Arai Hakuseki - Arai Hakuseki

A scholar, poet, and politician of the mid-Edo period. His given name was Kimmi, commonly known as Kageyu, and Shiraishi was his pen name. He was born in Edo on February 10, 1271. His father, Masanari (1597-1678), was a vassal and inspector of Tsuchiya Toshinao (1607-1675), a fudai daimyo with a stipend of 21,000 koku in Kururi (Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture). Shiraishi also served under Tsuchiya and gained the favor of Toshinao. In 1677 (Enpo 5) at the age of 21, he was banished and imprisoned for his involvement in a civil dispute within the Tsuchiya family, but in 1679, the imprisonment was lifted when the Tsuchiya family was abolished, and in 1682 (Tenwa 2) at the age of 26, he entered the service of the chief advisor, Hotta Masatoshi. However, in 1684 (Jokyo 1), Hotta Masatoshi was stabbed to death, and six years later, in 1691 (Genroku 4), he left the Hotta family and opened a private school east of Edo Castle to educate its children. In 1693, on the recommendation of his teacher, Kinoshita Junan, he entered the service of Kofu Tsunatoyo, where he lectured on Confucian scriptures and history as a lecturer. The historical compilation he compiled during this period is the famous Hankanpu. In 1704 (the 1st year of the Hoei era), Tsunatoyo of Kofu became the successor to the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi, and when he changed his name to Ienobu and entered the Nishinomaru, Shiraishi was also summoned to become a member of the Nishinomaru gathering. As before, he was in charge of lecturing on scriptures and history books, but later, at Ienobu's request, he also began submitting political opinions, and after Ienobu became Shogun following Tsunayoshi's death in 1709 (the 6th year of the Hoei era), he became deeply involved in Shogunate politics. In terms of status, he was given a fief of 500 koku that year and added to the ranks of Hatamoto, and later in 1711 (the 1st year of the Shōtoku era), he was appointed to the ranks of Junior Fifth Rank and Chikugo no Kami, and his fief was increased to 1,000 koku, making him a feudal lord. Among his important contributions to the shogunate government were the improvement of gold and silver coins, the revision of diplomacy between Japan and Korea (such as changes to the Shogun's letter format and the reception of Korean envoys), the implementation of the Kaihakugo Shishinrei (Restrictions on Foreign Trade), etc. Other contributions he made included the proposal to abolish the priesthood of princes and princesses, the presentation of a plan to punish the undercover missionary Sidotti (the investigation of Sidotti resulted in the publication of the books Sairan Igen and Seiyo Kibun), and the drafting of the Hoei Buke Shohatto (Laws for the Buke of the Imperial Family). He also participated in many difficult court cases, large and small, and issued many famous rulings. In October 1712 (Shotoku 2), Ienobu died, and the two major projects, the improvement of gold and silver coins and the restriction of foreign trade, were carried over to the next Shogun, Ietsugu, but these policies are historically significant as they were continued during the reign of the eighth Shogun, Yoshimune. The good governance that took place over these six and seven generations is known as the "Shotoku Period."

Shiraishi was a Confucian scholar belonging to the Neo-Confucian school, but he excelled in history rather than philosophy or ethics, and his achievements include "Hankanpu," a lecture to the shogun "Tokushi Yoron," ancient history works "Koshitsu" and "Koshitsu Wakumon," and his autobiography "Oritaku Shiba no Ki" also contains the content of modern history at the time. In addition to the above, "Shigi" was a work he poured his heart and soul into in his final years, but this work is no longer available, and only a few essays on ancient history in "Shiraishi Ibun" give us an idea of ​​it. Furthermore, Shiraishi's achievements as a scholar were broad-ranging, covering not only philosophy, ethics, and history, but also geography, linguistics (particularly Japanese linguistics), literature (poetry), folklore, archeology, religious studies, martial arts (weapons), and botany (herbal medicine). His Japanese linguistic work "Touga" was a pioneer of Japanese dictionaries and was widely used by scholars of Japanese classics such as Kamo Mabuchi and Motoori Norinaga. His literary work "Shiraishi Shiso" is highly regarded as a representative anthology of early modern Chinese poetry, while his research book on Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, and the Ainu "Ezoshi" and "Nantouushi," the first systematic commentary on Okinawa, are both highly regarded as masterpieces of folklore. It goes without saying that his works "Sairan Igen" and "Seiyo Kibun" played important historical roles. In terms of the breadth of this academic field, it is said to be comparable to the 18th century French Encyclopedists (Encyclopedists) such as Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau.

From the late early modern period, around the 18th century, Shiraishi was recognized as a first-class scholar, replacing Ogyu Sorai, but during his lifetime and the period around that time, he was respected more as a poet, and as Japan's greatest poet. The above-mentioned Shiraishi Shiso was transmitted to Korea, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Qing Dynasty of China, where it was highly praised, and in Japan, Ogyu Sorai held him in high regard, as well as Hattori Nankaku and Rai Sanyo. In modern times, he was particularly respected in academic circles for his Western studies and rationalist historiography, and he published a series of books and collected works, and his representative works have been translated and are widely read in Europe and the United States. He died on May 19, 10th year of the Kyoho era, and was buried at Hoon-ji Temple in Asakusa (his grave is currently at Kotoku-ji Temple in Nakano Ward).

