standards, and adult men were forbidden from entering without the ''shōgun''.
Incident
On the twelfth day of the first month of the fourth year of the
Shōtoku era (February 26, 1714, by the Western calendar), Ejima, a high-ranking lady in the Ōoku, visited the grave of the late ''shōgun''
Tokugawa Ienobu
(June 11, 1662 – November 12, 1712) was the sixth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Tsunashige, thus making him the nephew of Tokugawa Ietsuna and Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the grandson of Tokugawa Iemi ...
. Ejima's visit was a proxy for her superior Gekkō-in, mother of the ruling ''shōgun''
Tokugawa Ietsugu
Tokugawa Ietsugu; 徳川 家継 (August 8, 1709 – June 19, 1716) was the seventh ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1713 until his death in 1716. He was the son of Tokugawa Ienobu, thus making him the grandson of Tokugawa Tsun ...
, who had been a
lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
and concubine of Ienobu. Ejima then accepted an invitation to attend a
kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is thought to ...
performance by the popular actor
Ikushima Shingorō at the
Yamamura-za theatre, located near Edo Castle. After the performance, she invited the actor and others to a party at a tea house. The party ran late and Ejima missed the closing of the gates to the Ōoku, and as she went from one gate to the next trying to gain entry, word of her situation reached the officials within. Ejima became the focus of a
power struggle
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
between Gekkō-in and her rival Ten'ei-in, the official wife of the late Ienobu. They in turn were part of a larger power struggle between two factions in the Tokugawa elite: one led by
Arai Hakuseki
was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo period, who advised the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi (君美). Hakuseki (白 ...
and
Manabe Akifusa
was a close person confidant and loverCrompton, Louis, ''Homosexuality and Civilization'', Harvard University, 2003. Page 442 of Shōgun Tokugawa Ienobu and held numerous important posts within the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was ...
, the two closest advisors to both Ienobu and Ietsugu, and the other was headed by ''
fudai daimyō
was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admini ...
s'' and the ''
rōjū
The , usually translated as '' Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''sh ...
'' who had been in office since the time of the fifth shōgun
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
.
Aftermath
Ten'ei-in seized the opportunity of Ejima missing her curfew to launch an investigation of the Ōoku by the ''
Machi-bugyō
were ''samurai'' officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not ''daimyō''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–186 ...
'', with numerous infractions being discovered, and ultimately over 1,300 people were punished. Ejima was sentenced to death, but she received a pardon and was instead placed in custody of the
Takatō Domain
was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.
The Takatō Domain was based at Takatō Castle in Shinano Province, in the modern city of Ina, located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshu. The T ...
, while her brother was sentenced to die by not ''
seppuku
, sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...
'', which is honoured death by Bushi, but "zanshu" a guillotine like a regular criminal. Ikushima was banished to the island of
Miyake-jima
is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea approximately southeast of Tokyo, Japan. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Miyake-jima forms part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Etymology
...
and the Yamamura-za was disbanded, with its owner being banished to the island of
Izu Ōshima
is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea, off the coast of Honshu, Japan, east of the Izu Peninsula and southwest of Bōsō Peninsula. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Izu Ōshima for ...
. Over a century later, the kabuki theatres in Edo were relocated to
Asakusa
is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the .
History
The ...
, farther away from Edo Castle. Within the Ōoku, Ten'ei-in emerged victorious as the most dominant woman in the harem. The following year, when Ietsugu died, she supported
Tokugawa Yoshimune
was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745. He was the son of Tokugawa Mitsusada, the grandson of Tokugawa Yorinobu, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Lineage
Yoshimune ...
, the successful contender for the shogunate.
The Ejima-Ikushima affair has been dramatized in kabuki, and has been the subject of ''
nagauta
is a kind of traditional Japanese music played on the and used in kabuki theater, primarily to accompany dance and to provide reflective interludes.
History
It is uncertain when the was first integrated into kabuki, but it was sometime dur ...
'' chants. Numerous films and television dramas have portrayed the event. The 2006 film ''
Oh! Oku
is a Japanese historic romantic drama film released on December 23, 2006, by Fuji Television. The film revolves around the Ejima-Ikushima affair of 1714. Director Tōru Hayashi and screenplay writer Taeko Asano also directed and wrote the 2003~20 ...
'' stars
Yukie Nakama
is a Japanese actress, singer and former idol.
History Biography
She was born in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan, into a fisherman's family, the youngest of five siblings.
At the start of her career she was a gravure idol and singer (her debut single ...
as Ejima and
Hidetoshi Nishijima as Ikushima Shingorō. A 1971 television series featured
Ineko Arima
Ineko Arima (有馬稲子, Arima Ineko) is a Japanese film actress born on 3 April 1932 in Osaka. She is known for her work with director Yasujirō Ozu.
Selected filmography
Film
Television
Honours
*Medal with Purple Ribbon
are medals a ...
as Ejima, and kabuki actor Takao Kataoka (now
Kataoka Nizaemon XV) as Ikushima.
References
*新井政義(編集者)『日本史事典』。東京:旺文社1987(p. 50)
*
竹内理三(編)『日本史小辞典』。東京:角川書店1985(p. 314)
1714 in Japan