P02-06 – Lecture 6 : 《Document Reading #B》 Residential Sales Contract

Residential Sales Contract,
owned by Osaka City University

【Transcription and Phonetic Transcription

    (いえ)()(しき)(ばい)(けん)(しょう)(もん)()(こと
(ひとつ)(もと)(ふし)()(さか)(まち)大黒屋(だいこくや)(よし)()居宅(きょたく)表口(おもてぐち)三間(さんけん)(うら)(ゆき)
  町並(まちなみ)但壱役(ただしいちやく)右家屋鋪(みぎいえやしき)先達而(せんだって)(より)我等方(われらかた)()(ぎん
  拾貫目(じゅっかんめ)()家質(かじち)()取置在之候(とりおきこれありそうろう)(しかる)()銀子(ぎんす)返済(へんさい
  (あい)(とどこおり)(そうろう)()(つき)質流ニ相成(しちながれにあいなり)依之(これにより)此方(このほう)()帳切(ちょうぎり)被為
  仰付(おおせつけさせられ)(そうろう)(ところ)応対を以(おうたいをもって)此度(このたび)其許殿(そこもとどの)()(ぎん)九貫目(きゅうかんめ)()
  (うり)(わた)()(すなわち)銀子(ぎんす)(たしかに)請取(うけとり)(もうす)(ところ)実正(じっしょう)(なり)
  (なお)(また)(よし)()(かた)(より)(いえ)()(しき)(とり)(わたし)一札(いっさつ)印形(いんぎょう)()(とり)
  在之(これあり)(そうろう)(あいだ)(みぎ)一件(いっけん)()(つき)彼是(かれこれ)故障(こしょう)ヶ間敷(がましき)出入(でいり)
  出来(しゅったい)(そうろう)()一切(いっさい)無御座(ござなく)(そうろう)万一(まんいち)(さまたげ)(そうろう)もの(もの)壱人(いちにん)
  にて(にて)()(そうら)ハヽ(わば)我等(われら)何方(いずかた)(まで)()(まかり)(いで)急度(きっと)(らち)(あけ)
  其許殿(そのもとどの)()少し(すこし)()難儀(なんぎ)(かけ)(もうす)間敷(まじく)(そうろう)為後日(ごじつのため)
  家屋敷(いえやしき)売券(ばいけん)証文(しょうもん)連判(れんぱん)仍而(よって)如件(くだんのごとし)
    (ぶん)()(はち)(ひつじ)(どし)(しち)(がつ)(みそ)()           家売主(いえうりぬし)  大和(やまと)()()()() ㊞
                     小松屋(こまつや)しめ(しめ)代判(だいはん)(ちょう)()()()(もり)
                       五人組(ごにんぐみ)  大黒屋(だいこくや)(かつ)(すけ) ㊞
                       (どう)    (おお)(さか)()(とう)兵衛(べえ) ㊞
                     紀伊国(きのくに)()()右衛門(えもん)()(もり)
                       (どう)    嶋屋(しまや)()右衛門(えもん) ㊞
                       年寄(としより)   大黒屋(だいこくや)(かん)()(ろう) ㊞
             伏見屋善兵衛殿(ふしみやぜんべえどの)

【Translation

  Residential Sales Contract

Item. Previously, I [Yamatoya Yahē] accepted Daikokuya Yoshio’s residential property in Motofushimisakamachi, which has a frontage of three ken, a depth equivalent to the lots surrounding it, and an associated tax levy of one ken, as collateral for a loan of ten kanme of silver. However, Daikokuya was forced to forfeit ownership of the property because he failed to fully repay the loan.  Thereafter, on the order of the City Governor’s Office, my name was added  to the chō land register as the property’s owner. However, I officially acknowledge that we then reached an agreement under which I sold the estate to you [Fushimiya Zenbē] in exchange for nine kanme of silver. Furthermore, there will  be no future objections or disputes regarding this transaction because I also obtained a sealed acknowledgement of sale from the property’s original owner, Daikokuya Yoshio.  In the rare event that even a single person attempts to interfere, I will, without fail, go to wherever the dispute is taking place and help to resolve it. By doing so, I will avoid causing you any trouble or concern.  For future reference, the reasons that my guarantors and I are co-sealing this contract are as indicated above.

