was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

who served as ''

karō were top-ranking samurai officials and advisors in service to the ''daimyōs'' of feudal Japan. Overview In the Edo period, the policy of ''sankin-kōtai'' (alternate attendance) required each ''daimyō'' to place a ''karō'' in Edo and anoth ...

'' of

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was base ...

in the late

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 ...

. Known as a prominent economic reformer, his policies greatly strengthened the domain and enabled it to carry out many of its military reforms which led to the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

Biography

Murata was born in Sawae, Misumi Village, Otsu District,

Nagato Province , often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces. History Although the ancient capital of the province was Shimono ...

as the eldest son of Murata Mitsukata, a 91 ''koku'' retainer of the Chōshū Domain. He attended the

han school The was an educational institution in the Edo period of Japan, originally established to educate children of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) and their retainers in the domains outside of the capital. These institutions were also known as ''hangaku' ...

Meirinkan was a han school located in the Chōshū Domain of Japan. The school was one of the three major educational institutions in Japan, along with the Kōdōkan in Mito Domain and Shizutani School in Okayama Domain. History The school was establ ...

, where he had outstanding records, and in 1808, served as a

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

to Mōri Narifusa, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of Chōshū Domain. After that, he successively held important posts under the five ''daimyō'' from Mōri Narihiro to

Mōri Takachika was the 13th daimyo of Chōshū Domain. His domain was a traditional enemy of the Tokugawa shogunate, and he became a key player in its downfall during the Bakumatsu period. He was also the first daimyo to return his lands to the Emperor during ...

. In

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

, he further broadened his knowledge by learning the art of warfare and coastal defense from

Hanawa Hokiichi was a Japanese blind ''kokugaku'' scholar of the Edo period. Biography Hanawa was born in Hokino Village, Musashi Province (present day Kodama, Honjō, Saitama) to a farming family. His childhood name was Toranosuke. From an early age he had ...

and others, and economics from the writings of Kaiho Seiryō. In 1819, he inherited the headship of Murata family. In 1838, Murata took over the real power of the administration of Chōshū Domain, and concurrently serving as ''Omote-ban-gashira'' and Edo ''Shikakukake''. Under Mōri Takachika, he worked on the financial reconstruction policy accompanying the

Tenpō Reforms The were an array of economic policies introduced between 1841 and 1843 by the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. These reforms were efforts to resolve perceived problems in military, economic, agricultural, financial and religious systems. The changes ...

, an array of economic policies introduced between 1841 and 1843 by 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 ...

under the direction of

Mizuno Tadakuni was a ''daimyō'' during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor (''Rōjū'') in service to the Tokugawa shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpō Reforms. Biography Mizuno Tadakuni was the second son ...

. Chōshū Domain suffered from severe debts, and in 1843 Murata calculated a method of paying off the debt and interest over a 37 year period. Partly to pay for this reform, he lifted the domain's monopoly on wax and allowed merchants to trade in it freely. He also imposed taxes on shipping passing through the

Kanmon Straits The or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu, two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki (, which contributed "Kan" () to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu ...

separating

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

and

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

as well as developing a domain-owned financial and warehousing hub in the port of Shimonoseki itself. Due to his reforms, the finances of Chōshū Domain began to recover. In addition, Murata devoted his efforts to popularizing education, recommending education to the common people, and in 1849 he expanded the Meirinkan. However, Murata's reforms faced considerable opposition on many fronts. The local merchants were unhappy at increased taxes and the 37 year period over which existing debts would be slowly repaid; Osaka merchants were unhappy at the developments at Shimonoseki, fearing a decrease in the distribution of goods to Osaka. Furthermore, Mizuno Tadakuni's removal from power in 1845 led to a repeal of most of his reforms at the national level. Murata resigned after collapsing from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

which resulted in partial paralysis. Although he later recovered, he devoted his efforts to education, writing a number of books. In 1855, he returned to the domain's administration, but suffered another attack of apoplexy the same year and died at the age of 73. Although Murata's reforms were only partially successful, he is credited with solidifying the foundations for the Chōshū Domain to play an active role in the Meiji Restoration.

Murata Seifū former residence and grave

The house where Murata was born in 1783 still exists in what is now the city of Nagato, Yamaguchi. Although Murata spent much of his adult life in Edo, he would return to this residence on occasion, and named the residence the "Misumi Sanso". In 1845, he moved back to this house permanently and lived here to his death. The residence is a complex of buildings including a rice storehouse, a stable, a barn, and a public bath, centered on a thatched one-story main building. His grave is located at Mount Otoshiyama about 100 meters west of the old house. In 1941, both the residence and the grave were collectively designated as a National Historic Site. The Murata Seifu Memorial Museum is nearby.

Sources

* Albert M. Craig: Chōshū in the Meiji restoration, Lexington Books, 2000,

External links

Kyoto University Library Ishin Database - wall scroll with poem by Murata SeifuYamaguchi Prefecture Tourism, Sports and Culture Department Culture Promotion DivisionMurata Seifu Memorial Museum

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murata, Seifu 1783 births 1855 deaths Samurai People from Chōshū Domain Deified Japanese people

Biography

Murata Seifū former residence and grave

See also

Sources

External links

Footnotes