Sato Issai - Sato Issai

Japanese: 佐藤一斎 - さとう・いっさい

Year of death: September 24, 1859 (October 19, 1859)
Year of birth: 1st year of An'ei, October 20th (1772.11.14)
A Confucian scholar of the mid-to-late Edo period. Head of the Hayashiya School. Later, he was an instructor at the Shoheizaka Gakumonsho. His given name was Tan, his literary name was Daido, he was commonly known as Sutezo, and his pen names were Issai (Kore) and Aijiro. He was born in Edo in the residence of the Iwamura Domain (Gifu Prefecture) as the son of samurai Sato Nobuyoshi and Tomoe. He enjoyed reading from an early age and was a good calligrapher. He studied hard with Matsudaira Norihira, the third son of the domain's lord Matsudaira Joyo (who later succeeded the Hayashiya as Daigaku no Kami Sosai). In 1791 (Kansei 3), at the age of 20, he applied to retire from his duties and was granted permission. The following year, he studied under Nakai Chikuzan in Osaka, and in 1792 he went to Edo to become a disciple of Hayashi Kinpo (Nobutaka). Shortly after Kinpo died, Matsudaira Norihira (who changed his name to Norihira) was adopted into the Hayashi family by order of the shogunate, and they now became master and disciple. In Bunka 2 (1805), he became head of the Hayashi family school, and as he was placed at the top of the academic world nationwide, his fame grew and he came to have a large number of disciples. In Bunsei 9 (1826), he was added to the ranks of senior retainers by the Iwamura domain, participated in politics, and was awarded a stipend of 15 people (later 20 people). In Tenpo 12 (1841), he retired for a time, but was selected by the shogunate to be a professor at the Gakumonsho (official Confucian scholar) (200 bales of rice and a stipend of 15 people), moved to official accommodation within the school, and held the position until his death. As head of the Hayashi family school and a professor at Shoheiko Academy after the ban on alternative schools, Issai's scholarship publicly advocated Neo-Confucianism, but in reality he was deeply influenced by Wang Yangming and others, and he was given nicknames such as "Yang Zhu Yin King." Issai's ideas are best expressed in the "Four Records of Will" ("Yenzhiroku", "Yenzhihouroku", "Yenzhibanroku", and "Yenzhiyoroku"). He was well versed in the I Ching and wrote such works as "Commentary on the I Ching" and "Commentary on the Enlightenment of I Ching", which form the basis of his unique outlook on the universe and life. He also wrote many other works on the classics, including the "Commentary on the Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius", "Essay", "Jinshiroku", and "Chuanxiroku". His writing was modelled on Han Yu, Ouyang Xiu, and Wang Yangming. His poetry is included in "Aijirou Wenshi" (1829) and "Aijirou Manuscripts" (Complete Collection of Great Japanese Thought, Vol. 16). He was a man of solemn and hardworking character, and is said to have always kept a clock by his side. <References> Takase Yojiro, "Sato Issai and His Disciples", Gokyu Hisafumi (ed.), "Factual Writings Edition", Vol. 58

(Hideo Umezawa)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：安政6.9.24(1859.10.19)
生年：安永1.10.20(1772.11.14)
江戸中・後期の儒学者。林家塾塾頭。のち昌平坂学問所教官。名は坦,字大道,通称捨蔵,号(惟)一斎,愛日楼。岩村藩(岐阜県)藩士佐藤信由と留の子として江戸の藩邸内で生まれた。早くから読書を好み,書をよくした。藩主松平乗薀の3男乗衡(のちに林家を継いで大学頭述斎となる)とは,共に勉学に励んだ。寛政3(1791)年20歳のときに致仕を願い出て許され,翌年大坂で中井竹山に学び,5年には江戸に出て林錦峯(信敬)に入門したが,間もなく錦峯が死去し松平乗衡(名を衡に改む)が幕命により林家に養子に入って,今度は師弟の関係になった。文化2(1805)年林家塾の塾頭となり,全国の学界の頂点に位置して名声は高まり,多数の門弟を抱えるようになった。文政9(1826)年岩村藩から老臣の列に加えられ,政治に参与し,15人扶持(のちに20人扶持)を給せられた。天保12(1841)年一旦隠居したが,幕府から学問所教授(御儒者)に抜擢され(切米200俵と15人扶持),所内の官舎に移り,没するまで在職した。一斎の学問は異学の禁後の林家塾頭,昌平黌教授の立場から表向きは朱子学を標榜したが,実際には王陽明らの影響を深く受けており,「陽朱陰王」などといわれた。一斎の思想は「言志四録」(『言志録』『言志後録』『言志晩録』『言志耋録』)に最もよく表れている。易に詳しく『周易欄外書』『易学啓蒙欄外書』などの著があり,その独自の宇宙観,人生観の基底をなしている。経学ではこのほか,大学・中庸・論語・孟子・小学・近思録・伝習録の各『欄外書』など多数の著書がある。文章は韓愈,欧陽修のほか,王陽明を範としていた。その詩文は『愛日楼文詩』(1829)のほか,『愛日楼稿本』(大日本思想全書16巻)などに収められている。厳粛勤勉な性格で,常に時計を座右に置いていたという。<参考文献>高瀬代次郎『佐藤一斎と其門人』,五弓久文編『事実文編』58巻

(梅澤秀夫)

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