長明燈：ますや燈籠（ちょうめいとう：ますやとうろう）

仙台藩御用の米商人大阪升屋山片重芳の寄進です。 重芳を育てた番頭山片蟠桃は 「夢之代」 を著わし近代合理主義の先駆となった大学者で、サシ米検査を無料で引受ける代わりに抜いた米をもらう米札藩札で米を買い上げ、現金は大阪で利を生ませる妙策を用い、藩の財政危機を救いました（享和3年〔1803〕）。
御影石で作り、 大阪から大船で運んできたこの大燈籠は当時の升屋の隆盛を偲ばせます。

JPN｜ENG

Chomeito (lantern): Masuya Tourou

DESCRIPTION

This was donated by Shigeyoshi Yamakata, a rice merchant of Osaka Masuya who worked for Sendai domain. The head manager, Yamakata Hantou, who raised Shigeyoshi, was a great scholar. He wrote a book「Yumenoshiro」and became a forerunner of modern rationalism. He solved the financial crisis of the Osaka domain with a clever scheme. Instead of doing “stick rice investigation” free of charge, he collected the rice used for that investigation. Then, he exchanged the rice for money, and used it in a way that profited Osaka. (3rd year of Kyowa)
The lantern is made of Mikage stone, shipped from Osaka, and remains a reminder of the prosperity of Masuya at that time.

LOCATION

1-1 Ichimoriyama, Shiogama, Miyagi