(Voice actor) Mr.Chris Koprowski

There were two judges loved by the people of Edo (Tokyo), the capital city during the Tokugawa regime. One was Kinshiro Toyama who was the Machi-bugyo (*commissioner) of the Northern Machi-bugyo office located near the current day Yaesu north exit of Tokyo station. The other was Echizen Ooka, the Machi-bugyo of the Southern Machi-bugyo office located near the current day Yurakucho station. These two Machi-bugyo are still popular in Samurai dramas. Echizen Ooka was born in Edo in 1677. He was involved in politics as a bureaucrat of the Tokugawa Shogunate until he became a Machi-bugyo. He was appointed the Southern Machi-bugyo by the eighth Shogun, Yoshimune Tokugawa in 1717. The judgments of Echizen Ooka as a Machi-bugyo are known as the Ooka Judgements. The Ooka Judgements were made famous by the book called “Ooka Seidan”. Numerous stories of his judgements are recorded in this book. One of the most famous is the story of “Three lose one,” and the “Judgment of true mother.” The story of “Three lose one” goes like this. One day, Kintaro, a plasterer, found three ryo (*ryo is an old currency unit). It belonged to Kichigoro, a carpenter. Kichigoro did not take the money back insisting finders keepers. On the other hand, Kintaro refused to keep the money also, for it would be stealing. So the quarrel turned into a fight and they got summoned to the Machi-bugyo office. Ooka found their story likable. So he added another ryo out of his pocket and ordered Kintaro and Kichigoro to spread the four ryo equally. Both Kintaro and Kichigoro could have kept three ryo, but now they had two, one less than the original amount. Ooka also lost one out of his pocket. He said now three of them equally lost one ryo each therefore it was “three lose one”. You can also find here the story of two women fighting over the custody of a child, and his discernment of who the true mother was. However, many of these stories in Ooka Seidan and Ooka Judgements are said to be fictional. Was Ooka not a great Machi-bugyo in real life then? He was. The position of Machi-bugyo was like being the current day governor of Tokyo, police commissioner and a judge combined. It was an important position dealing with politics and administration amongst commoners. Because of the trust he gained from the people of Edo, he was honored as a great judge and his stories passed down through books and Kabuki. But what did Echizen Ooka really do as a Machi-bugyo? His true achievements were in his efforts to protect the lives of the Edo commoners.