Press Conference Held on 'Revealing the True Picture of Runaways from the Kumamoto Domain during the Bakumatsu Period: Destinations Included Sumo Wrestlers, Thieves, and the Shinsengumi'

On Monday, March 30, 2026, Associate Professor Naoki Imamura of the Eisei-Bunko Research Center at Kumamoto University held a press conference in Common Conference Room A on the second floor of Building 1 of the Faculty of Engineering at Kumamoto University to explain his research findings.

Participating media outlets asked numerous questions regarding the research results presented below, leading to a lively exchange of opinions.

[Images: Associate Professor Naoki Imamura; Scene from the meeting]

[Research Results]

(Key Points) - Through an analysis of the Hosokawa family's 'Kuchigaki' (deposition records) from the Bakumatsu period, we have clarified the true picture of people from the Kumamoto Domain who ran away or absconded outside the domain's territory. During the Bakumatsu period, the Kumamoto Domain was ordered to guard Kyoto, leading many samurai servants (ashigaru, chugen, and komono) to travel to the capital as attendants, which resulted in an increase in runaways in Kyoto. - Many of these runaways made a living as day laborers, but some became sumo wrestlers, while others engaged in 'oshigari' (extortion/forced borrowing) at merchant houses, worsening public safety. - Notable cases include a farmer who absconded to Edo after being recruited to become a samurai, and a goshi (rural samurai) who ran away in Osaka and joined the Shinsengumi.

(Overview) Since the 2023 fiscal year, Associate Professor Naoki Imamura and his team at the Eisei-Bunko Research Center at Kumamoto University have been working on a comprehensive study of the Hosokawa family's 'Kuchigaki' with the support of a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research.

'Kuchigaki' are a collection of historical documents created by the Kumamoto Domain's criminal justice department (Keihoka). They primarily target commoners and contain deposition records of suspects involved in crimes or incidents that occurred both within and outside the domain. These depositions contain not only the circumstances leading up to the crimes or incidents but also the suspects' states of mind and their relationships with those around them, providing an extremely rich source of information.

When Associate Professor Imamura and his colleagues analyzed the 10 volumes of the Hosokawa family's 'Kuchigaki' from the Bakumatsu period (Bunkyu 3 [1863] to Keio 3 [1867]), the following new facts were revealed:

1. 'Kakerochi' (running away/absconding) refers to unauthorized flight, disappearance, or relocation. While common throughout the Edo period, cases of runaways among samurai servants in Kyoto surged during the Bakumatsu period. This was because the Kumamoto Domain, ordered by the Imperial Court to guard Kyoto, sent many samurai to the capital starting in 1862, and many servants accompanied them.

2. According to the depositions, the main reasons for running away outside the domain were being late for curfews at the domain's residence or having caused trouble and being unable to face family or relatives back home. After running away, many worked as day laborers, though some became apprentices to sumo wrestlers. We also identified ashigaru who took advantage of the fear caused by the rampant 'hitokiri' (assassinations) in Kyoto to commit extortion.

3. Cases symbolizing the era include a farmer who ran away to Edo aiming to become a samurai, and a goshi who joined the Shinsengumi after running away in Osaka. The former was recruited by an acquaintance with the promise of being taken in as a samurai by the Mito Tokugawa family, but this was actually a recruitment tactic for a gang of robbers. The latter was a goshi who had been studying at Yukichi Fukuzawa's school of Western studies in Edo; he was arrested after causing trouble at a pleasure quarter, ran away in Osaka while being transported back to his home province, and joined the Shinsengumi to survive.

[Future Prospects] While political history research boasts the largest accumulation of studies on the Bakumatsu period, recent research has tended to focus exclusively on political maneuvering, leading to criticism that social and economic factors surrounding the political situation are being ignored.

Although this study is not one of political history, by clarifying the reality of runaways during the Bakumatsu period, we have shown that their movements were deeply linked to the political fluctuations of the time (Kyoto security, the ronin problem, the Shinsengumi, etc.). The political changes of the Bakumatsu period had a major impact not only on those who actively sought to participate in 'national affairs' (especially samurai) but also on the lives of commoners.

In addition to runaways, the 'Kuchigaki' contain deposition records regarding many other incidents and crimes. We plan to expand the scope of our analysis to further clarify the reality of commoners in the late early-modern period who crossed (moved across) domain boundaries and social status groups.

Detailed findings of this research are scheduled to be published in March 2026 in the 7th issue of 'Jinbun Kagaku Ronso' (published by the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kumamoto University) under the title 'Bakumatsu Society of Runaways: Using the Hosokawa Family's "Kuchigaki" as Material' by Naoki Imamura.

[Glossary] * Kakerochi: In the Edo period, fleeing and hiding one's whereabouts due to poverty, misconduct, or other circumstances. * Buke-hokonin (Samurai servants): A general term for wakato, ashigaru, chugen, and komono who served as attendants to samurai in the Edo period. Among these, the wakato and ashigaru were combat personnel, while others were engaged in transporting weapons and supplies, or performing household chores during peacetime.

[Details] Press Release (814KB)

[Contact Information] Eisei-Bunko Research Center, Kumamoto University Contact: Associate Professor Naoki Imamura Phone: 096-342-2304 E-mail: ikoan@kumamoto-u.ac.jp (The @ has been replaced with ※ to prevent spam)