The recent past

From Claude Morita:

It seems to me that one of the samurai traits is the inability to control or
use sensibly their feelings of generosity. I often wonder which gene in the
DNA is the culprit. I believe in the evolving of a natural selection among
samurai that those who survived had unbridled license for spending money and
an even stronger instinct for progeny. This compensated for all the lives
taken and misery created by warfare. Many in the Morita family line seem to
fit this observation, along with my own illogical propensity to dispense
with cash if it is on my person.

Fumiko reminded me recently of how it is that the Morita estate in Mazoroi
came into such a deplorable state at the turn of the last century. Our great
grandfather, Shinsuke Morita (nee Sarai) was the last samurai of the Morita
line, adopted as he was. Shinsuke had an older brother, Koemon Sarai, a
money-lender in Mazoroi. For reasons known only to matchmakers, Shinsuke
became yoshi to Sawa Morita, the only member of the honke (main branch of
the Morita family). This union produced only one heir, Seki Morita, female.
At the age of about 14, Seki took Kashichi Terada as yoshi and male member
of the Morita line. I was startled when I saw her age on the family
register.


Seki looked seriously on the honor of the Morita line, learning it well from
both Shinsuke and Sawa. She would, in time, convey the importance of the
Morita keizu to both Fumiko and me, even though neither thought to be
presumptive heirs. By default or a sense of preserving what so many had
contributed toward in the past, we would become strengthened in honoring it
in a new millenium.


Koemon's son was Wataru Sarai, the corpulent one in front of the Mt. Fuji
painting in Portland taken with the Morita clan in the 1930s. He was the
second generation money lender and wealthy one able to live for a period in
Portland and then returning to Mazoroi. Sumi-chan (Sumie Mori nee Sarai) is
Wataru's daughter; she attended elementary school with Fumiko. In 1947, at
Fumiko's suggestion, I visited Sumi-chan and her husband in a very modest
apartment in Mejiro in Tokyo. To be hospitable, she made me okonomiyaki.
Because of the unimaginable poverty of Tokyo at the time, food in any form
was difficult to get anywhere. The okonomiyaki was, to be honest, like
eating pancakes made from left-over flour from the depression in Hood River.
Since I knew they had nothing else in the house, I ate it appreciatively and
with a smile. I always think of Sumi-chan with fondness.


I would have to assume that Shinsuke was gregarious and very likely a
spoiled samurai yoshi, who had just hung up his swords, in a land- rich
household. But because of an inborn generosity and a samurai's disdain for
money, he made disastrous financial decisions that affected Morita fortunes
thereafter. Shinsuke readily co-signed, by placing his seal on, usurious
notes that his friends placed before him. The head of the Morita family,
Sawa, assumed these debts when Shinsuke's friends defaulted.

The extensive rice paddies that the Moritas owned in Mazoroi were
foreclosed upon and transferred to others because of this generosity. He
still had bills to pay so Shinsuke borrowed again from his brother, Koemon.
Koemon probably paid the interest at first, but by Wataru's time, the Sarai
family sold the note to the shinyo kumiai (agricultural cooperative in
current vernacular). Eventually, Fumiko inherited the debt since it had no
term and would be passed from one generation to the next. The shinyo kumiai
hounded her for payment, at least of interest. Payback in July and December
became the periods of torment in her life.


At these times, Shinsuke and Sawa would be in the remote corners of the
house and discuss how the interest, at least, could be paid back. Even
though the conversations were whispered so as not to affect Fumiko she could
hear, especially when Sawa, exasperated, would say, "If it wasn't for your
stupidity, we would not be in this mess." This became a twice yearly torment
of waiting for money from America, for asking for more time, for items to
pawn, to borrow more money. After Sawa died, it fell upon Fumiko to face the
usurers.


Since she was a student who did very well in class, jealous classmates would
torment her with talk, "She is so poor that she borrowed money from the
kumiai. And she can't pay it back!" Often, she would say to herself, "Why do
I have to go through this torment when I have brothers and sisters in
America who should be able to help?"

