Exile Island Sado ~JUN,2025~

Sado has an area of 855 km2, 60% of Oahu and 30% larger than the 23 wards of Tokyo, and is home to 47,000 people. Oahu has 900,000 people, and Tokyo's 23 wards has 10 million people, so the population density is quite low, but it was once a "country" made up of three districts. The site of the provincial government office has not yet been identified, but remains that are thought to be part of it have been found, and there is also a provincial temple nearby, so it is assumed that the surrounding area was the center of the island since ancient times. The island is covered by fertile fields (Kuninaka Plain) between two parallel mountain ranges running from southwest to northeast, with Ryotsu Bay on the northeast side and Mano Bay on the southwest side, and good ports scattered throughout the island.

There are records of government officials being exiled to the island since the Nara period, and many political prisoners stayed there even after the Kamakura period and the era of the samurai. The three most famous people are said to be Emperor Juntoku, Nichiren, and Zeami, but the highly cultured exiles had great influences on the culture of Sado thereafter. I saw a Noh stage in the grounds of Kusakari Shrine, and there were apparently 200 on the island in its heyday, and about 30 today. A certain level of education is required to enjoy Noh, and it is impressive to see how widely rooted it is among the common people.

After Minamoto no Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew Kugyo, Emperor Gotoba raised an army to take back political control from the Kamakura Shogunate, but was defeated by the Shogunate forces commanded by Hojo Yoshitoki and Masako, and was exiled along with his two sons (Emperors Tsuchimikado and Juntoku). Emperor Juntoku's residence was called Kuroki Gosho, and he lived there for 21 years until his death. He was also a famous poet, having been selected for the Hyakunin Isshu, but he also actively wrote poetry in Sado, often requesting corrections and criticism from Fujiwara Teika, the judge and teacher.

After his death, he was cremated (Mano Goryo), and Fujiwara no Yasumitsu, who had accompanied him from Kyoto, brought his bones back and buried them with his father, the retired Emperor Gotoba, in Ohara. Although many of the court nobles who were ordered by Emperor Juntoku to accompany him to Sado pretended to be ill and refused, Yasumitsu, who was of low rank, remained loyal to the end.

At Kaichoji Temple in Ogi, there are two cherry trees that are said to have been planted by Emperor Juntoku. The greenery is vibrant and it looks like beautiful flowers will bloom again next year.

Emperor Gotoba quickly forced his gentle and war-avoiding elder brother, Emperor Tsuchimikado, to abdicate, and loved his warlike younger brother, Emperor Juntoku, and placed him on the throne. After the Jōkyū War, the shogunate side avoided the Gotoba-Juntoku bloodline and placed Emperor Gotoba's nephew (Emperor Gohorikawa) on the throne, but his successor, Emperor Shijō, fell while playing at the Imperial Palace and died at the age of ten, and the issue of the succession to the emperor arose again. There were two candidates: Prince Tadanari, the son of Emperor Juntoku, who was born after being exiled to Sado, and Prince Kunihito, the son of Emperor Tsuchimikado. The shogunate chose the latter line, which had been reluctant during the Jōkyū War, and Prince Kunihito ascended to the throne as Emperor Gosaga, but this person would later create a situation in which the Jimyōin and Daikakuji lines alternated powers, further bringing about the division of the Northern and Southern Courts.

Fujiwara no Teika's descendants prospered as poets, but his great-grandson Kyogoku Tamekane was active in the "Kyogoku school" of waka poetry, while also serving Emperor Fushimi as a nobleman of the Jimyoin lineage. His political activities aimed at restoring the authority of the Imperial Court were discovered, and he was exiled to Sado, where he lived at Zenchoji Temple for six years before returning to Kyoto. He continued his activities aimed at restoring the monarchy, and was exiled again to Tosa, but was unable to return to Kyoto and passed away in Kawachi.

