Shiraishi Shozan

2024/03/07

Image: From "The Posthumous Works of Master Shozan Shiraishi"

One of the figures who influenced Yukichi Fukuzawa was Shiraishi Shozan, a Confucian scholar of the Nakatsu Domain. In "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa," there is an episode where Fukuzawa, a late bloomer, began studying Chinese classics at the age of 14 or 15. However, the first step Fukuzawa took toward serious academic study was at Shozan's private school, Bankodo. At Bankodo, he studied the teachings of Shozan, who was devoted to the Kamei school of thought, and it has been pointed out that these experiences influenced the formation of Fukuzawa's ideas. Furthermore, the fact that Shozan—who was born into the lower samurai class but achieved success as a Confucian scholar after studying in Edo—was treated unfairly due to his low status and eventually expelled from the domain must have been an event that made the young Fukuzawa keenly aware of the irrationality of feudal society, much like his father Hyakusuke.

In August of Bunka 12 (1815), Shozan was born to Takeuemon Kubota, a samurai of the Nakatsu Domain. His childhood name was Makitaro, his common name was Goroemon, and he later took the name Tsuneto. Shozan, the name by which he is best known, is his pseudonym (gago). His biological father, who used the pseudonym Yukan, was a highly educated man who served as a scribe (yuhitsu) despite being a lower-ranking samurai. Although Shozan was the eldest son, he was later adopted by Danuemon Shiraishi, a samurai of the Nakatsu Domain, and inherited the family headship. His family rank was that of a minor official, and his stipend was extremely low at 4 koku and rations for 2 people, placing him lower than the Fukuzawa family, who were koshō (attendants) with 13 koku and rations for 2 people. In "Kyuhan-jo" (Conditions in the Old Domain), Fukuzawa wrote that "lower-class samurai families... at best receive a net of seven or eight to over ten koku," making it clear that the Shiraishi family, being below average, lived in poverty. Despite such an environment, Shozan studied from a young age under Hakugan Nomoto, a Confucian scholar of the Nakatsu Domain and professor at the domain school Shinshukan. It is said that his talent was recognized, and he was selected as a supervisor (dokugaku) at Shinshukan. At that time, the status gap within the Nakatsu Domain was widening; while Shinshukan was open to both upper and lower samurai when it first opened, the trend shifted over time so that only the children of upper samurai could enroll. While there is a theory that Shozan studied at the domain school Shinshukan, it is not clear how he was able to enroll given his status as a lower samurai.

Nomoto's private school was open to students regardless of status, and Yutaro Shimazu, Tokuzo Obata (father of Tokujirō Obata), and later Fukuzawa's older brother Sannosuke studied under Nomoto. It is natural to assume that Shozan also initially studied at the private school and was recommended to the domain school because of his excellence. In the "Brief Genealogy of the Shiraishi Family" in "The Posthumous Works of Master Shozan Shiraishi," it is recorded that he "had a reputation for precocity and was appointed as a supervisor of the domain school at a young age." Shozan was a diligent and precocious young man who held an honorable position at a young age but did not become conceited; instead, he was ashamed of his shallow learning and wished to pursue his studies more deeply.

In June of Tenpo 9 (1838), Shozan resigned from his position as supervisor and went to Edo to study. He first studied under Doan Koga, a Confucian scholar of the Shogunate, and entered Shoheiko (Shoheizaka Academy) the following year. Originally, admission to Shoheiko was limited to vassals of the Shogunate, but students from other domains could enroll with the permission of an official Confucian scholar. These students from other domains either commuted or lived in a dormitory to study. Since the Shogunate paid the dormitory fees, the capacity was limited to 30 people (later 48), making it a narrow gate. After a few years, Shozan was selected as the Saicho Shibun-gaki (Head of Poetry and Prose). The Shibun-gaki was a position for which two people were selected from the dormitory, and the Saicho, also known as the student head, was a position that led the students and was considered a great honor. During his stay in Edo, Shozan also visited famous families such as Teiho Noda to study Neo-Confucianism (Zhu Xi studies) and deepen his knowledge. On the other hand, it was the Kamei school that influenced Shozan the most. In "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa," Fukuzawa stated regarding Shozan that "his general academic style was the Kamei style, and my teacher was a great believer in Kamei," citing his devotion to the Kamei school and his disdain for Tanso Hirose and Sanyo Rai as Shozan's academic characteristics. Although he never formally entered the Kamei school, Shozan was impressed by the writings of Shoyo Kamei and others, and thereafter began teaching the Kamei school instead of Neo-Confucianism.

In Tenpo 14 (1843), after completing his studies, Shozan returned to Nakatsu and opened a private school, Bankodo, on Kitamon-dori in the Nakatsu castle town. Bankodo was a reputable school with many students among the Chinese classics schools. On the other hand, perhaps due to his low status, he was not very well-regarded by the Nakatsu Domain, and he managed the private school alongside his domain duties. While the Nomoto family (father and son Setsugan and Hakugan Nomoto), the Yamakawa family (Torin and Gyokusho Yamakawa), and the Teshima family (brothers Busai and Engan Teshima; the younger brother Engan later married Shiju, the younger sister of Fukuzawa's mother Jun), who were professors at Shinshukan, were evaluated as Confucian scholars with stipends increased by 7 to 10 rations, Shozan was lowly evaluated as an official Confucian scholar with only 3 rations.

Fukuzawa began attending Bankodo around the beginning of the Kaei era (around 1848) and studied under Shozan for about four or five years, and he seems to have been a quick learner. Regarding life at Bankodo, "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa" records the following:

When asked what kind of Chinese books I read while at Shiraishi's school, I focused on the classics, and of course, the Analects and Mencius, and I strove to study all the meanings of the classics. In particular, the teacher seemed to like the Classic of Poetry and the Classic of History, and I received proper lectures on them and read them well. From there, I also listened well to lectures on Mogyu, Shisetsu, Zuo Zhuan, Zhan Guo Ce, Laozi, Zhuangzi, and the like...

