Yamagata Banto

A townsman and scholar from the late Edo period. He was the head clerk of the branch of the Masuya Yamagata family, a rice merchant in Osaka who operated a loan business for feudal lords. He was a talented student at the Kaitokudo school for townspeople. He was an atheist and a thinker of practical learning influenced by Western studies. He was born in the first year of the Kan'en era in Kazume village, Innami county, Harima province (Takasago city, Hyogo prefecture) as the second son of farmer Hasegawa Jubei. His name was Arimi, and his pen name was Banto. At the age of 13, he was adopted by his uncle Kyubei, a branch of the Yamagata family. He used his business acumen to work hard to restore his master's family, and in 1783 (Tenmei 3) he was asked by the Sendai Domain to successfully rebuild the domain's finances, and was treated as a relative of the lord, taking the name Yamakata Yoshihide. During his professional career, he studied Confucianism under the brothers Nakai Chikuzan and Riken at Kaitokudo, and astronomy and calendar science under Asada Goryu at Senjikan, and his insight was known to Matsudaira Sadanobu. With the help of his master, who was obsessed with Western culture, he adopted the academic style of the previous masters, which was true knowledge and confirmation through actual experience, and an active understanding of Western medicine and science, and strived to grasp the essence of both the natural and human worlds. Despite his blindness in his later years, he compiled the results of his work in the 12-volume magnum opus "The Age of Dreams." He was a firm believer in the Copernican theory, denied the existence of the Ojin chapter of the Nihon Shoki, rejected all popular beliefs, and emphasized the denial of spirits and demons. His assertions are internationally acclaimed today. He died on February 28, 1821. His grave is at Zendo-ji Temple in Kita-ku, Osaka.

[Tetsuo Suenaka July 19, 2016]

"Japanese Thought Series 43: Tominaga Nakamoto and Yamagata Banto, edited by Mizuta Norihisa and Arisaka Takamichi (1973, Iwanami Shoten) " "Japanese Masterpieces 23: Yamagata Banto and Kaibo Seiryo, edited by Minamoto Ryoen (1984, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" "Suenaka Tetsuo, A Study of Yamagata Banto: The Age of Dreams (1971, Seibundo Publishing)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸後期の町人学者。大坂の米商人で大名貸(だいみょうがし)を営む升屋(ますや)山片家の別家番頭。町人学塾懐徳堂(かいとくどう)の逸材。無神論者で、蘭学(らんがく)の影響を受けた実学思想家である。寛延(かんえん)元年、農業長谷川十兵衛(はせがわじゅうべえ)の次男として、播磨(はりま)国印南(いなみ)郡神爪(かづめ)村（兵庫県高砂(たかさご)市）に生まれる。名は有躬(ありみ)。蟠桃は号。13歳のとき山片家別家叔父久兵衛の養子となった。商才を発揮して主家再興に努力し、1783年（天明3）仙台藩の依頼を受けて藩財政の再建に成功、主家の親類扱いによって山片芳秀(よしひで)を名のった。専業の間に懐徳堂で中井竹山(なかいちくざん)・履軒(りけん)兄弟から儒学を、先事館で麻田剛立(あさだごうりゅう)に天文暦学を学び、その見識は松平定信(まつだいらさだのぶ)にも知られた。蘭癖(らんぺき)の主人の協力を受けるとともに、歴代堂主の学風である真の知識と実体験による確認、西欧医学・科学の積極的理解の態度を摂取し、自然・人文両界の本質の把握に努めた。その成果を晩年の失明にも屈せず、大著『夢の代(しろ)』全12巻にまとめた。地動説を確信し、『日本書紀』応神(おうじん)紀以前を否定、あらゆる俗信の否認、無鬼（霊魂・鬼神否定論）の強調など、その主張は今日国際的に評価されている。文政(ぶんせい)4年2月28日没。墓は大阪市北区善導(ぜんどう)寺にある。

［末中哲夫　2016年7月19日］

『水田紀久・有坂隆道校注『日本思想大系43　富永仲基・山片蟠桃』（1973・岩波書店）』▽『源了円編『日本の名著23　山片蟠桃・海保青陵』（1984・中央公論社）』▽『末中哲夫著『山片蟠桃の研究　夢之代篇』（1971・清文堂出版）』

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