Yoshida Shoin

A patriot, thinker and educator in the Choshu domain during the late Edo period. His childhood names were Daijiro, Torajiro and Toranosuke, his given name was Norikata and his pen name was Nijuichikai Moushi. His birth family was mukyu-dori with a stipend of 23 koku. His father was Sugi Yurinosuke (1804-1865) and Shoin was the second son. At a young age he was adopted into the Yoshida family, which was a large group with a stipend of 40 koku and a Yamaga-ryu military science instructor.

Shoin's short life of 30 years was full of hardships. However, it can be roughly divided into three periods. The first period was his childhood up to age 18, the second period was his time studying abroad up to age 24, and the third period was his time in prison (at Shoka Sonjuku).

As a boy, he received instruction in military science from his uncle Tamaki Bunnoshin, and military scholars Yamada Uemon (1813-1867) and Yamada Matasuke (1808-1864). In 1838 (Tenpo 9), at the age of nine, he lectured on Yamaga-ryu military science at the domain school Meirinkan, and from then on he was to teach at Meirinkan for a set period of time each year. At the age of 11, he lectured on the "Complete Book of Military Instruction" in front of the domain lord, Mori Takachika, and surprised the lord with the skill of his lecture. In 1844 (Koka 1), at the age of 15, he had the opportunity to lecture to the domain lord again, where he was highly praised and bestowed a reward.

In 1848 (Kaei 1), at the age of 19, he became a teacher at Meirinkan, where he submitted a paper of opinion regarding the revival of Meirinkan. In the same year, he became a government official and patrolled the artillery batteries on the San'in coast, submitting a report on coastal defense. At the age of 20, he traveled to Kyushu with the permission of the feudal government, where he met his ally Miyabe Teizo in Kumamoto. At the age of 21, he accompanied the feudal lord to Edo to study military science, where he studied extensively under Sakuma Shozan and others. At the age of 22, he set out to inspect the Tohoku region, but because he had run away without permission from the feudal government, he was charged with defection when he returned to the domain the following year in 1852, and his samurai status and stipend were confiscated. However, thanks to a special arrangement by the feudal lord Takachika, he was allowed to travel around the country for 10 years to study. At the age of 24, he left Hagi for Edo, where he deepened his friendship with patriots from all over the country in Kyoto on the way.

In 1854 (Ansei 1), at the age of 25, he boarded an American warship that arrived in Uraga again and attempted to travel overseas with his comrade Kaneko Shigenosuke (1831-1855), but failed and turned himself in to the shogunate. As a result, he was imprisoned in Tenmacho, Edo. The shogunate sent Shoin to Hagi, where he was imprisoned in Noyama Prison. When he was 27, the feudal domain government released him from prison, but ordered him to be imprisoned in his birthplace. After being released, Shoin gathered the children of the neighborhood and opened a private school, which merged with the Shoka Sonjuku school started by Tamaki Bunnoshin (at the time the professor was a neighbor, Mr. Kubo), and Shoin eventually became its president. At the age of 29, Shoin formed a blood pact with 17 comrades and devised a plan to ambush the senior councilor Manabe Akikatsu in order to prevent the Ansei Purge. To achieve their goal, they presented the plan to important figures in the domain government and asked for their backing, but the domain government deemed Shoin a dangerous person and imprisoned him again. Even from prison, Shoin mobilized his disciples to further this plan, but they were also imprisoned and the plan failed. In 1859, when he was 30, the shogunate ordered the domain government to send Shoin to Edo. After arriving in Edo, Shoin was executed in Tenmacho Prison on October 27 of the same year (Ansei 6).

Shoin's ideas were formed by accumulating the many books he read and the various ideas he picked up from his teachers and friends. Shoin's idea of ​​breaking the national ban and traveling abroad was a "strategy of remonstration," in which he saw and heard the actual conditions in foreign countries and tried to remonstrate (appeal directly) to the feudal lord. When the strategy of attacking the Shogunate by the Elders' Council, Nakabe, failed, Shoin came to the idea of ​​"grassroots uprising." This meant that many people who shared the same ideals as Shoin would rise up and surround and attack the shogunate. The defining feature of Shoin's ideas was his belief, as seen in the phrase "sincerely holding on to one's soul," that if one approaches things with sincerity, then naturally those who will carry on one's ideals will appear and the way will open up. Here was the conviction of Shoin's education, which integrated thought and practice. This education produced many disciples who played an active role during the Meiji Restoration period, including Takasugi Shinsaku, Kusaka Genzui, Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Yoshida Toshimaro. The "Yoshida Shoin Complete Works" is a collection of his writings and letters. His grave is at Shoin Shrine in Wakabayashi-cho, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo.

