Shunan, Yamagata

Japanese: 山県周南 - やまがた・しゅうなん

Year of death: 12th August 1752 (19th September 1752)
Year of birth: 1687
A Confucian scholar of the Kobunji school in the mid-Edo period. His given name was Koju, his pen name was Jiko, and his common name was Shosuke. He was the second son of Yamagata Ryosai, a samurai of the Choshu (Hagi) domain. As he was born in the southern part of the Suo Province, he called himself Shunan. In 1705 (Hōei 2) at the age of 19, he went to Edo to study under Ogyu Sorai. After three years of study, he returned to Hagi, and in 1717 (Kyōhō 2) he became a tutor to Mori Yoshimoto and his son Munehiro. In 1737 (Genbun 2), he became the second priest at the domain school Meirinkan, and spread Sorai studies in Choshu. He excelled in poetry and prose, and made his name known throughout the country with his exchange of poetry and prose with the Korean envoys in 1711 (Shotoku 1). Among Sorai's disciples, many of whom had eccentric quirks, he was a rare gentle, sincere, and common-sense person. His books include "Shunan Collection," "First Questions on Learning," "Lecture Diary," and "First Questions on Composition." <References> Akira Fujii, Shigehiro Hisatomi, "Yamagata Konron Yamagata Shunan" (Japanese Thinkers, Volume 18)

(Yasuhiro Kojima)

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

Japanese:

没年：宝暦2.8.12(1752.9.19)
生年：貞享4(1687)
江戸中期の古文辞学派の儒者。名は孝孺,字は次公,通称は少助。長州(萩)藩士山県良斎の次男。周防の国の南部に生まれたので,周南と自ら号した。宝永2(1705)年19歳のときに江戸に出て荻生徂徠に師事する。3年の業なって萩に戻り,享保2(1717)年毛利吉元・宗広父子の侍講となる。元文2(1737)年,藩校明倫館の2代目祭酒に就任し,徂徠学を長州に広めた。詩文に秀で,正徳1(1711)年の朝鮮通信使との詩文の応酬で名を天下にとどろかせた。奇癖の人が少なくない徂徠門下にあっては,まれにみる温厚篤実な常識人であった。著書に『周南文集』『為学初問』『講学日記』『作文初問』などがある。<参考文献>藤井明,久富木成大『山井崑崙山県周南』(日本の思想家18巻)

(小島康敬)

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

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