Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage was organized by Priest Jotei in June, 1702.  In November in the same year the Sakai Administrator Office was reinstalled.

     In the Middle Ages, Sakai was governed autonomously by the Egoshu, a kind of a council.  Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) brought Sakai under his control and appointed Matsui Tomoyasu as Sakai Mandokoro in 1570 in order to govern the important commercial and trade center.  Ishida Mitsunari (1560-1600) also served as Sakai Mandokoro under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598).

     In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) appointed Naruse Masanari (1567-1625), Yonetsu Masakatsu (?-1614), and Hosoi Masanari (?-1613) as Sakai Mandokoro.  In 1614, when the Siege of Osaka started, Sakai came under direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

     Sakai was burned down in 1615 during the Siege of Osaka.  When it was reconstructed, Hasegawa Fujihiro (1567-1617), who also served as Nagasaki Magistrate, ordered Kazama Rokuemon to carry out the reconstruction and land rezoning.  In 1618, Sakai Magistrate was renamed Sakai Bugyo.

     The Sakai Magistrate's presence was significant.  For example, Kitami Katsutada (1568-1628) once served as the magistrate of Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi Provinces at one time.  However, due to the concentration of the regional economy in Osaka and the decline of Sakai Port due to sediment accumulation around the port after the opening of the new waterway of Yamato River, the town's importance declined relatively.  As a result, the Sakai Administrator's status declined, and it was reduced to only having jurisdiction over criminal matters and some official affairs in the Shogunate's territories in Izumi and Kawachi Provinces.

     In February, 1696, the Sakai Administrator's Office was abolished, and Sakai came under the jurisdiction of the Osaka Town Administration.  Although the Sakai Administration was re-established in November, 1702, it remained under the command of the Osaka Town Administration and was reduced to the staff of 6 yoriki and 40 doshin.  In 1711, the old system of 10 yoriki and 50 doshin was restored.  In the first half of the 19th century, the Sakai Administrator's position became a stepping stone to that of the Osaka Town Administrator, with Yabe Sadanori (1789-1842), Atobe Yoshisuke (1799-1869), Kuze Hiromasa and others following this path.

     In August, 1867, one year before the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Sakai Administrator's position was abolished again, and Sakai came under the jurisdiction of the Osaka Town Administration's Office.  However, shortly after the Meiji Restoration, the Osaka Court established a branch office on the site of the Sakai Administrator's Office, which was soon renamed the Sakai City Office.  Then, in June, 1868, when Sakai Prefecture was established by separating from Osaka Prefecture, the Sakai City Office became the Sakai Prefectural Office.

     In February, 1881, Sakai Prefecture was abolished, and Sakai was again incorporated into Osaka Prefecture.  Sakai City was established in 1898 and Sakai City Hall remained located on the former site of the Sakai Administrator's Office.  It was relocated to Sakai Higashi, its present place, in 1944.

     Sakai had its ups and downs.  It is unknown why Sakai Administratorship was reinstalled in 1702, and it is also unknown if the installation had something to do with the organization of the Sakai 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in the same year, but some Sakai people might have had an idea of MSGA (MSaGA?), to Make Sakai Great Again, or something like that.