She would beg the cooperative's bill collector to delay the collection,
because money was coming from America. The collector, named Meya, lived
across the road in Mazoroi who had a daughter and Fumiko's classmate. She
was friend at times and worst tormenter at others.


The relatives who bailed her out are Ohara no ojisan and Ihdani-no-obasan.
They loaned her money. She made the circuit of all relatives who would
listen. Finally, Hashimoto-no-obasan paid everything so that Fumiko paid off
the debt after she became a teacher.


Going to America started here. Shinsuke's trip to America was probably
motivated on making enough there to pay the bills that he incurred. One good
benefit from this trip was his learning a few phrases in English, the
importance of which was passed to his grandson, Mototsugu when he returned
to Japan. Like good Meiji young men, Mototsugu knew the necessity of
learning English as he attended schools in Takamatsu. While working as a
houseboy in a California household, Shinsuke also learned cook "Pakkai,"
which he made for the family after his return to Mazoroi. Sawa was a good
Buddhist, so she was unable to eat "smelly meat." Fumiko thought sweet and
sour pork excellent and enjoyed it.


Shinsuke was born in 1853 (the last year of Kaei, during the 13th Shogun
Tokugawa Iesada's ascendancy) and should be remembered also as the year when
Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Edo (Tokyo Bay, at a site close to
Yamashita Park in Yokohama), forcing Japan to abandon its reclusive ways
that kept colonial powers of the West at least at arm's length. Shinsuke
lived a long life in which he experienced the tumult and challenges the
Japanese faced during the Edo, Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods. Shinsuke's
father and grandfather were samurai who probably served the daimyo in
Takamatsu Castle (closer than Okayama castle) or at Himeji castle in Ako. He
died in 1934, the year Betty Shibayama (nee Morita) was born in Hood River.


An economic policy of the early Meiji period (1868-1912) was to provide a
livelihood for samurai who had suddenly been stripped of their hereditary
privileges including regular fixed payments. It was called shizoku jisan. As
a result of the abolition of domains and the establishment of prefectures in
1871 and the adoption of a universal conscription system in 1873, most
samurai were without income. In 1873 the government gave money and bonds to
samurai who voluntarily surrendered their stipends. In 1876 all former
samurai were ordered to exchange their allowances for government bonds. To
provide employment, the government established a colonist-militia system,
sending former samurai to settle in Hokkaido. It also sold them public land
cheaply, lent capital to form new businesses, and encouraged them to develop
wasteland. Few samurai were equipped with the skills needed for modern
commerce and man were forced to sell their bonds, although former daimyo
tended to invest theirs profitably. (Kodansha, p. 1399)

Shizoku is a term designating people of samurai descent. In 1869, the year
after the Meiji Restoration, the traditional class distinctions of shi
(samurai), no (farmer), ko (artisan), and sho (merchant) were replaced by
three broad categories: kazoku (former court nobles and daimyo), shizoku
(those of samurai descent), and heimin (commoners). The imperial family
(kozoku) formed a fourth class. But by 1882 the legal rights of shizoku had
been abolished, by 1914 the use of the term shizoku in household registers
(koseki) ended, and in 1947, the very title and all other distinctions were
abolished. (Kodansha, p. 1399).

With these facts in mind, it is easy to see how events conspired against
Shinsuke, a young samurai with all kinds of martial abilities, but very few
economic ones.

This is for your information and based on a 14Oct01 Conversation with Fumiko.

Fumiko reminded me recently of how it is that the Morita estate in Mazoroi came into such a deplorable state at the turn of the last century. Our great grandfather, Shinsuke Morita (nee Sarai) was the last samurai of the Morita line, adopted as he was. Shinsuke had an older brother, Koemon Sarai, a money-lender in Mazoroi. For reasons known only to matchmakers, Shinsuke became yoshi to Sawa Morita, the only member of the honke (main branch of the Morita family). This union produced only one heir, Seki Morita, female. At the age of about 14, Seki took Kashichi Terada as yoshi and male member of the Morita line. I was startled when I saw her age on the family register.

