Shozo Suzuki

Japanese: 鈴木正三 - すずき・しょうさん

Year of death: 25th June 1655 (28th July 1655)
Year of birth: Tensho 7 (1579)
A kana zoshi author from the Edo period. His real name was Suzuki Shozo. He was known as Kutayu and also under the pseudonyms Sekihira Michijin. He was born as the eldest son of Suzuki Shigetsugu, a retainer of the Tokugawa family, in Asuke-go, Higashikamo-gun, Mikawa Province (Aichi Prefecture). He fought in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (Keicho 5), the Winter Siege of Osaka in 1619, and the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1615 (Genna 1), but became a monk in Edo in 1616. His younger brother Shigenari fought in the Shimabara-Amakusa Rebellion, which was put down in 1638 (Kan'ei 15), and in 1638 he was appointed the first magistrate of Amakusa, and Shozo traveled to Amakusa the following year. During his three years in Amakusa, he preached conversion to Buddhism, built various temples, and wrote "Hakirishitan." Shōsan's Buddhism was unique and known as "Nio Zen," but his writings include "Futari Bikuni" and "Nenbutsu Soshi," which are said to be "seven books." One of these, "Inkago," was published posthumously, but there are two versions: the "hiragana version" that was published earlier, and the "katakana version" written by his disciples, who considered the first to be inappropriate. From the perspective of the "katakana version," written as a Buddhist book, the "hiragana version," which altered Shōsan's original while duplicating many stories and adding illustrations to turn it into a reading material, was unacceptable.

(Yoko Kashiwazawa)

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

Japanese:

没年：明暦1.6.25(1655.7.28)
生年：天正7(1579)
江戸時代の仮名草子作者。本名は鈴木正三。九太夫と称し,石平道人などと号する。三河国(愛知県)東加茂郡足助郷の徳川家の家臣鈴木重次の長子として生まれる。慶長5(1600)年の関ケ原の戦,同19年の大坂冬の陣,元和1(1615)年の大坂夏の陣に出陣するが,同6年に江戸にて出家。寛永15(1638)年に平定された島原・天草の乱に弟重成が出陣し,同18年には天草の初代代官に任じられると,正三も翌年に天草へ渡る。3年間の天草滞在で,仏教への帰依を説き,諸寺を建立,『破吉利支丹』を著した。正三の仏法は「仁王禅」といわれる特異なものであったが,著作には「7部の書」とされる『二人比丘尼』『念仏草紙』などがある。そのひとつ『因果物語』は没後に出版されたが,先に出された「平仮名本」と,それを不当とした弟子達による「片仮名本」の2種類がある。仏書として書かれた「片仮名本」の側からすれば,多くの話を重複しつつも正三の原本を改変し,挿絵を加えて読み物化した「平仮名本」は許せなかったのである。

(樫澤葉子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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