Lunar

A Jodo Shinshu Honganji sect monk in the late Edo period. A loyalist to the emperor. His pen name was Chien, and he was known as Seikyo. He was from Suo Province (Yamaguchi Prefecture). At the age of 15, he traveled to Kyushu to study Buddhism and Chinese classics, and later traveled around the country for 17 years, associating with writers and patriots, during which time his fame grew greatly. He was particularly in good company with Yoshida Shoin, Yori Mikisaburo, and the monk Mokurin. He was always concerned about the future of the nation and spoke of the need for coastal defense, so people called him the coastal defense monk. He discussed coastal defense in Kishu (Wakayama Prefecture) with Umeda Unpin, and traveled alone to persuade the Kishu clan elders. He also attempted to go to the shogunate to manage Ezo as a Honganji monk, but he fell ill and died before he could achieve his goal. He wrote two volumes of "Qing Kyo's Posthumous Manuscripts," "An Essay on Protecting the Nation with Buddhism," and "Different Thoughts on the Destruction of Opium," and the poem "A man sets his sights on setting out from his hometown..." became widely known.

[Uryuuzu Takamasa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸末期の浄土真宗本願寺派の僧。勤王家。字(あざな)は智円(ちえん)、清狂と号した。周防(すおう)国（山口県）の人。15歳のとき九州に遊学して仏教と漢学を修め、のち諸国を歴遊して文士、志士と交わること17年、名声は大いに高まった。ことに吉田松陰、頼三樹三郎(らいみきさぶろう)、僧黙霖(もくりん)と意気相投じた。つねに国家の前途を憂い、海防の必要を論じたため、人は彼を海防僧とよんだ。梅田雲浜(うんぴん)と紀州（和歌山県）の海防を論じ、独行して紀州藩老に説き、また、幕府の蝦夷(えぞ)経営に本願寺開教僧として赴こうとしたが病を得、志を果たさずして没した。『清狂遺稿』2巻、『仏法護国論』、『鴉片(アヘン)始末考異』の著作があり、「男子立志出郷関……」の詩句は大いに人口に膾炙(かいしゃ)した。

［瓜生津隆真］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例