Kiuchi Sōgorō , also known as Sakura Sōgorō (1605 – September 1653) was a legendary Japanese farmer whose real family name was Kiuchi. He is said to have appealed directly to 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 Kamak ...
'' in 1652 when he was serving as a headman of one of the villages in the
Sakura Domain
was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Shimōsa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Sakura Castle in what is now the city of Sakura, Chiba. It was ruled for most of its hi ...
. In the appeal he requested the ''shōgun'' to help ease the peasants' burden of heavy taxes and bad crops. But since direct appeals were illegal in those days, he was arrested. It is widely believed that he was executed (crucified) along with his sons (and some sources claim also his wife) in 1653 by the ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
'' of his feudal domain. However, no evidence for the existence of the incident has been found, although a farmer named Sōgorō was found listed on the record of the village.
The legend of Sakura Sōgorō has been made into numerous stories and plays of
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 though ...
,
Jōruri, and so on (a.o. a play called "Self-Sacrificing Man Sakura Sōgo"). In 1851 the play was first staged at
Nakamura-za
was one of the three main ''kabuki'' theatres of Edo alongside the Morita-za and Ichimura-za.
History
It was founded in 1624 by Nakamura Kanzaburō 1st. The Nakamura-za relocated to the new capital Tokyo in 1868 and reopened under Nakamura ...
. He is enshrined in Sōgo-reidō of Tōshōji temple in Narita city. He was praised by
Fukuzawa Yukichi
was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio University, the newspaper '' Jiji-Shinpō'', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases.
Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. Hi ...
and in the
Freedom and People's Rights Movement
The (abbreviated as ) or Popular Rights Movement was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in the 1880s. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the Unequal Treaties with the United States and European c ...
and is still admired by many as ''gimin'' (martyr, in the non-religious sense). Every year on 2 September (it is said that it is the day before his execution, but other sources say he was executed on the 24th), there are all-night gatherings in memory of Sōgo-sama at the ''Sōgo Reidō Sanctuary'' (Tōshōji Temple) in
Narita (Chiba prefecture).
Media
In
Persona 5
is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation ...
, the character Sojiro Sakura's name was inspired by Sōgorō.
See also
Japanese Castles of Edo Period
Bibliography
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References
External links
Sogo Reido Sanctuary (Toshoji Temple) in Narita*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakura, Sogoro
People of Edo-period Japan
People from Chiba Prefecture
1605 births
1653 deaths
History of Narita City