Ashikawa Family Documents

The Ashikawa family, located near the Omaru intersection in the Omaru district, houses 152 ancient documents from the Edo period. The contents of these documents include land survey records, village detail records, village maps, documents related to the Omaru irrigation system, and litigation-related documents, which serve as historical materials that provide insight into the life of farmers in Omaru village during the Edo period. The documents were created over a span of 197 years, from the first year of Enpo (1673) to the third year of Meiji (1870), and were preserved by the Ashikawa family, who served as village officials in Omaru village during that time. We will introduce particularly important fundamental historical materials among these valuable early modern documents. (Additionally, the Ashikawa family also preserves modern historical materials from the Meiji period onward.)

Omaru Village Map (Ashikawa Family Documents 96)

Created in the 7th year of the Tenpo era (1836), it depicts new fields, rivers, roads, forests, and embankments in different colors. It also clarifies the state of the Tama River's riverbed, the flow of Omaru irrigation, the position of the flumes created within the irrigation, the appearance of the notice board that was in front of Enshoji Temple, and the original land of the new fields.

Musashi Province Tama District Omaru Village Haraichi New Field Survey Register (Ashikawa Family Documents 2)

This is a land survey record created by Kan'ō Haruaki, the accounting official of the shogunate, during the land survey conducted in the 3rd year of Enkyō (1746). The land survey record includes details for each plot of land such as the name of the location, ranking (upper field, middle field, lower field, etc.), area (size of the plot), and the name of the claimant (cultivator or land rights holder). From this historical document, it is understood that the previously common land of forests and wastelands was developed and divided into privately owned land.

Regarding the Bid for the Construction of the Waterway in Tamagawa (Document from the Ashikawa Family 10)

The Omaru irrigation water, taken from the Tama River in the Omaru area, is agricultural water that nourishes the rice fields of the nine villages in the basin, and it was maintained and managed by organizing an irrigation association. This historical document is a record of the request made by representatives of the nine villages to the irrigation association for restoration in the year 4 of the An'ei era (1775) due to the destruction of the irrigation water intake facilities by a flood of the Tama River. It shows that the existence of the Omaru irrigation water was essential for agriculture at that time.

Kanto Region Enforcement Duty Instructions (Ashikawa Family Documents 133)

After the mid-Edo period, the number of small-scale farmers increased, and more people began to leave the villages. The security in rural areas and cities deteriorated, leading to the establishment of a position called "Kanto Torishimari Deyaku" as a regulatory organization to address this issue. This historical document describes the specific methods and activities of the Kanto Torishimari Deyaku during their rounds in the villages.

Omaru Village Five-Man Group Punishment Record (Ashikawa Family Documents 138)

The five-person group was an organization created by the five households in the neighborhood for the purpose of maintaining public order and collective responsibility for tax collection, and it also had a mutual aid function for village life. This document was created in the second year of the Meiji era (1869) and lists various prohibitions imposed by the lord, requiring the farmers to pledge to strictly adhere to them.

Detailed Register of Omaru Village, Tamagun, Musashi Province (Ashikawa Family Documents 152)

This document was created in the 3rd year of the Meiji era (1870) and provides an overview of Omaru Village. It includes information on land classification, rice yield, land surveys, shrines and temples, irrigation works, number of households, population, and side occupations, giving insight into the village's conditions at that time.