[Michio Miyazaki April 18, 2016]

"Arai Hakuseki's Civilian Politics" by Kurita Genji (1952, Ishizaki Shoten)" ▽ "Arai Hakuseki" by Furukawa Satoshi (1953, Kobundo)" ▽ "Arai Hakuseki" by Miyazaki Michio (1957, Shibundo)" ▽ "Arai Hakuseki's Personality and Politics" by Miyazaki Michio (1977, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "A Study of Arai Hakuseki" by Miyazaki Michio, revised edition (1984, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の学者、詩人、政治家。名は君美(きんみ)、通称勘解由(かげゆ)、白石は号。明暦(めいれき)3年2月10日江戸に生まれる。父正済(まさなり)（1597―1678）は久留里(くるり)（千葉県君津(きみつ)市）2万1000石の譜代(ふだい)大名土屋利直(つちやとしなお)（1607―1675）の家臣で目付の職にあったが、白石もこれに仕えて利直の寵愛(ちょうあい)を得た。1677年（延宝5）21歳のとき土屋家の内争に連座して追放禁錮(きんこ)の処分を受けたが、1679年土屋家の改易により禁錮が解け、1682年（天和2）26歳に至り大老堀田正俊(ほったまさとし)へ出仕した。ところが1684年（貞享1）堀田正俊が刺殺されたため、6年後の1691年（元禄4）には堀田家を辞去し、江戸城東に塾を開いて子弟の教育にあたった。1693年、師木下順庵(きのしたじゅんあん)の推薦により甲府綱豊(こうふつなとよ)へ出仕し、侍講として儒教経典および歴史の講義を担当した。この時期の歴史編纂(へんさん)物が有名な『藩翰譜(はんかんぷ)』である。やがて1704年（宝永1）甲府綱豊が5代将軍綱吉(つなよし)の世継ぎとなり、家宣(いえのぶ)と改名して西の丸に入るや、白石も召されて西の丸寄合(よりあい)となった。いままで同様、経書、史書の講義を担当したが、のち家宣の求めにより政治上の意見書をも提出するようになり、1709年（宝永6）綱吉の死により家宣が将軍となってからは、幕府政治に深く参加することとなった。身分についていうと、この年500石の領地を与えられて旗本の列に加えられ、のち1711年（正徳1）には従(じゅ)五位下・筑後守(ちくごのかみ)に叙任されるとともに、加増されて1000石の領主となる。幕政への参加のなかでも重要な意味をもつのは、金銀貨の改良、日朝外交の修正（将軍書翰(しょかん)様式や朝鮮使節応対などの変更）、海舶互市新例(かいはくごししんれい)（外国貿易制限）の実施などである。そのほか皇子皇女の出家廃止の建議、潜入宣教師シドッチの処分案上呈（シドッチ取調べの結果生まれたのが『采覧異言(さいらんいげん)』『西洋紀聞(せいようきぶん)』）、宝永武家諸法度(ほうえいぶけしょはっと)の草案作成などがあり、大小のむずかしい裁判にも参加して数々の名判決を出させてもいる。1712年（正徳2）10月家宣が没したため、二大事業ともいうべき金銀貨改良、外国貿易制限はともに次の7代将軍家継(いえつぐ)の代まで持ち越されるが、これらは8代将軍吉宗(よしむね)の時代にも継続された政策として史的意義が深い。この6、7両代にわたる善政がいわゆる「正徳(しょうとく)の治」である。

　白石は系統をいえば朱子学派に属する儒学者であるが、哲学、倫理学よりは歴史学を得意としたのであり、その業績には『藩翰譜』のほか、将軍への進講録『読史余論(とくしよろん)』、古代史としての『古史通(こしつう)』『古史通或問(わくもん)』があり、自叙伝『折たく柴の記』も当時の現代史としての内容を備えている。上記のほか、最晩年に心血を注いで完成した作品に『史疑(しぎ)』があるが、これはいまは伝わらず、わずかに『白石遺文(いぶん)』中の古代史関係論文がそのおもかげを伝えるのみである。なお、学者白石としての業績は哲学、倫理学、史学のほか、地理学、言語学（とくに国語学）、文学（詩）、民俗学、考古学、宗教学、武学（兵法武器）、植物学（本草学）など広範囲にわたっており、国語学の『東雅(とうが)』は国語辞典の先駆として、国学者賀茂真淵(かもまぶち)や本居宣長(もとおりのりなが)に大いに利用された。文学の『白石詩草』は近世漢詩集の代表として、北海道・千島およびアイヌ研究書の『蝦夷志(えぞし)』、沖縄についての最初の体系的解説書の『南島志(なんとうし)』は民俗学上の傑作として、それぞれ高く評価されている。『采覧異言』『西洋紀聞』の史的役割の大きいことは改めていうまでもない。この学問の領域の広い点では、ボルテールやディドロ、ルソーらフランス18世紀の百科全書派(アンシクロペディスト)に比肩するとされる。

　白石は近世後期、18世紀ごろからは荻生徂徠(おぎゅうそらい)にかわって第一級の学者として評価されるが、在世当時およびそれに近い時期においてはむしろ詩人として、日本最高の詩人として尊敬されていたのである。前記『白石詩草』は朝鮮、琉球(りゅうきゅう)、中国清(しん)朝にも伝わって絶賛を博したし、国内でも荻生徂徠が一目置いたほか、服部南郭(はっとりなんかく)や頼山陽(らいさんよう)によって仰ぎ見られたのである。近代になると、その洋学と合理主義史学とによって学界でとくに尊重され、相次いで著書、全集の刊行が行われるが、その代表著は翻訳されて欧米でも広く読まれている。享保(きょうほう)10年5月19日没、浅草報恩寺に葬る（墓は現在、中野区高徳寺にある）。

［宮崎道生　2016年4月18日］

『栗田元次著『新井白石の文治政治』（1952・石崎書店）』▽『古川哲史著『新井白石』（1953・弘文堂）』▽『宮崎道生著『新井白石』（1957・至文堂）』▽『宮崎道生著『新井白石の人物と政治』（1977・吉川弘文館）』▽『宮崎道生著『新井白石の研究』増訂版（1984・吉川弘文館）』

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