Nobuhiro Sato

A businessman from the late Edo period. A samurai from Ugo. His pen name was Genkai, his nickname was Momosuke, and his pen names were Yuusai, Banshosai, Shoan, and Chinen. He was born in Nishimonai Village, Ogachi County, Dewa Province (Ugo Town, Akita Prefecture). He went to Edo at a young age to study Confucianism and Dutch studies, and traveled around the country to deepen his knowledge, and also studied Hirata Buddhism. From the Bunka period (1804-1818) onwards, he was active in writing books ranging from political economy to cosmology, including books on military science and foreign policy, works on agricultural policy, agriculture and various industrial studies such as "Nosei Honron", "Udai Kondou Hisaku", "Tenjuki" (compiled between 1822 and 1825), "Keizai Yoroku" and "Suito Hiroku" (compiled in 1857). During the Tenpo period (1830-1844), he was conscious of the Tenpo Reforms and put forward reform plans such as "Fukkoho Gaigen".

Nobuhiro's ideas have been met with both praise and criticism. There are many doubts about his life, such as his claim to have perfected the original family teachings of four generations of the Sato clan. His learning was heavily influenced by other books, resulting from his extensive reading. His Confucianism was of the ancient school, and he absorbed knowledge of Dutch studies and further studied metaphysics from Hirata Atsutane, and it is thought that he combined these to perfect his own family teachings. His ideas are unique, combining a restorationist agrarian tendencies with mercantilist tendencies, scientific knowledge and Shinto metaphysics, but his ideas of developing productive forces through a centralized authority, forming a unified nation centered on controlling the distribution process, and envisioning a wealthy nation, a strong military, and overseas strategies are noteworthy as early modern economic theory.

[Takao Shimazaki May 19, 2016]

"Masahide Bito and Takao Shimazaki (eds.), "Japanese Thought Series 45: Shoeki Ando and Nobuhiro Sato" (1977, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の経世家。羽後(うご)の処士。字(あざな)は元海(げんかい)、通称は百祐(ももすけ)、号は融斎(ゆうさい)、万松斎(ばんしょうさい)、松庵(しょうあん)、椿園(ちんえん)。出羽(でわ)国雄勝(おがち)郡西馬音内(にしもない)村（秋田県羽後町）に生まれる。若くして江戸に出て、儒学、蘭学(らんがく)を学び、四方に遊歴して学を深め、さらに平田学をも学んだ。文化(ぶんか)期（1804～1818）以降、兵学・対外策に関する著作、『農政本論』をはじめとする農政、農学、諸産業学の著作、『宇内(うだい)混同秘策』『天柱記』（1822〜1825間に成立）『経済要録』『垂統秘録』（1857成立）など、政治経済論から宇宙論に至るまで活発な著作活動を展開した。天保(てんぽう)期（1830～1844）には、天保の改革を意識し、『復古法概言』などの改革策を打ち出している。

　信淵の思想に対しては毀誉褒貶(きよほうへん)が甚だしい。佐藤家父祖4代の独創的家学を大成したと自称した点や、生涯には疑問が多い。彼の学問は広範な読書による他書からの影響が濃い。儒学は古学派の系統に属し、蘭学の知識を吸収し、さらに平田篤胤(ひらたあつたね)より形而上(けいじじょう)学を学び、これらを一丸として自己の家学を集大成したと考えられる。そこには復古的農本主義的傾向と重商主義的傾向、科学的知識と神道的形而上学とが習合された特異な思想がみられるが、中央集権的権力による生産力の開発、流通過程の掌握を軸とした統一国家の形成と富国強兵・海外経略を構想した点は近世経世論として注目される。

［島崎隆夫　2016年5月19日］

『尾藤正英・島崎隆夫編『日本思想大系45　安藤昌益・佐藤信淵』（1977・岩波書店）』

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