【Key Terms and Phrases

Motofushimisakamachi (元伏見坂町)… A chō located on the southern side of Osaka’s Dōton Canal / Kyotaku ( 居宅)… A residential lot and domicile/Urayuki machinami (裏行町並)… This phrase indicates that the depth of the residential plot in question is the same as those around it. / Warera (我等)… Although the term warera usually indicates multiple persons, in this case, it refers to a single person. / Gin jūkanme (銀拾貫目) … Ten kanme of silver. One ryō of gold is equivalent to 60 me of silver, and one kanme is worth 1000 me, so ten kanme of silver is worth approximately 170 ryō. Kajichi (家質)… A loan provided to a person who puts up a residential property as collateral / Shichi nagare (質流れ)… The transfer of the right of ownership of a property that was put up as collateral in exchange for a loan that the recipient failed to repay on time / Chōgiri oosetsukesaserare (帳切仰付けさせられ)This phrase can be translated, “The City Governor’s Office has ordered that the land register (水帳) be amended.” It indicates that a suit was likely filed with the City Governor’s Office after the loan recipient fell into arrears. / Ōtai (応対)… Negotiation or consultation / Soko moto(其許)… An honorific expression meaning “you” / Jisshō (実正)… An expression meaning “certainly” or “without a doubt” / Ieyashiki toriwatashi issatsu (家屋敷取渡一札)… A written agreement or contract in which one party pledges to transfer ownership of a residential lot and domicile to another party / Kare kore (彼     是)… This or that; one or another / Koshōgamashiki (故障ヶ間敷)…An adjective meaning “obstructive” / Deiri(出入) … A dispute/Shuttai (出来)… The occurrence of an event or incident /Kitto (急度)… A phrase meaning “without fail” / Rachiake (埒明) The resolution of a dispute or problem / Nangi (難儀)… Trouble or annoyance

【Explanation

  This is a residential sales contract that was composed on the final day of the seventh month of Bunka 8 (1811) when Yamatoya Yahē sold a house and residential lot occupied by Motofushimisakamachi resident Daikokuya Yoshio to Fushimiya Zenbē, another Motofushimisakamachi resident.*   Daikokuya was the property’s original owner.  The use of the term kyotaku, which can refer to a person’s current place of residence, indicates that Daikokuya was still living on the property at the time of the sale.  When Daikokuya Yoshio borrowed money from Yamatoya Yahē, he put up his house and lot as collateral.  However, the property was forfeited and ownership was transferred to Yamatoya, because Daikokuya failed to repay his loan.  Although Yamatoya accepted Daikokuya’s property as collateral, the fact that he quickly sold it to Fushimiya Zenbē after assuming ownership indicates that Yamatoya either had no use for the house and lot or wanted cash rather than property.  Yamatoya lent ten kanme of silver to Daikokuya and sold Daikokuya’s estate to Fushimiya for one kanme of silver.  Therefore, if we suppose that Daikokuya failed to repay any of his debt to Yamatoya, then Yamatoya suffered a loss of one kanme of silver.  (However, it is likely that Daikokuya paid a part of his debt Yamatoya.  Therefore, it is hard to believe that Daikokuya’s debt to Yamatoya was any larger than nine kanme.)  Regardless, Yamatoya likely wanted cash even if he was forced to suffer a small loss.

  This is also an interesting example of a residential property that was put up as collateral and eventually forfeited.

  The property in question was located in Motofushimisakamachi, the chō in which the buyer, Fushimiya Zenbē, also resided.  Motofushimisakamachi was located just south of the Dōton Canal and was a neighborhood in which teahouses (chaya) were officially permitted to operate.

*(Fushimiya Zenbē: Fushimiya Zenbē moved to Motofushimisakamachi in the nineteenth century after purchasing an estate there.  While living in the chō, he operated a teahouse.  He also owned a pawnshop and used his wealth to fund theatrical performances.  The Fushimiya Zenbē House also engaged in money lending activities, which sometimes involved the use of residential properties as collateral.  As the above example indicates, there were cases in which a loan recipient fell into arrears and forfeited their homes and lots to Fushimiya.  The properties owned by Fushimiya were concentrated in Osaka’s Shimanouchi district and in neighborhoods in which teahouses were permitted to operate.

  In addition to the seller, the chōdoshiyori (the chō headman), and the members of the seller’s goningumi (Five-Household Association) sealed the above contract.  At the time that the document was composed, the chōdoshiyori and members of the seller’s goningumi were required to approve and seal all residential sales contracts.  Let us examine the development of early modern procedures governing the exchange of residential properties.

  From the early 1580s, when a property was sold, the buyer and seller were required to pay a registration fee (chōgirigin) equivalent to one-fortieth of the total sale price to the authority within whose domain the property was located.  In the case of Osaka, such fees were paid to the City Governor’s Office.  Upon receiving a registration fee, the City Governor’s Office issued written receipts to the buyer and seller.  Several such receipts have been preserved.  The next major development in the procedures surrounding property sales came during the late Tenshō period (1573-1592).  In Tenma Jinaimachi, an urbanized community that developed in the late-sixteenth century around Hongan Temple, both the Land Steward (jibugyō) and City Governor (machibugyō) began to conduct thorough inspections of all property sales.  For that reason, the written receipts issued by the City Governor expressed both public recognition of a property transaction that had already been approved by the headman in the chō where the property was located and served as an official acknowledgement that a property registration fee had been collected.

