Hiraga Gennai - Hiraga Gennai

A botanist and comic writer of the Edo period. Born in Shidoura, Sanuki (Sanuki City, Kagawa Prefecture). His childhood name was Yomokichi. He was also known as Denjiro and Kajiro, and his given name was Kunitomo or Kunimune. Gennai (or Motonai) was his nickname. His pen names were Shii and Kyukei. His comic writers included Furai Sanjin, Tenjiku Ronin, Godoken, and Kuwazu Hinraku, and as a Joruri composer he used the name Fukuuchi Onigai. His father was Shiraishi Mozaemon Yoshifusa, the storehouse manager of the Takamatsu domain, and his older brother died young, so he took over the family name after his father's death and changed his surname to Hiraga. He was discovered by the feudal lord Matsudaira Yoritaka (1711-1771) and travelled to Nagasaki to study, where he also became involved in the work of the domain's botanical gardens. In 1754 (the 4th year of the Horeki era), he handed over his household to his sister's husband and moved to Edo, where he studied under the botanical scholar Tamura Ransui and also entered the Hayashi family school, where he began to study botany in earnest.

In 1757, together with Tamura Ransui, he held a trade fair in Hongo Yushima, Edo, and thereafter held five more fairs over the next six years. The fair held in 1762 (on leap April 10, 12th year of the Horeki era) was particularly successful, attracting over 1,300 exhibits from over 30 provinces across Japan. Gennai selected 360 important items from the exhibits at the fair, classified and explained them, and published Butsurui Hinshitsu (6 volumes) the following year in 1763. This work also included new information such as Ransui's method for cultivating ginseng, a diagram of sugar cane pressing taken from Tenko Kaibutsu, and a diagram of saffron copied from a Dutch book. Due to these achievements, Gennai was highly regarded as a budding botanist and product scholar, and he was highly active in a variety of fields, riding on the trend of promoting industry and the Dutch lover's interest. In 1764 (Meiwa 1), he produced Kakanpu (a fireproof cloth made from asbestos and other materials), wrote "Kakanpu Theory" about this cloth, and published "Kakanpu Brief Description" in 1765.

He also attracted attention with his production of scientific and technological devices such as the leveller and thermometer, and contributed greatly to the industrial development policies of the shogunate and Takamatsu domain, including collecting medicinal herbs and conducting mineral surveys in Kii, Izu, Chichibu, and other places.

On the other hand, he entered the world of talkative books, which was just beginning to emerge at the time, and wrote "Furyu Shidoken-den" (5 volumes) and "Nenashigusa (First Part)" (5 volumes), satirizing the stagnant feudal society, and also produced a new joruri piece, "Shinrei Yaguchi no Watashi," which was performed in 1770 and was well received. These works were given a fresh edge by incorporating herbal medicine, product science, medical knowledge, and a taste for the Dutch.

He soon became acquainted with Tanuma Okitsugu and studied in Nagasaki for a second time, where he broadened the scope of his activities to include the invention of pottery and textiles for the promotion of industry (what he called the national interest), as well as mining-related business. He also had many friends, including Dutch scholars such as Nakagawa Junan, Katsuragawa Hosan (1728-1783), Morishima Churyo (Manzōtei), and scholars and writers such as Goto Rishun (1696-1771), Heiji Tosaku, and Ota Nanpo (Shūzanjin). He also taught Western painting techniques to Odano Naotake of the Akita branch of the Kakunodate domain, which gave birth to Akita Western painting. In 1774 (An'ei 3), he fell into difficulties after failing to manage the Chichibu mines. In 1776, he succeeded in repairing an Elekiteru (friction electromotive device) that he had previously acquired in Nagasaki, and also produced an imitation, which gained a reputation. He demonstrated this in front of wealthy feudal lords as a medical device that "uses glass to summon heavenly fire to cure illnesses," but he did not find the sponsors he had hoped for and his life became difficult. In "Furyu Rokubushu," including "Hohiron," he mocked society with "writings that mix anger and despair."

In despair, he committed murder in November 1779 (An'ei 8) and was imprisoned, where he passed away in prison on December 18. His grave is located at the site of Hashiba Sosenji Temple in Taito Ward, Tokyo.

