Ishikawa Rikinosuke

Japanese: 石川理紀之助 - いしかわ・りきのすけ

Year of death: September 8, 1915
Year of birth: 15th February 1845 (22nd March 1845)
A Meiji-era agricultural leader. The third son of Nara Shukiji of Koizumi Village, Akita County, Dewa Province (Akita City). In 1865, he was adopted into the family of Ishikawa Chojuro, a leading figure in Yamada Village (Showa Town) in the same county. From 1877, he was in charge of industrial promotion administration at the Akita Prefectural Office, providing guidance on improving rotten rice and working to establish a seed and seedling exchange association. He also organized dedicated farmers in the prefecture, forming the Rekikan Nouwa Ren Association, and worked to improve agricultural practices. In 1881, he returned to the village, and with the aim of rescuing his village, which had become increasingly impoverished under the Matsukata deflation, he established the Yamada Village Economic Association and succeeded in revitalizing the village. He handed over the family headship to his second son, Roinosuke, and in 1890, he began living in the mountains to practice the life of a poor farmer, and wrote books such as Kusakidani Sankyo Shou (Society of the Mountain Village) and Inadana no Tokushi Ben (Disputes on the Pros and Cons of Inadana). In 1893, he worked hard to establish an agricultural association, and formed the Akita Prefecture Agricultural Association, of which he was recommended as its chairman. In 1929, he began surveying rural areas and surveying suitable production, and by 1935 had completed surveys of 49 towns and villages in Akita and Fukushima prefectures. During the Showa period, his spiritualistic approach to overcoming hardships and hard work was emphasized, and he was called the "Saint of Agriculture," but his seriousness lay in his analysis of experience based on thorough research and his enthusiasm for spreading that knowledge. "Do not wake people up when they are asleep," was his last teaching. <References> Tsuneo Sato, "Commentary on 'The Profits and Losses of Rice Seeds'" (Meiji Agricultural Books Collection, Vol. 2), Tomizo Kawakami, "The Life of Ishikawa Rikinosuke"

(Taguchi Katsuichiro)

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

Japanese:

没年：大正4.9.8(1915)
生年：弘化2.2.15(1845.3.22)
明治期の農事指導者。出羽国秋田郡小泉村(秋田市)の奈良周喜治の3男。慶応1(1865)年同郡山田村(昭和町)の肝煎石川長十郎家の養子となる。明治10(1877)年以降秋田県庁で勧業行政を担当,腐米改良の指導,種苗交換会開設に尽くし,また県内の篤農家を組織し歴観農話連を結成,農事改良に努めた。16年に帰村,松方デフレ下で窮乏を深めた居村の救済を志し,山田村経済会をつくって村興しに成功。次男老之助に家督を譲り,22年,貧農生活実践のために山居生活に入り,『草木谷山居成績』『稲種得失弁』などを著した。28年には農会づくりに奔走し秋田県農会を結成,会長に推される。29年からは農村調査,適産調に着手,35年まで秋田,福島両県の49町村の調査を完了した。昭和期には,その精神主義的な克苦勉励が強調されて「農聖」と呼ばれたが,真面目は綿密な調査に基づいた経験の分析と,その普及への熱意にあった。「寝ていて人を起すこと勿れ」は彼の遺訓である。<参考文献>佐藤常雄「『稲種得失弁』解題」(『明治農書全集』2巻),川上富三『石川理紀之助の生涯』

(田口勝一郎)

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