Nagoya Satondo (奈古屋里人)

Satondo NAGOYA (1671-1741) was a person of the Edo period. He was a member of the Tokuyama domain. His father was Takamitsu NAGOYA (Satondo was the third son). His foster father was Takayoshi NAGOYA. His uncle was Zaemon NAGOYA. His older brother was Genba NAGOYA, and Genba's son was Iori NAGOYA. Satondo's common name was Kanzaemon, and later changed it to Saemon. As a changed name, he used Shoken NAKAHARA and Sanzaemon NINGYOYA. His stipend was 120 koku. His social status was a horse guard.

On September 20, 1716, Satondo remonstrated with Mototsugu MORI, the lord of Tokuyama domain, about the Manyakuyama incident, but was not taken heed, and he was forced to forfeit the family name and was also exiled, so he confined himself in Mitajiri Mukaijima (present-day Hofu City).
The next year, the news that the Tokuyama domain forfeited their fief surprised Satondo, and he immediately presented himself in Tokuyama and had an audience with Hyakujiro (the later Mototaka MORI)

Because Satondo had remonstrated with Mototsugu and angered him early on, his reputation in the Hagi Domain was not bad. Rather, for this reason, Satondo was promoted in the Hagi Domain and the domain tried to entrust Satondo to deal with the aftermath of the forfeit even inviting him to become an officer, but Satondo cleverly steered the conversation away from this topic. Instead Satondo studied calligraphy under Shorenin-no-miya in Kyoto, in which he had studied under before, and using the excuse that he also wanted medical treatment for his chronic disease, he applied to be issued a passport.

He left for Kyoto and served under Shorenin-no-miya, and planned a way to restore his domain.
Satondo used Kyoto as a foothold, and contacted his comrades spread throughout various places such as Edo, Osaka, Tokuyama City, Hagi City, and gathered information; while gathering information he waited, and in May 19, 1719, Satondo wrote a petition addressed to Senior Councilor Tadayuki MIZUNO, Ometsuke (chief inspector of the Edo shogunate) Shigematsu Yokoda, and Metsuke (inspector of foot soldiers) Shichirouemon CHIBA, saying 'Suo Tokuyama Region Peasants.'
This petition won the sympathy of the cabinet officials of the Shogunate, and with a comment that the forfeit of the fief was too harsh for a punishment, restoration of the Tokuyama domain was decided. After the restoration took the shape that Yoshimoto asked for on May 28 (old calendar), Mototsugu was released from custody, and just as Yoshimoto asked for before, Mototsugu's withdraw and Hyakujiro's succession to the family headship was permitted.

Hence, Tokuyama domain was restored. Satondo died in 1741. He died at the age of 71. People later sung that 'there are three things too good for the Tokugawa domain: the lord's graveyard, a horse-riding ground with sakura, and Satondo NAGOYA'.

[Original Japanese]