Seigan Yanagawa

Japanese: 梁川星巌 - やながわ・せいがん

Year of death: September 2, 1858 (October 8, 1858)
Year of birth: 1789.7.10 (18th June, 1789)
A poet of the late Edo period. His given name was U, later Mengwei, his pen name was Hakuto, later Kozu, he was commonly known as Shinjuro, and his pen name was Seigan. He was born to a wealthy farming family in Sonemura, Anpachigun, Mino Province (Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture). His father was Nagataka. In Bunsei 4 (1807), he went to Edo and entered Yamamoto Hokuzan's Hegijuku, where he studied Confucianism and poetry, and joined Ichikawa Kansai's Jianghu Shisha. In 1814, he returned home and opened a private school called Rikasonsha. Seigan made a habit of wandering. In Bunsei 3 (1820), he married the poet Koran. In September 1832, he traveled west with his wife, arriving in Kyushu. In Tempo 5 (1834), he lived in Otama-ga-ike, Kanda, Edo, and founded the Tamaike Ginsha, gaining fame as a leader in the Edo poetry world. During this time he became acquainted with Toko Fujita and Shozan Sakuma, and developed an interest in current events. In 1845 he closed the Tamaike Ginsha and returned home, settling in Kyoto the following year. After the arrival of Perry, he became deeply involved in political activities and advocated Sonno Joi. In the autumn of 1858 he died of cholera, which was prevalent in Kyoto, and was buried at Tenjuan in Nanzenji Temple. The Ansei Purge occurred shortly after his death, and people commented that Seigan was "good at poetry (death)." He left behind a work of some 5,000 poems, and was more highly regarded as a poet than Rai Sanyo. <Works> "Complete Works of Yanagawa Seigan", 5 volumes <References> Fujikawa Hideo, "Poets of the Late Edo Period"

(Numata Satoshi)

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

Japanese:

没年：安政5.9.2(1858.10.8)
生年：寛政1.6.18(1789.7.10)
江戸後期の詩人。名は卯のち孟緯,字は伯兎のち公図,通称新十郎,星巌は号。美濃国安八郡曾根村(岐阜県大垣市)に富農の家に生まれる。父は長高。文化4(1807)年江戸に出て山本北山の奚疑塾に入り儒学と詩文を学び,市河寛斎の江湖詩社に参加した。14年帰郷し私塾梨花村舎を開く。星巌は放浪を癖とした。文政3(1820)年詩人紅蘭と結婚。5年9月妻を伴って西遊し九州に至った。天保5(1834)年江戸神田お玉が池に住し玉池吟社を起こし,江戸詩壇の盟主として名声高まった。その間藤田東湖,佐久間象山と交わり時事への関心を深め,弘化2(1845)年玉池吟社を閉じ帰郷し,翌年より京都に定住,ペリー来航後は政治活動に深入りし尊王攘夷を主唱す。安政5(1858)年秋京都に流行したコレラに罹り没し,南禅寺天授庵に葬る。死の直後安政大獄が起こったため,世人は星巌を「詩(死)に上手」と評した。5000首におよぶ作品を残し,詩人としての評価は頼山陽より高い。<著作>『梁川星巌全集』全5巻<参考文献>富士川英郎『江戸後期の詩人たち』

(沼田哲)

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