1884年 ４２歳
已に
足利郡狭間村（迫間村）に於ては、水害村なるを以て、水塚を築きて其上に土蔵を造りたる人あり。水塚を築くには一年二年に成るものにあらず、農間追々築くものにて、如此土地もまた遠方より運ばざるを得ず。一丘の水塚、農民一家の業として、実に一生に一個を築くは最大の事業とせり。
Hasama Village,Ashikaga County,was in the area where the Watarase-gawa River and others converged.The village often suffered from floods.
The Watarase-gawa River runs from the middle of the left-hand side down to the center of the bottom(above).
然るを、水塚を毀ち土蔵を毀ち家を去らしめ、水塚の土を崩壊して道路の凹所に埋め、却て難有献地献物仕候云々の願書を出ださしめたり。
People built a 5-foot-high mound on which a storage building was situated.The construction required a life-long effort.
The local governments razed the mounds and filled the sunken parts to make new roads.
| 栃木県地方税は当時大体三十三万円前後にあり（国家予算８千８００万円）。その経費臨時を合して言ふ。旧来は方今の如き洪水乏しきを以て、本体は一定せり。同年は更に十二万を道路費に加へたり、是れ県道を悉く改正の見込にて、議会は通過なしたり。
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The annual budget of Tochigi Local Government was about ￥330 thousand including the one-time expenses.Floods being rare in those days,the volume of the annual expenditure seldom exceeded the budget.In this year the assembly had passed the budget after another ￥120 thousand was added for the road construction.The assembly passed the budget plan because they were explained that all the prefectural roads need to be repaired or newly constructed. |
| 然るを三島専断、南茨城境より北は白河に通ずる三十里間の新道開削に充てたりと云ふ。而して外各郡へは更に寄付を命じ、各郡内の普請を引受けしめたり。
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Gov.Mishima reportedly allocated the fund to construct a new road to extend 120 km from the southern prefectural border to Shirakawa.Besides he ordered to collect "donations" from each county. |
| 右十二万円を以て、南茨城界古河の北より北は福島県白河に達する国境迄凡そ三十里を用ひたりと云ふは、また名のみにて、之実は各郡より人夫を寄付せしめ、砂利は方三歩砂利、人夫男十五以上七十以下、男に代るに婦を以てするあり。
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It is doubtful that ￥120 thousand was actually used for the construction of the new road.Each county was forced to offer free laborers,men aged from 15 to 70 yeas of age and at some places men were replaced with women.Gravels used were of inferior quality. |
| 右十二万円は何れに向て支払ひたるを知らず。如斯を以て、人夫と砂利の寄付のみか、三十里程の道敷は田となく山となく、理不尽に線路を通したり。 |
Nobody knew where ￥120 thousand went and how it was spent.In this way the 120 km-long road was completed.Rice paddies had been demolished and mountains had been razed to make way for the road. |
| 下都賀郡乙女村、間々田村等にては、・・・を以て人夫を・・・、・・・強問せる等、言語筆紙に尽し難し。
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In the villages of Otome-mura and Mamada-mura,some laborers were tortured with ...Things which were beyond words were done. |
| 県会常置委員田中正造、此事を聞き、騎馬にて乙女、間々田、網戸に至り、実地を調べ、直に出京して角田真平氏（立憲改進党）に図り、駿河台に内務大輔土方久元氏を訪ひて実を訴ふ。
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Tanaka Shozo,a regular member of prefectural assembly committee,heard this and rushed on horseback to the villages of Otome,Mamada and Amido.After gathering the facts,he went to Tokyo and consulted with Kakuta Shinpei,a member of the political party,Rikken-Kaishin-to.They visited Hijikata Hisamoto,Undersecretary of Interior,at Surugadai and showed him what was happening in Ibaraki. |
| また一方には島田三郎に図り、内務卿山縣氏に訴ふ。是れ三島が着手四にして、田中正造が三島に反抗せる着手の一なり。 |
Meanwhile I consulted with Shimada Saburo,a newspaperman and politician,and met Yamagata,Interior Minister,and asked for his help.This was the fourth step of Mishima and my first attempt to stop his move. |
| 福島会津若松より山王峠の国境を経て塩原に出る、新開費十二万余円を覚ゆるは、前県令藤川の頃決議せし継続費なり 。 |
The plan to construct a new road from the neighboring Aidzu-Wakamatsu over the Sanno Pass to Shiobara,Tochigi,had been approved with the budget of ￥120 thousand while Fujikawa,his predecessor,was the governor. |
| 三島其の山路測量を更に専断に変じ、字尾頭峠を烏頭峠に変じ、山王峠より凡四里を八里に延長し、深山厳岩を人力車馬車の通行し得るの勾配となし、無法に里程を延して、通行するものなきに至らしめ、且つ此の開墾臨時費弐萬五六千円の不足を生じたるは、三島の専断なり。