[Nobuhisa Hirota July 19, 2016]

"The Complete Works of Yoshida Shoin, 11 volumes (1972-1974 / New Edition, 2012, Yamato Shobo)" ▽ "Yoshida Shoin, by Naramoto Tatsuya (Iwanami Shinsho)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末期長州藩の志士、思想家、教育者。幼名は大次郎(だいじろう)・寅次郎(とらじろう)・寅之助、名は矩方(のりかた)、号を二十一回猛士という。生家は無給通(むきゅうどおり)、23石取。父は杉百合之助(すぎゆりのすけ)（1804―1865）、松陰は次男であった。幼くして吉田家に養子となったが、同家は大組(おおぐみ)で禄高(ろくだか)40石、山鹿流(やまがりゅう)兵学師範の家であった。

　松陰30歳の短い生涯は多難に満ちている。しかし、これは大別すると3期に分けることができる。第1期は18歳までの少年時代、第2期は24歳までの遊学時代、第3期は獄中時代（松下村塾(しょうかそんじゅく)）である。

　少年時代、叔父玉木文之進(たまきぶんのしん)や兵学者山田宇右衛門(やまだうえもん)（1813―1867）、山田亦介(またすけ)（1808―1864）から兵学に関する教育を受けた。1838年（天保9）9歳のとき藩校明倫館(めいりんかん)で山鹿流兵学の講義をしたが、これから毎年一定期間明倫館で教授することになった。11歳のとき藩主毛利敬親(もうりたかちか)の前で「武教全書」を講義し、その巧みさに藩主を驚かせた。1844年（弘化1）15歳のときふたたび藩主に講義する機会があり、激賞を受け褒賞を下賜された。

　1848年（嘉永1）19歳で明倫館師範となったが、このとき明倫館再興に関する意見書を提出している。同年、御手当御用掛となり山陰海岸の砲台を巡視し、海防についての報告書を提出する。20歳のとき藩府の許可を得て九州を遊学し、熊本で盟友宮部鼎蔵(みやべていぞう)を知る。21歳のとき兵学研究のため藩主に従って江戸へ出て、佐久間象山(さくましょうざん)らについて広く学ぶ。22歳のとき東北視察に出発するが、藩府の許可を得ない無届出奔であったため、翌1852年の帰藩時、亡命の罪を問われ士籍と禄高を没収される。しかし、藩主敬親の特別の計らいにより、10年の諸国遊学が許される。24歳のとき萩(はぎ)を出発して江戸へ向かうが、途中京都で諸国の志士と交遊を深める。

　1854年（安政1）25歳のとき浦賀に再度来航したアメリカ軍艦に乗り込み、同志金子重之助（1831―1855）とともに海外渡航を企てるが失敗し、幕府に自首する。このため、江戸伝馬町(てんまちょう)の獄舎に入る。幕府は松陰を萩に送り、野山獄(のやまごく)に入る。27歳のとき、藩府は出牢(しゅつろう)を許して生家での禁錮(きんこ)を命ず。出牢した松陰は近隣の子弟を集めて塾を開くが、この塾が、玉木文之進の始めた松下村塾（当時隣家の久保氏が教授）と合体し、やがて松陰が主宰者となる。29歳のとき、松陰は同志17名と血盟し、「安政(あんせい)の大獄」を未然に防止しようと老中間部詮勝(まなべあきかつ)の要撃策を企図する。目的達成のため、この案を藩府要人に示して後援を求めるが、藩府は松陰を危険人物視してふたたび投獄する。松陰は獄中においてもこの策を推進するため門人を動かすが、門人たちも投獄されてこの策は失敗する。1859年30歳のとき、幕府は藩府に松陰の江戸送致を命ずる。江戸に着いた松陰は同年（安政6）10月27日、伝馬町の獄で刑死する。

　松陰の思想は、読破した多くの書籍と恩師や友人から得たいろいろな考えを蓄積して形成された。国禁を破り海外渡航を企てた松陰の考えは「規諫(きかん)の策」であり、外国の実情を実際に見聞してそれを藩主に規諫（直接訴えいさめる）しようとしたものであった。老中間部詮勝要撃策の破綻(はたん)したとき、松陰の到達した考えは「草莽崛起(そうもうくっき)」であった。これは松陰と志を同じくする多くの者が広く立ち上がり、幕府を包囲攻撃するということであった。このような松陰の思想の特徴は、「至誠留魂」の語にみられるように、真心をもって事にあたれば、おのずから志を継ぐ者が現れ道は開けるものだという信念であった。ここに思想と実践の一体化した松陰教育の確信があった。この教育のなかから、高杉晋作(たかすぎしんさく)、久坂玄瑞(くさかげんずい)、伊藤博文(いとうひろぶみ)、山県有朋(やまがたありとも)、吉田稔麿(よしだとしまろ)など、幕末維新期に活躍する門下生が育ったのであった。著述、書簡などを収めた『吉田松陰全集』がある。墓は東京都世田谷(せたがや)区若林町松陰神社。

［広田暢久　2016年7月19日］

『『吉田松陰全集』全11巻（1972～1974／新装版・2012・大和書房）』▽『奈良本辰也著『吉田松陰』（岩波新書）』

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