  The third major development came in Kan’ei 11 (1634) at the time of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu’s visit to Osaka.  In that year, Iemitsu exempted the entire city of Osaka from land taxes.  At the same time, the city authorities increased the property registration fee from one-fortieth to one-twentieth of a property’s total sale price.  However, those fees were now to be paid directly to the chō where the transaction took place and shared by the chō’s constituents.  As a result of those changes, the format of residential sales contracts also changed.

  An official proclamation issued on the 23rd day of the fifth month of Kan’ei 17 (1640) states, “Regarding the buying and selling of residential properties, properties may only be bought or sold after informing the headman and members of the five-household association in the chō in which the property is located. For example, even when there is a sales contract, if the sale has taken place without the permission of the chō, matters relating to the property’s ownership and disposal cannot be determined through official adjudication.”  Therefore, in order to buy or sell a residential property during the early modern period, it was necessary to first obtain the consent of the headman and five-household association in the chō where the property was located.  In addition, a subsequent proclamation issued on fifth day of the fourth month of Keian 1 (1648) states, “Regarding the buying and selling of residential properties, a sale must be concluded only after consulting with the headman and five-household association in the chō where the property is   located. For example, even if there is a sales contract, if the headman and members of the five-household association have not affixed their seals, the contract shall not be recognized as valid.”  In other words, the proclamation issued in Keian 1 mandated that the headman and members of the five-household association of which the property was part approve and seal all sales contracts.  Based on the above rules, a residential sales contract only became valid after the headman and members of the five-household association had affixed their seals. Once sealed, such contracts maintained their validity even if a dispute occurred and the property became the focus of an official suit at the City Governor’s Office.

 

 


史料から読む近世大坂 英語版 Lecture6:史料読解B―家屋敷売券証文

家屋敷売券証文(大阪市立大学蔵)

【釈文】

    家屋敷売券証文之事
一、元伏見坂町大黒屋由雄居宅、表口三間裏行
  町並、但壱役、右家屋鋪、先達而ゟ我等方へ銀
  拾貫目之家質ニ取置在之候、然ニ銀子返済
  相滞候ニ付、質流ニ相成、依之此方へ帳切被為
  仰附候処、応対ヲ以、此度其許殿へ銀九貫目ニ
  売渡シ、則銀子慥請取申処実正也、
  猶亦由雄方ゟ家屋鋪取渡一札印形を取
  在之候間、右一件ニ付、彼是故障ヶ間敷出入
  出来候儀、一切無御座候、万一妨候もの壱人
  にても候ハヽ、我等何方迄も罷出、急度埒明、
  其許殿江少しも難儀掛申間敷候、為後日
  家屋敷売券証文連判、仍而如件
    文化八未年七月晦日        家売主  大和屋弥兵衛 ㊞
                    小松屋しめ代判長兵衛家守
                     五人組  大黒屋勝助 ㊞
                     同    大坂屋藤兵衛 ㊞
                    紀伊国屋嘉右衛門家守
                     同    嶋屋喜右衛門 ㊞
                     年寄   大黒屋勘四郎 ㊞
            伏見屋善兵衛殿

【読み下し】

    家屋敷売券証文の事

一元伏見坂町大黒屋由雄居宅、表口三間裏行町並、但し壱役、右家屋鋪、先達てより我等方へ銀拾貫目の家質に取り置きこれ在り候、然るに銀子返済相滞り候に付き、質流れに相成り、これによりこの方へ帳切仰せ付けさせられ候処、応対を以て、この度そこ許殿へ銀九貫目に売り渡し、則ち銀子慥かに請け取り申す処実正なり、猶亦由雄方より家屋鋪取り渡し一札印形を取りこれ在り候間、右一件に付き、かれこれ故障がましき出入り出来候儀、一切御座無く候、万一妨げ候もの壱人にても候はば、我等何方迄も罷り出、急度埒明け、そこ許殿へ少しも難儀掛け申すまじく候、後日の為家屋敷売券証文連判、よって件のごとし

【現代語訳】

元伏見坂町の大黒屋由雄の居宅、表口三間裏行町並、但し壱役、右の家屋鋪は以前から私方へ銀一〇貫目の(担保として)家質に取っていました。ところが銀子の返済が滞ったため、質流れになりました。これを受けて私方へ帳切(名義切替え)するよう判決が出されました。しかし相談が成り立ち、今回あなた様に銀九貫目で売り渡し、確かに代銀を請け取りましたこと、間違いございません。なお由雄からも家屋鋪取り渡し一札の押印証文を取ってありますので、右の一件に関して、あれこれと異議を差し挟み、紛争が起こるようなことは一切ございません。万一妨害する者が一人でもいれば、私がどこにでも出向き、必ず解決し、あなた様に少しもご迷惑をおかけいたしません。後日のため家屋敷売券証文に連判しますことは、以上の通りです。