[Toshihiko Kikuchi]

"The Complete Works of Hiraga Gennai, compiled and published by the Hiraga Gennai Commemoration Society, 2 volumes (1932, 1934/1989, Meisaku Kankokai)" ▽ "The Great Series of Japanese Classical Literature 55, Furai Sanjinshu, edited by Nakamura Yukihiko (1961, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Hiraga Gennai, by Jofuku Isamu (1971/New edition, 1986, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Hiraga Gennai, by Haga Toru (1981, Asahi Shimbun)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代の本草学者(ほんぞうがくしゃ)、戯作者(げさくしゃ)。讃岐(さぬき)の志度浦（香川県さぬき市）の生まれ。幼名を四万吉(よもきち)。伝次郎、嘉次郎といい、名は国倫(くにとも)または国棟(くにむね)。源内（または元内）は通称。字(あざな)は子彝(しい)、鳩溪と号した。戯作者としては風来山人、天竺浪人(てんじくろうにん)、悟道軒、桑津貧楽(くわづひんらく)など、浄瑠璃作家(じょうるりさっか)としては福内鬼外を用いている。父は高松藩の蔵番白石茂左衛門良房で、兄は夭折(ようせつ)し、父の死で家を継ぎ姓を平賀と改めた。藩主松平頼恭(まつだいらよりたか)（1711―1771）にみいだされ長崎に遊学、藩の薬園の仕事にも携わるようになったが、1754年（宝暦4）、妹婿に家を譲り江戸に出て、本草学者田村藍水(たむららんすい)に師事、また林家に入塾し本格的に本草学を学んだ。

　1757年、田村藍水とともに江戸・本郷(ほんごう)湯島で物産会を開き、以後、6年間に物産会を5回開催、とくに1762年（宝暦12年閏(うるう)4月10日）の物産会には全国30余国から1300余点に上る展示物を集め、盛況であった。源内はこの物産会の出品物のなかから重要なもの360種を選んで分類、解説し『物類品隲(ぶつるいひんしつ)』（6巻）を翌1763年に出版した。このなかには、藍水の朝鮮人参(にんじん)栽培法や、『天工開物』からとった甘蔗(かんしょ)しぼりの図、また蘭書(らんしょ)から模写したサフランの図などの新しい知識も載せている。これらの活躍により、源内は新進の本草学者、物産学者として評価され、殖産興業、蘭癖の時流にのって多彩な活躍をしている。1764年（明和1）火浣布(かかんぷ)（石綿などでつくった不燃布）を製作、この火浣布について『火浣布説』を書き、1765年には『火浣布略説』を出版している。

　また平線儀（水準儀）、タルモメイトル（温度計）などの理化学的な奇器の製作で人々の目をひき、紀伊(きい)、伊豆(いず)、秩父(ちちぶ)などでの薬物採集や鉱物などの物産調査など、幕府や高松藩の殖産策に尽力した。

　一方、当時、新興の談義本の世界に進み、『風流志道軒伝』（5巻）、『根南志具佐(ねなしぐさ)（前編）』（5巻）などを書いて、よどんだ封建社会を風刺し、新作浄瑠璃『神霊矢口渡(しんれいやぐちのわたし)』は1770年に上演され、この面でも好評であった。これらの文中には本草、物産学や医学的な知識、それにオランダ趣味などを入れて新しさを出している。

　やがて田沼意次(たぬまおきつぐ)の知遇を得て二度目の長崎遊学をなし、殖産興業（彼のいう国益）のための陶器や織物の考案、それに鉱山関係の事業と、いっそう活動の場を広めていった。交友も中川淳庵(なかがわじゅんあん)、桂川甫三(かつらがわほさん)（1728―1783）、森島中良(もりしまなから)（万象亭(まんぞうてい)）ら蘭学系の学者や、後藤梨春(ごとうりしゅん)（1696―1771）、平秩東作(へつつとうさく)、大田南畝(おおたなんぽ)（蜀山人）らの学者・文人と多方面にわたる。また秋田支藩角館(かくのだて)の小田野直武(おだのなおたけ)に洋画法を教え、秋田蘭画(らんが)誕生のきっかけを与えた。1774年（安永3）、秩父鉱山の経営に失敗し苦境に陥った。1776年、かつて長崎で入手したエレキテル（摩擦起電器）の修理に成功、模造品も製作し評判となった。これを「硝子(ガラス)を以(もっ)て天火を呼び病を治す」医療用具として大名富豪の前で実験したが、期待した後援者は得られず生活もすさみ、『放屁(ほうひ)論』をはじめとする『風流六部集』では「憤激(ヂレ)と自棄(ワザクレ)ないまぜの文章」で世間を揶揄(やゆ)している。

　失意のうちに1779年（安永8）11月、人を殺傷して入牢(じゅろう)、12月18日獄中で世を去った。墓は東京都台東(たいとう)区橋場総泉寺跡にある。

［菊池俊彦］

『平賀源内顕彰会編・刊『平賀源内全集』全2巻（1932、1934／1989・名著刊行会）』▽『中村幸彦校注『日本古典文学大系55　風来山人集』（1961・岩波書店）』▽『城福勇著『平賀源内』（1971／新装版・1986・吉川弘文館）』▽『芳賀徹著『平賀源内』（1981・朝日新聞社）』

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