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Mishima,however,made arbitrary changes which increased the construction cost.He changed the Ogashira Pass to Utoh Pass.The change made the route to Sanno Pass,which is the critical gate between the neighboring prefectures, 16 km longer than the original one.He also widened the road for rickshaws and horse-drawn carriages.All these changes made by Mishima incurred the increase of the cost by ￥25 or 26 thousand. |
| 右一部落にて二万五千余円の不足を生じ、また各郡の新開道路も県会の決議なきものなれば、臨時県会を開かざるを得ず。 |
The construction project ran out of money.They needed ￥25 thousand more.Some of the new roads had skipped the necessary procedure of approval of the prefectural assembly.Mishima was forced to call an extraordinary assembly meeting. |
| また県庁の工事も落成せしを以て、開庁式を挙行するには、東京より各大臣を聘さんとの計画非常なり。旁々臨時会を開くべき時務迫りければ、無余儀臨時県会を開く。 |
The new prefectural head office buildings were completed.Mishima wanted to invite all the ministers from Tokyo.All these things brought Mishima to open an extraordinary assembly meeting. |
| 時に正造、東京に在り。直に赤羽満二郎氏に図り、臨時会を否決し、参事院の裁定を仰ぐべき決議案を作り、之を携へて赤羽氏と共に栃木臨時県会に臨む。 |
Shozo happened to be in Tokyo at that time.He met Akabane Manjiro,a journalist,and concluded to present a plea to the Legislation Bureau in order to invalidate the extraordinary meeting.We attended the meeting to get our plea adopted. |
| 議員中硬派のみならば無造作なれども、孰れの時代も軟派のあるものにて、交渉日夜繁忙なり。 |
Not all of the assembly members were stand-up guys.We were busy day and night to try to win the support of as many weak-minded members as possible. |
| 此日（十七年九月十日）県会は大多数、一二を除く外、大多数にて否決せしにも拘らず、 |
The meeting was held on Sept.10,1884.The Mishima's agenda was rejected by a great majority with a few who supported. |
| 野心多き三島は其夜使者を以て、正副議長及び田中正造に馳走せんと武蔵屋と申す半会席迄出張ありたし、土木課長中山御接待申さんと、使者両三回至る。三人拒絶して行かず。
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The ambitious Mishima,however,would not give up his hope,but sent a messenger to the chairman,vice-chairman and Shozo and urged us to come to a certain high-end restaurant,a Musashiya, where guests were entertained by geisha girls. The messenger said the chief of construction department,Nakayama,was waiting for us.Three of us rejected and did not go. |
| 此夜、他の議員等、散歩の為め市中を運動す。忽ち怪事を探偵して来り言ふ、今夜正副議長及び正造三人を呼出し、土木工事の人夫に命じ、石を以て三人を殴殺せんと。
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During that night some of the assembly members went out for a walk.They picked up a strange rumor that there was a plan to draw the chairman,vice-chairman and Shozo out to a place where construction workers were laid waiting to throw stones at us to kill. |
| 使者また至る、今回の使者は一等属佐藤某なり。栃木県人にして性温厚なり。眼中涙あって曰く、三氏行かざれば、吾輩職務を全ふするを得ざるなりと、泣くが如く訴ふるが如し。しばらくして議員多人数帰り来りて、出るなかれ出るなかれと言ふ。
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Another messenger,a Sato,first secretary,came.This goodnatured man was born and raised in Tochigi Prefecture. He pleaded with tears,"Please come with me or I fail at my duty as a public servant." Soon many assembly members came back and told us not to go. |
| 忽ち声あり、人足七八名、正副議長及び田中の宿舎に踏み込み、罵りて曰く、何故に出ざると。副議長小峯曰く、御馳走は此方へ持ち来れ、行きて食する暇なしと。茲に於て三島の画策は破れたり。 |
Suddenly we heard shouts.Seven or eight construction laborers stormed into the house where we stayed.They yelled,"Why do you come out?" Komine,vice chairman,told them,"We are too busy to go.Will you bring the dishes here?" Mishima's plot came to an end in this way. |
田中正造
1841年12月15日 - 1913年（大正2年）9月4日Tanaka Shozo dedicated his life for the farmers who were victimized by the pollution of Ashio Copper Mine. He is one of the pioneers of environmental movement in Japan.
ODONTA PRESS
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