What is kinban (勤番)?
— posted to Edo, alone; which is why the diary is all about food
Meaning
Kinban was a term of duty served by a domain's samurai away from his home province, stationed for a fixed period at the domain's residence in Edo.
Family stayed behind; the men lived together in row houses. Sakai Hanshiro came to Edo on such a posting, as a retainer of the Kishū domain.
How it worked
- By turns — retainers were sent to the Edo residence in rotation, served a fixed term, and returned home.
- Living alone — wives and children remained in the home province. Men shared row houses with colleagues and kin.
- Cooking for oneself — a man saw to his own household. Buying, cooking, eating — and that is what the diary records.
Which is why it is "all about food"
Hanshiro lived in the domain's row house at Kiinokuni-zaka in Akasaka, sharing it with his uncle and a colleague, Ōishi Naosuke — three men together. He and Naosuke cooked on alternate days. The diary says:
Since arriving in Edo, Naosuke's cooked rice is always like gruel; my own rice is always hard.
The diary is full of meals not only because he loved to eat, but because he was running his own household. What he bought, for how much, and with whom he ate it — that was simply what happened that day.
Source: the diary entry of 10/29, matched to the original on p. 86(37) of the Edo-Tokyo Museum research report, vol. 23 (see the detailed page).
Fragments where this word appears
- Sakai Hanshiro (Kishū domain, Edo posting / the diary of 1860)
(As more fragments of men on kinban join the archive, they will be added here.)
Sakai Hanshiro, in detail → To the archive →
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