Three Generations of the Otsuki Family (Part 2: Bankei)

2022/03/28

Image: Provided by Ichinoseki City Museum

The Kanrin Maru completed its trans-Pacific crossing and returned to Uraga on May 5, 1860 (Man'en 1). During the voyage, the Sakuradamon Incident had occurred in Japan, and the storm of the "Sonno Joi" (revere the emperor, expel the barbarians) movement had begun to rage.

Before traveling to America, Yukichi Fukuzawa had entrusted his disciple Setsuzo Okamoto (commonly known as Shukichi, later Masao Furukawa) with the translation of a Dutch statistical book. Upon returning to Japan, Fukuzawa immediately reviewed it and began preparations to publish it under the title "Bankoku Seihyo" (International Statistical Tables). Fukuzawa chose Bankei Otsuki, a Confucian scholar of the Sendai Domain, as the most suitable person to contribute a preface to the book.

Bankei was born in May 1801 (Kyowa 1) as the second son of the renowned Rangaku (Western studies) scholar Gentaku Otsuki (pseudonym Bansui). He was born when Gentaku was 45 years old, and was 16 years younger than his elder brother Genkan (Banri), who also became a Rangaku scholar. His childhood name was Rokujiro, his given name was Kiyotaka, and his common name was Heijiro (later Heiji). He took the name Bankei from the Iwai River valley (Genbikei) that flows through Ichinoseki, his ancestral home. He began reading and writing at age four, entered the school of the Shogunate's Daigaku-no-kami (Head of the University) Hayashi Jussai at 15, and the following year entered the Shogunate's Shoheizaka Academy, living in the student dormitory. He studied there until age 26, eventually serving as the head student (Saicho).

In "Bankei Jiryaku," a biography in which Bankei's sons Joden and Fumihiko recounted their father's life to their children, there is an anecdote about why Bankei pursued the path of Confucianism despite being born into a family of Rangaku scholars. One day, while his father Gentaku and the great Rangaku master Hoshu Katsuragawa (Kuniakira) were chatting, they discussed how a writer capable of properly translating Western script would be necessary to make Rangaku flourish in the future. At that time, Gentaku said, "He is a child under ten, so the demons might laugh if I say this now, but I believe our Rokujiro is someone who could fulfill that role" ("Bankei Jiryaku"), and Katsuragawa was greatly pleased.

In 1827 (Bunsei 10), Bankei aspired to study in Nagasaki. This aligned with his father's vision of "translating Western script." During his journey, he visited Rai San'yo in Kyoto and presented his Chinese prose drafts; Rai evaluated him as having a "promising future." On this occasion, he had to return to Edo suddenly due to news of his father's critical condition, but the following year, he fulfilled his study trip to Nagasaki. However, in Nagasaki, where the Siebold Incident had just occurred, contact with the Dutch was difficult, and Bankei's Rangaku studies ended without significant results.

In 1832 (Tenpo 3), Bankei was summoned by the Sendai Domain and appointed as a resident scholar-in-training in Edo. With this, he became independent from his brother and established his own household. However, since his hopes for Rangaku training were thwarted, he changed course to pursue the path of a Confucian scholar and poet. Meanwhile, in Nagasaki, he had interacted with the Western artillery expert Shuhan Takashima. This led him to later train under Takashima's disciples and receive full mastery, gaining another role as the domain's instructor in Western artillery. Although Bankei did not become a Rangaku scholar, he established a unique position as a Confucian scholar who understood Western methods and was proficient in both literary and military arts.

When a Russian ship returned castaways from the Sendai territory, his father Gentaku had interviewed the sailors and compiled their observations into a book titled "Kankai Ibun." Having heard these stories, Bankei was pro-Russian and disliked the British. He made these feelings public in a petition to the Shogunate titled "Kenkin Bichu." In it, he argued for establishing diplomatic relations with the northern neighbor Russia to defend against Britain, which had invaded Qing China. This was an argument for opening the country four years before Perry's arrival. When Perry arrived at Uraga, Bankei went there under domain orders to observe the foreign ships and reported the situation to the domain lord. When Perry returned the following year, Bankei rushed to observe again. He managed to infiltrate the reception area in Yokohama—where Sendai retainers were not allowed—by posing as a sandal-bearer for the Shogunate interpreter Einosuke (Takijiro) Moriyama. Moriyama had studied Confucianism under Bankei. Once inside, his acquaintance Shozan Sakuma appeared. While the two were exchanging information, a Shogunate official, suspicious of two people of clearly different ranks talking intimately, reportedly shouted, "Who do you think you are?" ("Bankei Jiryaku").

