Takami Senseki - Takami Senseki

Japanese: 鷹見泉石 - たかみ・せんせき

Year of death: July 16, 5th year of Ansei (August 24, 1858)
Year of birth: June 29, 1785 (August 3, 1785)
He was an administrative figure and Dutch scholar in the late Edo period. His name was Tadatsune, and he was commonly known as Jurozaemon. He named his home Kaedesho, had a plaque of Taiseido hanging in his study, and went by the pen names Kakinken and later Izumiseki. He was a samurai of the Koga Domain (Koga City) in Shimousa Province. He was born in Koga, but left the capital at the age of 12 and served two generations of the domain under the lords of Doi Toshiatsu and Toshitsura. He served Toshitsura as a close attendant from the time he was the heir, and after he inherited the title he served as a chief retainer from the time he was an internal servant. Under Toshitsura, who became the governor of Osaka Castle, he quelled the Oshio Heihachiro Rebellion in 1837. During the reforms of Mizuno Tadakuni, he assisted the domain lord who was ranked as a senior councilor, and was active in scheming to invite Takashima Shuho from Nagasaki to the shogunate to strengthen coastal defenses, but in 1846 he fell out with the domain lord over the issue of the succession of his lord's family, and was forced to retire to Koga, where he devoted himself to academics thereafter. He deepened his knowledge of Dutch studies from his childhood under the guidance of Kawaguchi Shinnin, a doctor of the domain, and became so familiar with the Dutch studies world that in 1813 he was invited to the Shingenkai (a celebration of the Dutch New Year) hosted by Otsuki Gentaku. He collected over 1,000 maps from both inside and outside of Japan, and was well versed in geography. In 1850 he translated and published the New Translation of the Complete Map of Holland, the only single-volume map of the Netherlands produced before the Meiji period. He also showed a strong interest in maps of Ezo, and studied Russian. When Perry arrived, he proposed the "Foolish Summary," which suggested that Japan should open up the country to trade, cultivate the people's strength, and then develop national prestige, influencing Iwase Tadaharu and other important figures in the shogunate. He had connections with Watanabe Kazan and Sugita Genpaku, and also met the castaway Daikokuya Kodayu and Nakahama Manjiro, and was a man with the foresight to assess the international environment with a critical eye, backed by practical experience in governance. The Koga History Museum has a collection of diaries, manuscripts, etc.

(Hiroshi Ishiyama)

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

Japanese:

没年：安政5.7.16(1858.8.24)
生年：天明5.6.29(1785.8.3)
江戸後期の行政家で蘭学者。名は忠常,通称十郎左衛門。自宅を楓所と名づけ,書斎に泰西堂の額を掲げ,可琴軒,のち泉石と号した。下総国古河藩(古河市)藩士。古河に生まれたが,12歳で出府,藩主土井利厚,利位2代に近侍した。利位には世子のときから近習として仕え,襲封後は内用役から家老を務めた。大坂城代となった利位のもとで天保8(1837)年大塩平八郎の乱を鎮めた。水野忠邦の改革期に老中に列した藩主を補佐,海防強化に長崎から高島秋帆の幕府招致を画策するなど,活躍したが,弘化3(1846)年主家の嗣子問題で藩主と不和を生じ,古河に閉居させられ,以後学究に徹した。幼時,藩医河口信任に手ほどきされた蘭学を深め,文化10(1813)年には大槻玄沢主催の新元会(オランダ正月の祝賀会)に招かれるほど,蘭学界と親しくなる。内外の地図1000枚余を集め,地理に通じ,嘉永3(1850)年精巧な,明治以前唯一の単行オランダ図『新訳和蘭国全図』を訳刊した。蝦夷地図にも強い関心を示し,ロシア語も研究していた。ペリー来航に際し,開国通商に応じ,民力を養い,そのうえで国威を発展させるべしとの「愚意摘要」を建言し,岩瀬忠震ら幕府要路に影響を与えた。渡辺崋山,杉田玄白らと交わり,漂流者大黒屋光太夫,中浜万次郎とも会うなど,治政実務に裏打ちされ,国際環境を厳しく見定める先見性の持ち主であった。古河歴史博物館に日記,稿本などが収蔵されている。

(石山洋)

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

<<: Takamine Jokichi

>>: Jun Takami's Diary - Jun Takami's Diary