Touko Fujita

A Mito domain samurai and Mito scholar in the late Edo period. Born on March 16, 1812 (Bunsei 3) as the second son of Fujita Yukoku in Baiko, Kamimachi, Mito. His childhood name was Takejiro, later Toranosuke. His given name was Takeki, his pen name was Hinkei, and his pen name was Toko. He studied Confucianism at his father's private school, Seiransha, and went to Edo to study swordsmanship under Okada Jumatsu. He studied broadly without being limited to one school of thought, and was not particular about Neo-Confucianism. In 1826 (Bunsei 9), upon his father's death, at the age of 22 he inherited the family headship, received a stipend of 200 koku, and was made the editor of Shokokan. When Tokugawa Nariaki became lord of the domain, he was at the forefront of the reform faction that supported Nariaki. During the Tenpo Reforms in Mito, he promoted the reforms as Nariaki's close aide from start to finish. In 1840 (Tenpo 11), at the age of 35, he was promoted to the important position of Sobayonin, one of the three main aides, and was eventually awarded 500 koku in addition to his salary. Considering that his father had come from a town family, this was an extraordinary promotion. He was the one who worked most hard on the construction of the domain school, Kodokan, following Nariaki's wishes. Toko was the central figure in writing the "Kodokanki," which set out the founding principles of the school, and its commentary, the "Kodokan Kijigi," was considered the textbook of Mitogaku along with Aizawa Seishisai's "Shinron," and along with Toko's "Seikika" and other works, it had a major influence on Sonno Joi (advocates of the expedition to the new emperor and expedition to the new emperor) activists of the late Edo period. With the downfall of Nariaki in 1844 (the first year of the Koka era), Toko was dismissed by order of the shogunate and ordered to remain under house arrest. As Nariaki eventually became involved in the shogunate's diplomacy, Toko was given many opportunities to play an active role at the center, and in 1854 (Ansei 1), he was reappointed as chamberlain, and in September of the following year, 1855, he was appointed concurrently as school magistrate, was awarded 600 koku, and played a key role in driving the Ansei reforms, but on October 2nd of the same year, he died in his official residence at the age of 50 after a turbulent life due to the Great Edo earthquake. In addition to those mentioned above, many of his writings are powerful, including "Kaiten Shishi," "Hitachi Obi" (both completed in 1844), and "Kaiten Hikki," and these, combined with his unique style of calligraphy known as the Toko school and his unusually generous personality for a Mito person, played a major role in spreading Mitogaku.

[Yoshihiko Seya July 19, 2016]

"The New Complete Works of Toko, edited by Kikuchi Kenjiro, 1 volume (1940, Hakubunkan / reprint edition, 1998, Kokusho Kankokai)" ▽ "The Great Series of Japanese Thought 53, Mitogaku, annotated and commented by Imai Uzaburo, Seya Yoshihiko, and Bito Masahide (1973, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Life of Toko Fujita, by Kikuchi Kenjiro (1899, Kinkodo Shoseki)" ▽ "Toko Fujita, by Nakamura Takaya (1942, Chijin Shokan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の水戸藩士、水戸学者。文化(ぶんか)3年3月16日藤田幽谷(ゆうこく)の次男として、水戸上町梅香(ばいこう)に生まれる。幼名武次郎、のち虎之介。諱(いみな)は彪(たけき)、字(あざな)は斌卿(ひんけい)、東湖はその号。父の家塾青藍舎(せいらんしゃ)で儒学などを修め、江戸に出て剣を岡田十松(おかだじゅうまつ)に学んだ。学問は一派に偏せず広く学び、朱子学にはこだわらなかった。1826年（文政9）父の死にあい、22歳で家督を継ぎ家禄(かろく)200石を受け、彰考館(しょうこうかん)編修となった。徳川斉昭(とくがわなりあき)の藩主就任のときには、斉昭を擁立する改革派の先頭にたって活躍した。水戸の天保(てんぽう)の改革では終始斉昭の側近として改革を推進した。1840年（天保11）35歳で側近三役の一つ、側用人(そばようにん)の重職に抜擢(ばってき)され、やがて役料も加え500石を給せられた。父が町家出であるのを思えば、破格の昇進である。藩校弘道館(こうどうかん)の建設では、斉昭の意を受けてもっとも尽力した。建学の方針を示した「弘道館記」は、東湖が成文の中心で、その解説『弘道館記述義』は、会沢正志斎(あいざわせいしさい)の『新論』とともに、水戸学の教典とされ、東湖作の「正気歌」などとともに、幕末の尊攘(そんじょう)運動家に大きな影響を与えた。1844年（弘化1）斉昭の失脚とともに東湖も幕命をもって罷免され、謹慎を命ぜられた。やがて斉昭が幕府の外交に参与するに至り、東湖も中央で活躍する機会に恵まれ、1854年（安政1）には側用人再勤となり、翌1855年9月には学校奉行(ぶぎょう)兼職となり600石を給せられ、安政(あんせい)の改革推進役となったが、同年10月2日江戸大地震のため官舎で50歳の波瀾(はらん)の生涯を閉じた。著書には前述のほか、『回天詩史』『常陸帯(ひたちおび)』（ともに1844成立）『回天必力』など、力のこもった内容のものが多く、東湖流といわれる独特の書風と水戸人としては珍しく度量の広い人柄と相まって、水戸学普及のうえに大きな役割を果たした。

［瀬谷義彦　2016年7月19日］

『菊池謙二郎編『新定　東湖全集』全1巻（1940・博文館／復刻版・1998・国書刊行会）』▽『今井宇三郎・瀬谷義彦・尾藤正英校注・解説『日本思想大系53　水戸学』（1973・岩波書店）』▽『菊池謙二郎著『藤田東湖伝』（1899・金港堂書籍）』▽『中村孝也著『藤田東湖』（1942・地人書館）』

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