Takamoto Chogoro's Grave

Takamoto Nagagoro's Grave (Designated Historical Site by Tokyo Metropolis)

Inside the communal cemetery of Oshitachi, there is the grave of Chogoro Takako. In one corner of the grave, there is a stone monument (commendation monument) inscribed with Chogoro's biography.
Chogoro was a farmer born in Oshitateson Village, known in the nearby area for his filial devotion to his mother. In the first year of Kanpo (1741), during the mid-Edo period, he was rewarded by the shogunate. As a prize for his filial piety, he was given 20 silver coins, and later he was granted nearby unused land and the rights to cultivate it. It is said that Chogoro cultivated over 2 cho (about 2.2 hectares) of rice fields. This land was located on the west side of the communal cemetery area and was called "Koshimen."

Stories about the filial son Nagagoro are largely based on tradition, and there are very few related documents that remain. However, there is a historical document titled "The Preliminary Report Concerning Filial Son Nagagoro" (Oshitate, Kawasaki Kiyoke Documents, Showa 2) that was transcribed when the monument was established, which details the circumstances of the award and Nagagoro's background. I will introduce an outline of this document.

The Early Life of Nagagoro

Chogoro was born in 1690 (Genroku 3) in a farming family in Oshitachi Village. Chogoro's family was by no means wealthy and lived in a small pit-house measuring 7 ken by 3.5 ken. His father passed away when he was six years old, and when he was fourteen, the sister and her husband with whom he lived died of illness. Although he got married, his wife died of illness, and his second wife also died of illness, bringing him unfortunate hardships. After that, he began a difficult life supporting his mother, who was over 80 years old, and three children. Amid such circumstances, he continued to show filial piety to his mother. But what kind of filial piety was it? According to the historical materials, several episodes are introduced, and their contents are as follows.
During breaks from farm work, he collected firewood and went out to sell it. Because his mother was naturally fond of alcohol, he always bought sake for her on his way back from selling firewood. On summer nights, to prevent mosquito bites, he stayed up all night chasing mosquitoes away from his mother's bedside, and on winter nights, he put her to sleep by the hearth, taking off his own clothes to dress her.

Reward from the Edo Shogunate

Such actions were reported to neighboring villages and then to the magistrate governing Oshitateshinden from the headman of Oshitateson. Furthermore, the report reached Ooka Echizen no Kami Tadasuke, the Edo Shogunate's Temple and Shrine Magistrate responsible for new rice fields and flood control policies throughout the Kanto region. It is recorded that Ooka Tadasuke summoned Chogoro to the Edo office, praised his filial piety, and awarded him 20 silver coins and 7 tanbo (approximately 0.7 hectares) of rice fields.
However, the reward given by Ooka Echizen was not simply because he was moved by the act, but was positioned as one of the reward policies actively implemented during the Kyōhō reforms at this time, and it seems to have been realized as part of the shogunate's rural governance.
Chogoro passed away at the age of 71 in Horeki 11 (1761), but 48 years later, in Bunka 6 (1809), Ota Nanpo (Shokusanjin), known as a kyoka poet, visited this place while patrolling the Tamagawa River as an official of the shogunate's accounting department. He was moved by Chogoro's story, composed a poem, and praised his actions.
(Reference Material: "History of Inagi City" Volume 1, Part 4)