【語句】

元伏見坂町…道頓堀の南側の町。/居宅…家屋敷のこと。/裏行町並…家屋敷の奥行きは周辺のそれと同じ。/我等…等がついても単数で、私と同意。/銀拾貫目…金一両は銀六〇目なので、一七〇両程。/家質…家屋敷を担保とした借銀。/質流れ…期限までに返済できず、担保物件の所有権が移ること。/帳切仰せ付けさせられ…「町奉行所から水帳の切替えを命じられ」という意味。借銀滞りで出訴したものと思われる。/応対…交渉・相談。/其許…あなた様。/実正…間違いない。/家屋鋪取渡一札…家屋敷の引き渡しを約束した証文。/彼是…あれこれと。/故障ヶ間敷…妨げるような。/出入…紛争。/出来(しゅったい)…物事が起きること。/急度…必ず。/埒明…問題を解決すること。/難儀…迷惑。

【解説】

 文化八(一八一一)年七月晦日に、大和屋弥兵衛が元伏見坂町の大黒屋由雄の居宅を同町の伏見屋善兵衛に売った時の家屋敷売買証文である。本来の家屋敷所持者は大黒屋由雄であり、「居宅」とあるから現在も居住していることがわかる。大黒屋由雄は大和屋弥兵衛から銀を借りた際、家屋敷を質に入れた。しかし、その返済が滞ったので、質流れとなってしまい、所有権は大和屋に移ってしまった。大和屋は家を質には取ったが、家屋敷そのものは不要だったのか、現金が欲しかったのか、すぐに伏見屋に売ってしまったのである。大黒屋へ貸した銀が一〇貫目で、伏見屋へ売った家屋敷の売価が銀九貫目なので、大黒屋がまったく返済しなかったとしたら、銀一貫目の損をしたことになる(ただし、返済残金が九貫目以下とは考えにくい)。

 いずれにしても、大和屋は多少損をしても、現金が欲しかったのであろう。家質が質流れしてしまったときの事例としても興味深い。

 さて、当該の家屋敷は元伏見坂町にあり、買主の伏見屋善兵衛も元伏見坂町に居住している。元伏見坂町は、道頓堀の南にあり、茶屋営業を認められた町である。

*伏見屋善兵衛
 一九世紀に元伏見坂町に家屋敷を獲得して移り住み、茶屋を経営した。芝居の銀主となったことも知られ、質屋も営業していた。伏見屋善兵衛家は、家屋敷を担保とした金融活動(家質)にも手を染め、その返済が滞って家屋敷が流れこんでくることもあった。そのような伏見屋善兵衛家の家屋敷は、島之内や茶屋町に集中しているという特徴があった。

 この証文には、売主とともに町年寄と五人組が連署している。当時、家屋敷の売買証文には町年寄と五人組の署判が必要であった。この経緯を見てみよう。

豊臣期から家屋敷の売買に際しては、「帳切銀」として売買値段の四〇分の一を領主方に支払うことになっていた。これに伴って、町奉行が発給した「帳切銀」の請取状が残っている。また、天正期の天満寺内町では「地奉行」や「町奉行」が家屋敷の売買の際には見分にやってきたようである。したがって、この町奉行からの文書は、「年寄中」の決定に基づいて売買の事実を確認し、「帳切銀」を領収したことを示すものであると考えられる。

 この後、寛永一一(一六三四)年の将軍家光の来坂によって、大坂市中の地子は免除される。この時、「帳切銀」が四〇分の一から二〇分の一に増額されたが、その銀はその町の収入となり、町人たちに配分されるようになった。それにより、売買証文の形式も変更されていった。

 寛永一七年五月二三日の町触には、「家の売買、其町之年寄・五人組ニ相理り売買仕へし、縦売券有之共町中へ於無断者裁許有間敷事」(家屋敷の売買については、その町の年寄と五人組に断ってから売買しなさい。たとえ売券があったとしても町中へ無断で売買していたならば、裁判で取り上げない)とある。家屋敷の売買については、その町の年寄・五人組の承認が必要だと言っているのである。さらに、慶安元(一六四八)年四月五日の町触には、「家屋鋪売買事、右其町之年寄五人組ニ相談之上可相定也、縦売券状在之といふとも、年寄五人組於無加判者不可立証文也」(家屋敷の売買のことについては、その町の年寄と五人組に相談のうえで決めなさい。たとえ売券があったとしても、その売券に年寄と五人組の判が無ければ、売買の証文とは認めない)とあり、売買証文への年寄・五人組の加判を義務付けている。そもそもはこの規定に基づいて、この証文に年寄・五人組の署判があり、家屋敷の売買証文として成り立っているのである。つまり、この証文は、何かトラブルがあって町奉行所での裁判沙汰になっても有効な証文ということができる。