Talk of the Sea Country - Kaikoku Heidan

A book on military affairs and national defense written by Hayashi Shihei in the late Edo period. It consists of 16 volumes. Drafted in 1777 (An'ei 6) and completed in 1786 (Tenmei 6). It was self-published between 1788 and 1791 (Kansei 3). It was written as a warning against the Russian advance into the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido, which he felt was a threat at the time. Influenced by Ogyu Sorai's military book "Kenroku," volumes 14 to 16 discuss the idea of ​​localizing samurai and enriching the country, but overall it discusses preparations for foreign wars rather than victory in domestic wars. It states that "there is a waterway without borders from Nihonbashi in Edo to China and Holland," and that Japan, being a maritime nation, should place great importance on naval warfare, building large ships and equipping them with large guns. At the end of 1591, he was summoned to the shogunate for indiscriminately discussing national defense, and in May of the following year he was placed under house arrest and the woodblocks were confiscated. With the arrival of Russian envoys in Nemuro the following year, this book was widely copied, and as discussion of coastal defense intensified, it inspired supporters of the Sonno Joi movement. It is included in the Complete Works of Hayashi Shihei, published by the Iwanami Bunko.

[Akihiro Tsukatani]

"Complete Works of Hayashi Shihei, compiled by Gakuzokai, 3 volumes (1943-46, Seikatsusha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期、林子平(しへい)の著した兵書、国防書。全16巻。1777年（安永6）起稿、86年（天明6）脱稿。88年より91年（寛政3）にかけて自費刊行。当時ロシアが千島、北海道に南進したことに危機感を抱き、警告せんとして書かれた。荻生徂徠(おぎゅうそらい)の兵書『鈐録(けんろく)』の影響もあり、第14～16巻では武士土着論・富国策もあるが、全般として国内戦の勝利よりも、対外戦の備えを論じた。「江戸の日本橋より唐・阿蘭陀迄(オランダまで)、境なしの水路なり」と説き、日本は海国であるため水戦を重んずべきこと、大船を建造して大銃(おおづつ)を備うべきことを説いた。91年末、みだりに国防を論じた罪で幕府に召喚され、翌年5月蟄居(ちっきょ)処分となり、板木は没収された。翌年ロシア使節の根室(ねむろ)来航を機に、本書は広く伝写され、海防の論議高まるにつれ尊皇攘夷(じょうい)の志士を刺激した。『林子平全集』「岩波文庫」に所収。

［塚谷晃弘］

『学蔵会編『林子平全集』全3巻（1943～46・生活社）』

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