In August 1857 (Ansei 4), Yasunori Wakisaka, whom Bankei had instructed in Confucianism, became a Roju (Senior Councilor) in charge of foreign affairs. When Bankei went to congratulate him, he was asked about the state of the world. The Chinese poem "Tenkaiko" that Bankei composed and presented included the line, "Do you not see? One step across the ocean, and heaven and earth are transformed." It encouraged traveling abroad, arguing that since the country was opening, Japan should go out into the world, where a completely different world awaited. Bankei's proposal was realized during the 1860 mission to the United States. Among the entourage were Sataiyu Tamamushi, a Sendai retainer and student of the Hayashi school, who served as a recording secretary for the main envoy (authoring "Komei Nichiroku"), and Domin Kawasaki, a Saga retainer and student of Bankei, who joined as an employed physician (Kampo doctor). Bankei gave both men Chinese poems as farewell gifts. Meanwhile, Yoshitake Kimura (Settsu-no-kami), the warship commissioner leading the accompanying Kanrin Maru, had studied Confucianism under Bankei because his father was a close friend of Bankei's. Furthermore, Kimura's elder sister was the wife of Hoshu Katsuragawa (Kunikyo). Yukichi Fukuzawa was able to board the Kanrin Maru as Kimura's attendant after getting a letter of introduction from Katsuragawa, whom he visited frequently. Therefore, "Mr. Fukuzawa also came frequently at this time and consulted with Master Bankei on various matters" ("Bankei Jiryaku"). Bankei also gave Kimura a long Chinese poem upon his departure. When Kimura returned safely, the souvenir he gave Bankei from America was "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan" by Commodore Perry.

Okamoto, who took over the translation from Fukuzawa, was a person who responded when Fukuzawa recruited companions from among the students of Tekijuku when he moved to Edo; he was the first student of the Fukuzawa Juku (later Keio University). Upon returning to Japan, Fukuzawa reviewed Okamoto's translation and published "Bankoku Seihyo" that winter, credited as reviewed by Fukuzawa and translated by Okamoto. This work is considered the first translation of a Western statistical book in Japan (the term "Seihyo" was used for statistics; the term "Tokei" became established later). Bankei, who was knowledgeable in both Eastern and Western learning, was the ideal person to ask for a preface to "Bankoku Seihyo," and Bankei surely gave strong support to Fukuzawa, who had begun walking the path he himself had once envisioned. In the preface, Bankei developed his argument for opening the country. He argued, "Since we have already entered into peaceful relations with foreign nations, this is called 'Hekikoku' (opening the country). Once opened, we must welcome those who come with goodwill," and criticized those who advocated for expelling foreigners. It was likely Bankei who introduced Shindayu Owarashi ("People Around Yukichi Fukuzawa 53"), a Sendai official who favored Western ways, to Fukuzawa. Owarashi and Fukuzawa became "extremely close" ("Fukuo Jiden") toward the end of the Edo period.

When Bankei reached the age of 60, he had a portrait photograph taken on his 61st birthday (by traditional counting). It was taken by Kawasaki, who had learned photography while in America (the photo at the beginning). Kawasaki also joined the 1862 mission to Europe as a physician and traveled with Fukuzawa. Before Fukuzawa left for Europe, Bankei gave him a folding fan with a seven-character quatrain written on it and asked for a "short telescope" (opera glasses) as a souvenir.

In September 1862 (Bunkyu 2), Bankei received orders to return to Sendai. Although it was called "returning," for the Otsuki family, who had been settled in Edo since Gentaku's time, it was their first time living in their home province. Gakusai Hayashi (grandson of Jussai) tried to recommend him to the Shogunate so he could remain in Edo, but in a time when "fools shouting 'expel the barbarians' filled the world," Bankei's life was in danger for advocating the opening of the country. The decision was made that "it is definitely best to return to Sendai" ("Bankei Jiryaku").

