Ansei Tōashi or Ansei-no-Tōashi was a

footrace Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

open to

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

of the

Annaka Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Annaka Castle in what is now the city of Annaka, Gunma. History Ii Naomasa was one of ...

, of approximately 30 kilometers, during the Ansei era (1854–1860) of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It has been nicknamed the "Samurai Marathon". Though forgotten for a long time, this event was re-instituted in 1955, and has been viewed as a cultural resource since then. Annaka City now holds a long-distance race annually in commemoration of Ansei Tōashi.

Background

The place: the place was Annaka Domain, one of parts of Joshū which is modern

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

, which was situated in the north-west part of

Kantō plain The , in the Kantō region of central Honshu, is the largest plain in Japan. Its 17,000 km2 covers more than half of the region extending over Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefe ...

. Annaka Domain had a duty to defend

Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano Prefecture, Nagano and Gunma Prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsa ...

, a narrow path, through which the transportation between

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

and north-western regions had to pass, therefore Annaka Domain was an important point of transport. The time: the time was the spring of 1855, the second year of Ansei era, two years later from " Arrival of the Black Ships" incident. This incident created perturbation in Japan and a split of opinion for foreigners. Some feudal lords thought that strengthening and fortification were needed against for the invasion of Westerners, and Itakura Katsuakira, the lord of Annaka Domain, was one of them.

Primary sources

Ansei Tōashi had been forgotten for long time until ancient manuscripts were found in 1955, from the underlining of

fusuma In Japanese architecture, are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a ''tatami'' mat, and are thick. The ...

of the house of

shintō , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes ...

priest of Kumano Gongen shrine at Usui Pass. The manuscripts tells the story of Ansei Tōashi, and records its date, time and order of arrival. The manuscripts comprises a rule book and a book that records the order of arrival. The manuscripts have been typed and studied by historians, and are preserved in the institute for the compilation of historical material of Annaka City.

Event

On the basis of the primary sources, Itakura Katsuakira hoped his vassals would be strengthened, and ordered them to run from the castle gate to Kumano Gongen shrine at Usui Pass. He believed that it would benefit their mental and physical discipline. The primary sources shows that the participants are 98 men, all the vassals of fifty years old and under. They were divided into dozens of groups, each group included 6 or 7 men. All member within a group started to run at the same time. The order of arrival of each groups were recorded. Tōashi event took place from May 19 to June 28 of Japan's lunisolar calendar in the second year of Ansei era. The route to run includes lots of ups and downs, and its length is 30 kilometer. The final stage of the route has a mountain path to Usui Pass. The recorder was the shinō priest of Kumano Gongen shrine at Usui Pass. In the first day, the recorder was late for the estimated arrival time of samurais because he who took the designation as the recorder by Lord Itakura at the castle in the previous day had to put up at an inn due to rain in the foot of the mountain path. Therefore, he had to run and climb the mountain path along with them. Samurai who arrived at the goal dedicated the early-ripening of rice plant to the deity of the shrine, and were given dried radish strips, seasoned cucumbers, rice cakes and tea. Itabashi 2017 assumes giving rice cakes have symbolic meaning that they provide strength to donatory. When the participants returns their home, it was not needed for them to run. However, they were not allowed to ride in sedan chair nor ride on horseback. They had to walk.

Legacy

After discovering the primary sources, the event written in it came to be known, and the name Ansei Tōashi was coined. The historical fact that a kind of

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, which was invented by

baron de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; 1 January 1863 – 2 September 1937), also known as Pierre de Coubertin and Baron de Coubertin, was a French educator and historian, co-founder of the International Olympic ...

for

modern Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competiti ...

in 1908, was invented by one of Japanese feudal loads and actually held in 1855, was thought to be interesting for modern Japanese people. Ansei Tōashi has been used as a cultural resource. Annaka City has annually held a "Samurai Marathon" and invited runners since 1975. Ansei Tōashi inspired some fictions. ''Marathon Samurai'' (1956), a film directed by

Kazuo Mori , also known by his street name , was a Japanese film director who primarily worked in popular genres like the jidaigeki. Mori directed over 100 films in his life. Career Born in Ehime Prefecture, Mori graduated from Kyoto University before join ...

, starring

Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 Novemb ...

, and '' Samurai Marathon 1855'' (2019), a film directed by Bernard Rose are the films inspired by Ansei Tōashi.

The Conductor

Itakura Katsuakira (1809-1857), the seventh head of the house of Itakura and the fifteenth ruler of Annaka Domain, was fond of studying and encouraged new industry in his domain. Stone inscriptions which are preserved in Annaka in modern days tell that Katsuakira encouraged farmers to plant Japanese lacquer trees, and, thanks to this, they and their offspring could and would be able to avoid from poverty. An exemplary intellectual and political figure in

Bakumatsu period were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunat ...

, Katsuakira was anti-foreign and

chauvinist Chauvinism ( ) is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. The ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' describes it ...

, and took Japan's situation in global politics seriously. He felt menace about the situation that Westerners and Russians often came from overseas to Japan. According to Katsuakira's recognition of Japanese history, Japan had not been despised by oversea barbarians since the beginning of the country, and it was the enthusiasm for defence that kept this situation. Under his reign, the Meiji-era educator

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He w ...

was born as the son of a retainer of the domain. Hearing young Neesima's talent, Katsuakira ordered him to take up Dutch studies at his age of 14. Neeshima's grandfather was formerly Shugen mystic, and, being expected to utilize his knowledge by the ruler of those days Katsunao, later became a lower-ranked feudal retainer of Annaka Domain.

References