Similarly, Hino Suketomo, who was born into a Jimyoin-line noble family, broke off ties with his father Toshimitsu, followed Emperor Go-Daigo of the Daikakuji line, and was punished by the shogunate in the Shochu Incident and exiled to Sado. He was imprisoned by the Honma clan, the provincial governor, but was executed at the strong urging of Nagasaki Takasuke when Emperor Go-Daigo resurrected in the Genko Incident. He was once exiled, but was sentenced to death eight years later for a different crime, which goes against the modern principle of "double jeopardy," but it shows how much the shogunate was struggling. Myosen-ji Temple was built on the site of Sawada Castle, which was the residence of the Honma clan at the time, and Suketomo's grave is surrounded by azaleas. This temple is the only one in Sado that has a five-story pagoda, and it was built in 1825 by a philanthropist from Aikawa, modeled after the one at Daigo-ji Temple. There are many Nichiren sect temples in Sado, and this one also originated from Abutsubo, which was founded by the monk Nittoku, who became the first Nichiren believer in Sado.

Incidentally, the Homma clan was destroyed by Uesugi Kagekatsu at the end of the Sengoku period, but some of the family served the Uesugi clan and moved to Aizu and Yonezawa. In the Edo period, the part of Homma family moved to Sakata and became wealthy merchants, and as a purveyor to the Shonai domain, they demonstrated their prowess, and many people know that they were praised for being "no match for the Homma clan." After the war, one Homma family started the business of golf club production, but they seemed expensive, so I have never used one.

It is a well-known story that Nichiren, facing the threat of a Mongol invasion, embraced Rissho Ankoku Ron, rejected the Shingon and Jodo sects, and appealed to the regent Hojo Tokimune, but he was exiled to Sado for two years and five months until the Mongol invasion came. What is typical of Nichiren is that soon after arriving in Sado, he engaged in debates with monks from various sects, and the stage for this was the Sammai-do Hall of Konponji Temple.

When the Mongol invasion became a reality, Nichiren was pardoned and asked to pray for the retreat of the Mongol invasion, but he refused, saying that he would not do it if other sects were also doing it, and he then retreated to Mount Minobu. A monument commemorating the 700th anniversary of the pardon was placed at Jisso-ji Temple.

Under the protection of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, father and son Kan-ami and Zeami established Noh as a performing art, but the sixth shogun, Yoshinori, disliked Zeami and persecuted him, eventually exiling him to Sado. Zeami was exiled to Manpuku-ji Temple, which once stood on the grounds of Sado City Hall, but a collection of Noh plays he wrote mentions stopping off at Chokokuji Temple on the way there and paying homage to the Kannon statue. What happened to Zeami in his later years remains a mystery, and it is said that he returned to Kyoto, but it was only after the Meiji period that his writings and achievements began to attract attention and be highly acclaimed.

It is said that Noh became popular in Sado due to the influence of Okubo Nagayasu, the first Sado magistrate. Gold in Sado has been produced from gold dust since the Heian period, but Nagayasu, who had a strong track record of mining development in Kai, began full-scale development and it became one of the largest gold mines in the world. During the Edo period, Sado became a direct territory of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and greatly enriched the Shogunate's finances in the early Edo period.

Kizaki Shrine, located near Ogi Port, was promoted by Okubo Nagayasu and built by Ogiwara Shigehide. It seems that prayers were offered for safe transportation as large amounts of gold were shipped from Ogi Port. Ogiwara Shigehide was a finance magistrate who was active during Tsunayoshi's reign, but was appointed to the Sado magistrate's office as a young man, where he increased gold production and reviewed the rice yield, improving the finances of the Sado magistrate's office. Neither man was happy in his later years; Nagayasu lost the favor of Ieyasu, and after he died of a stroke, his illegal accumulation of wealth was discovered and many of his family members committed seppuku, while Shigehide was defeated in a political struggle with Arai Hakuseki after Ienobu became shogun, leading to his downfall. It seems that seeing too much gold brings misfortune.

As mentioned at the beginning, Sado has a population of 47,000, but the population, which was 110,000 in 1960, has been rapidly declining. The Sado Gold Mine was finally registered as a World Heritage Site in July last year, but despite being blessed with many tourist resources other than the gold mine (and let's not forget the Japanese crested ibis), it seems that the island lacks the functions and efforts to link these resources and promote their diverse charms. Sado Island is deeply connected to the formation of the Sea of Japan and the Japanese archipelago, and at the northeastern end of the island, traces of volcanic activity from when it was still on the edge of the continent (Onogame and Futatsugame) remain, and Tobishima day lilies were in full bloom.

I tried comparing sake from Sado, and Manotsuru was delicious. I'm old enough now that I don't have much ambition (向上心; Kojoshin), but I was touched by "Kojoshin（幸醸心）" and bought a towel and Junmai Ginjo.