Bunzo Aoki

...A Confucian scholar and Dutch scholar in the mid-Edo period. His name was Atsumi, his pen name was Kofu, and he was commonly known as Bunzo, and his pen name was Konyo. He is said to be the son of an Edo merchant. In 1719 (Kyoho 4), he studied under Kyoto Confucian scholar Ito Togai, known for his empirical style of learning, and in 1722 returned to the capital and opened a school. He focused on sweet potatoes as a crop for famine relief, and in 1735 he wrote "Thoughts on the Banshiyo" and submitted it to the shogunate. It was taken up by Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, and he made a great contribution to the spread of sweet potato cultivation. In 1739, he was appointed to the Ministry of Books, and engaged in investigating old records throughout the country, and was later promoted to the Magistrate of Books in 1767....

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Aoki Bunzo" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…江戸中期の儒者で蘭学者。名は敦書（あつぶみ），字は厚甫，通称は文蔵，昆陽はその号。江戸の商人の子といわれる。1719年(享保4)に実証的な学風で知られる京都の儒者伊藤東涯の門に学び，22年に帰府して開塾した。救荒用の作物として甘藷(サツマイモ)に注目，35年に《蕃藷（ばんしよ）考》を著して幕府に上書したところ，将軍徳川吉宗にとりあげられ，甘藷栽培の普及に大きな貢献をした。39年に書物方に挙げられ，全国諸所の古記録の調査に従事し，のち67年に書物奉行に昇進した。…

※「青木文蔵」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

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