Seki looked seriously on the honor of the Morita line, learning it well from both Shinsuke and Sawa. She would, in time, convey the importance of the Morita keizu to both Fumiko and me, even though neither thought to be presumptive heirs. We would become strengthened in the need for preserving its honor in a modern time.


Koemon's son was Wataru Sarai, the corpulent one in front of the Mt. Fuji painting in Portland taken with the Morita clan in the 1930s. He was the second generation money lender and wealthy one able to live for a period in Portland and then returning to Mazoroi. Sumi-chan (Sumiko Oka nee Sarai) is Wataru's daughter. In 1947, at Fumiko's suggestion, I visited Sumi-chan and her husband in a very modest apartment in Mejiro in Tokyo. To be hospitable, she made me okonomiyaki. Because of the unimaginable poverty of Tokyo at the time, food in any form was difficult to get anywhere. The okonomiyaki was, to be honest, like eating pancakes made from left-over flour from the depression in Hood River. Since I knew they had nothing else in the house, I ate it appreciatively and with a smile. I always think of Oka sensei with fondness.

I would have to assume that Shinsuke was gregarious and very likely a spoiled yoshi in a land- rich household. But because of an inborn generosity and a samurai's disdain for money, he made disastrous financial decisions that affected Morita fortunes thereafter. Shinsuke readily co-signed, by placing his seal on, usurious notes that his friends placed before him. The head of the Morita family, Sawa, assumed these debts when Shinsuke's friends defaulted.

The extensive rice paddies that the Moritas owned in Mazoroi were foreclosed upon and transferred to others because of this generosity. He still had bills to pay so Shinsuke borrowed again from his brother, Koemon. Koemon probably paid the interest at first, but by Wataru's time, the Sarai family sold the note to the shinyo kumiai (agricultural cooperative in current vernacular). Eventually, Fumiko inherited the debt since it had no term and would be passed from one generation to the next. The shinyo kumiai hounded her for payment, at least of interest. Payback in July and December became the periods of torment in her life.

At these times, Shinsuke and Sawa would be in the remote corners of the house and discuss how the interest, at least, could be paid back. Even though the conversations were whispered so as not to affect Fumiko she could hear, especially when Sawa, exasperated, would say, "If it wasn't for your stupidity, we would not be in this mess." This became a twice yearly torment of waiting for money from America, for asking for more time, for items to pawn, to borrow more money. After Sawa died, it fell upon Fumiko to face the usurers.

Since she was a student who did very well in class, jealous classmates would torment her with talk, "She is so poor that she borrowed money from the kumiai. And she can't pay it back!" Often, she would say to herself, "Why do I have to go through this torment when I have brothers and sisters in America who should be able to help?"

She would beg the cooperative's bill collector to delay the collection, because money was coming from America. The collector, named Meya, lived across the road in Mazoroi who had a daughter and Fumiko's classmate. She was friend at times and worst tormenter at others.

The relatives who bailed her out are Ohara no ojisan and Ihdani-no-obasan. They loaned her money. She made the circuit of all relatives who would listen. Finally, Hashimoto-no-obasan paid everything so that Fumiko paid off everything after she became a teacher.

Going to America started here. Shinsuke's trip to America was motivated on making enough there to pay the bills that he incurred. One small benefit from this trip was his learning a few phrases in English, the importance of which was passed to his grandson, Mototsugu. Skhinsuke also learned how to cook "Pakkai," which he made for the family after his return to Mazoroi. Sawa was a good Buddhist, so she was unable to eat "smelly meat." Fumiko thought sweet and sour pork excellent and enjoyed it.

Masaji Terada's daughter, Teruyo, took Fumiko to Ako to see the gravestone of the Terada's in the Ako cemetery.

Fujiwara family tree (recent transliteration by Fumiko) 11/10/04

Terada Family Tree: More Modern Relations

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