Moonlight - Gessho

A patriot and monk from the late Edo period. Born in Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture), he was the son of Tamai Munee, a town doctor in Osaka. His childhood name was Munehisa. In 1827 (Bunsei 10), he was ordained under his uncle Zokai, the chief priest of Jojuin Temple at Kiyomizu-dera Temple. He changed his name to Chujofusa Ningai, later to Ninkou, and used the pen names Gekkei and Muinan and Ippo. In 1802 (Tenpo 6), he became the chief priest of Jojuin Temple and worked to restore it. He frequented the halls of Shoren-innomiya, Konoe Tadahiro, and others, and he particularly studied waka poetry under Tadahiro. In 1854 (Ansei 1), he handed over his position as head priest to his younger brother Shinkai and devoted himself to national affairs, and in 1858, he became involved with Umeda Unpin and Rai Mikisaburo and succeeded in issuing an imperial edict to expel foreigners to the Mito domain. During the Ansei Purge, he went to Kagoshima with Saigo Takamori, but was not accepted by the Satsuma domain authorities, and on November 16 of the same year, he drowned in the Kinko Bay together with Saigo. Saigo was saved, but Gessho died. His grave is at Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto.

[Yoshi Sokusei]

“Moonlight” by Entai Tomomatsu (1961, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)”

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸末期の志士、僧。讃岐(さぬき)（香川県）出身の大坂の町医玉井宗江の子に生まれる。幼名宗久。1827年（文政10）叔父清水寺(きよみずでら)成就院(じょうじゅいん)住職蔵海(ぞうかい)の下で得度。中将房忍鎧（介）(にんがい)、のち忍岡(にんこう)と改名、字(あざな)は月照、無隠庵(むいんあん)・一鋒(いっぽう)と号した。35年（天保6）成就院住職となり同院の復興に努めた。青蓮院宮(しょうれんいんのみや)、近衛忠煕(このえただひろ)ら堂上に出入りし、ことに忠煕に和歌を学ぶ。54年（安政1）住職を弟信海に譲り国事に奔走、58年梅田雲浜(うんぴん)、頼三樹三郎(らいみきさぶろう)らと交わり攘夷(じょうい)の勅諚(ちょくじょう)を水戸藩に下すことに成功した。安政の大獄に際し西郷隆盛(たかもり)とともに鹿児島に行くが、薩(さつ)藩当局にいれられず、同年11月16日西郷とともに錦江(きんこう)湾に入水(じゅすい)。西郷は助かったが、月照は没した。墓は京都清水寺にある。

［芳　即正］

『友松円諦著『月照』（1961・吉川弘文館）』

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