Masakazu Toyama

A Meiji period scholar and cultural figure. Born on September 27, 1850 to a samurai family of the Shizuoka domain. His childhood name was Sutehachi, and his pen name was Chuzan. In 1866 (Keio 2), he went to England as a student of the shogunate. After returning to Japan, he became a professor and head of the Western Studies department at Shizuoka School, and in 1870 (Meiji 3), he was stationed in America as a junior commissioner for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Mori Arinori. He later resigned and studied philosophy and science at the University of Michigan, returning to Japan in 1876. He was a professor at Kaisei School, the University of Tokyo, Imperial University, and Tokyo Imperial University, and from 1893 he was the first person in Japan to teach sociology. He served as president of the College of Literature at the University of Tokyo and president of Tokyo Imperial University, and in 1898 became Minister of Education in the third cabinet of Ito Hirobumi. His wide-ranging activities included the introduction of evolutionary theory and the Spencerian theory, the founding of the Roman Alphabet Society, and improvements to music, painting, and theater. He published Shintai Shisho (1882) with Yatabe Ryokichi and Inoue Tetsujiro (Sonken), setting a precedent in the history of modern Japanese poetry, and exerting a considerable influence on culture and education in the Meiji period. He was a member of the Council for Higher Education, a member of the House of Peers, and the first professor emeritus at the Imperial University of Tokyo. His books include Yama Sonko (1909). He died on March 8, 1900.

[Komata Noriaki]

"A Short Biography of Professor Shoichi Toyama" by Sanji Mikami (1908, private edition/1987, Ozorasha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治期の学者、文化人。嘉永(かえい)元年9月27日静岡藩士の家に生まれる。幼名捨八、号ゝ山(ちゅざん)。1866年（慶応2）幕府留学生としてイギリスへ留学。帰国後、静岡学校教授兼洋学部長を経て1870年（明治3）外務省弁務少記として森有礼(ありのり)とともにアメリカ駐在、のち辞任しミシガン大学で哲学、理学を修め、1876年帰国。開成学校教授、東京大学、帝国大学、東京帝国大学教授を歴任し、1893年から日本初の社会学講座を担当。東京大学文科大学長、東京帝国大学総長を務め、1898年第三次伊藤博文(いとうひろぶみ)内閣文部大臣となる。進化論・スペンサー学説の紹介、ローマ字学会の創設、音楽・絵画・演劇の改良など、その活動は多岐にわたり、矢田部良吉、井上哲次郎（巽軒(そんけん)）らと『新体詩抄』（1882）を刊行して、日本近代詩史上の先駆をなすなど、明治の文化・教育に少なからぬ影響を与えた。高等教育会議議員、貴族院議員、初の東京帝国大学名誉教授。著書に『ゝ山存稿』（1909）がある。明治33年3月8日没。

［小股憲明］

『三上参次著『外山正一先生小伝』（1908・私家版／1987・大空社）』

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