After Bankei settled in Sendai, a letter arrived from Fukuzawa, who had returned from his tour of Europe. It was a reply to two letters Bankei had sent. Fukuzawa apologized for the delay in replying due to his busy schedule and for forgetting to buy the requested "short telescope." As a substitute, he wrote that he was sending a map of London, a photograph of Napoleon I, a piece of tile from the Great Wall of China, and a piece of tile from a pyramid. Furthermore, Fukuzawa wrote about Tang Xuexun, a Chinese student he met while in Europe. When Tang heard the mission had arrived in London, he visited their hotel, and when the group returned to Paris, it is recorded that "Tang Xuexun came to talk" ("Seiko Ki," intercalary August 1st). Fukuzawa, who became close with Tang, showed him the preface to "Bankoku Seihyo," and Tang, out of respect for the foreign Confucian scholar, wrote a letter in classical Chinese to Bankei. Fukuzawa informed Bankei that he was sending this letter and also reported that he had given the fan he received from Bankei to Tang (Letter 17).

Bankei instructed students at the domain school Yoken-do and was eventually appointed as the head of the school (Gakuto), but he found school administration stressful. After about six months, he submitted his resignation, passed the family headship to Joden, and retired. However, Bankei's life did not end there. His pro-Shogunate, pro-opening stance, backed by the lord's deep trust and many disciples in the domain, became the domain's policy. During the Boshin War, he was involved in many military documents, including drafting the pact for the Northern Alliance (Ouetsu Reppan Domei). After the defeat, the executive Tosa Tadaki reportedly said, "I have misled the state by following the words of a Confucian scholar."

In April 1869 (Meiji 2), Bankei was ordered to be imprisoned. Tamamushi, who had worked hard to form the alliance, was ordered to commit seppuku and had his family stipend confiscated. In May, Tadaki and others were beheaded as leaders of the rebellion. Owarashi sensed the danger, escaped Sendai, and went into hiding in Tokyo. Bankei spent his days in prison prepared for death, but his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment because he was a renowned scholar and elderly. Furthermore, in January of the following year, he was granted temporary release due to being in critical condition from illness. Bankei had actually been quite healthy despite the extreme heat and cold of the prison, but his disciples inside and outside the prison had conspired to make him appear ill. Returning home after nine months, Bankei drank from a large cup and sang loudly in high spirits, surprising the relatives and friends who came to congratulate him. His house arrest was finally lifted in April 1871, and Bankei immediately moved to Tokyo with his family, spending the rest of his life in peaceful retirement.

The so-called "Kusunoko Gonosuke Theory" that Fukuzawa developed in the 6th and 7th volumes of "Gakumon no susume (An Encouragement of Learning)" provoked intense resentment from various quarters. At this time, Bankei "wrote a piece of 'Kaicho' (explanation/defense) for Yukichi Fukuzawa and sent it to the Choya Shimbun," and "Yukichi Fukuzawa saw it and immediately came to visit to thank him for his understanding" ("Bankei Jiryaku"). Fukuzawa also thanked him in a letter, saying, "I know not how to thank you for your kindness. I saw the Choya Shimbun and it truly captured my intent" (Letter 175).

Around this time, two banquets were held that could be called Bankei's lifelong wishes. One was the Shingen-kai on New Year's Day of 1873 (Meiji 6). Following the precedent of his father Gentaku, who held a celebration on the solar New Year's Day, Bankei invited Western scholars to a banquet on the day the calendar was officially changed to the solar calendar. The other was the 50th anniversary memorial service for Gentaku. Fukuzawa was also invited to this service and presented a memorial address. Bankei's health declined shortly thereafter, and he passed away in June 1878 (Meiji 11), two years after the memorial service.

When Bankei's son Fumihiko completed the publication of the dictionary "Genkai," Fukuzawa praised Bankei in his congratulatory message, saying, "Master Bankei was a great scholar (Sekiju) of his time who secretly delighted in Western civilization, and there was no one in the world who did not know his name."