At Bankodo, they frequently practiced the oral reading, lecturing, and group reading of Chinese books. According to Fukuzawa, Shozan was a "strict teacher," but the deep foundation in Chinese classics obtained this way became the basis for Fukuzawa. When Fukuzawa later attacked Chinese studies, he reflected that while he pretended not to know Chinese classics, he actually read them well and could strike at the vital points of Chinese studies, which he attributed to the guidance of "the great Confucian scholar of Buzen, Master Shiraishi."

Fukuzawa was studying steadily under Shozan, but he was forced to stop due to a certain incident: the Okatame-ban incident, a conflict between upper and lower samurai. The Katame-ban were guards of the Nakatsu castle gates, and below them were the Kaihei-ban, a position held by the ashigaru (foot soldier) class, who actually performed the opening and closing of the gates. However, in Kaei 6 (1853), an order was issued for lower samurai to perform tasks originally meant for the ashigaru class, such as opening and closing the gates, in order to reduce costs. Dozens of lower samurai who were dissatisfied with this filed a petition with the domain's upper management to cancel the order.

In "Kyuhan-jo," Fukuzawa pointed out that this incident was not just about organizing expenses and duties, but was a plot by the upper samurai with the "intention of making the boundary between upper and lower samurai even clearer and suppressing the lower samurai." He criticized the futility of the conflict, saying, "In reality, this was not to save costs or to strengthen military preparations, but merely to plot a useless and meddlesome affair." For Fukuzawa, the path of learning that had finally begun to progress was suddenly closed in the form of his mentor's expulsion, and it must have been remembered as an irrational event caused by the lineage system.

Shozan refused to guard the castle gates and continued protest activities as a central figure in the disturbance for dozens of days, succeeding in having the order canceled. However, he took responsibility for the turmoil and was expelled from the Nakatsu Domain. It is said that when leaving the domain, Shozan shouted, "There is no road that is not a road," slashed a pillar of his house, and left calmly.

In Ansei 1 (1854), after leaving Nakatsu, Shozan headed for the Usuki Domain in Bungo Province. For a while, he lived temporarily in a tenement house in the castle town of Shinmachi, but he was later welcomed as the head of studies (gakuto) by the Usuki Domain through the introduction of Tetsuden, the chief priest of Gekkeiji Temple, the family temple of the Inaba clan, lords of the Usuki Domain. He became a professor at the domain school, Gakkokan. There were several heads of studies in the Usuki Domain, but all were from the Neo-Confucian standpoint, so Shozan taught the Kamei school in a separate building and also participated in domain government reforms. This reform was called the "Tenpo Reform," which aimed to reorganize the domain structure and appoint talented people regardless of family rank to eliminate long-standing evils. Shozan supported the 14th domain lord, Akimichi, as a sobayonin (side attendant) and was highly valued, even accompanying him to Edo. Around this time, Shozan's long-awaited eldest son was born, and his life in Usuki was fulfilling (Giichiro Kudara, "History of Usuki Domain Studies").

Furthermore, Heigoro Shoda, known as a top executive of Mitsubishi, was from the Usuki Domain and is said to have attended Shozan's lectures at Gakkokan around the age of 13, and Shozan raised many talented individuals (Juichi Shukuri, "Heigoro Shoda"). However, when Akimichi died young in Bunkyo 2 (1862), Shozan faced the misfortune of leaving Usuki the following year, partly due to backlash against the exceptional treatment he had received. For the next few years, he served as a professor at a local school in Buzen Yokkaichi, producing many disciples who later became members of the House of Representatives or government officials. When he was permitted to return to the Nakatsu Domain in Meiji 2 (1869), he became a Confucian official and professor upon his return, and his family rank was promoted to upper samurai status, with his stipend increased to 7 rations. He worked on the reform of Shinshukan as a professor of Chinese studies, and after the educational system reform, he also worked at Kataba Junior High School, the successor to Shinshukan, but resigned shortly after to focus on education at Bankodo. He actively wrote until his later years but passed away in Meiji 16 (1883) at the age of 69 due to stomach cancer.

The bond between Fukuzawa and Shozan was deep, with a particularly famous episode being "Selling Household Goods for a Debt of Forty Ryo" in "The Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa." After the death of his brother Sannosuke, Fukuzawa needed to settle a large debt of 40 ryo incurred through various expenses. He decided to sell everything in the house to repay the debt, and his main hope was Hyakusuke's extensive collection of books. Hyakusuke, who was an excellent scholar, had collected precious Chinese books (tohon) despite being poor, and Fukuzawa thought they could be sold for a high price. However, there was no prospect of having expensive books bought in Nakatsu, so the troubled Fukuzawa turned to Shozan, who was then a Confucian scholar of the Usuki Domain. Shozan worked with the Usuki Domain to purchase most of the collection for 15 ryo, saving Fukuzawa from his predicament. This Fukuzawa family collection still exists and is held by Usuki City.

The two continued their friendship thereafter, and their interaction lasted throughout their lives. When Fukuzawa published "Popular Discourse on National Rights" in Meiji 11 (1878), he sent a copy to Shozan, and Shozan wrote the "Postscript to the Discourse on National Rights" the following year to celebrate its completion. In his letter of thanks for receiving the book, Shozan also consulted Fukuzawa about the education of his eldest son, Sadakichi, and seemed to be considering enrollment in Keio University, believing that it was necessary to study broadly rather than just Chinese studies. On the other hand, when Fukuzawa recommended Western studies to Shozan, Shozan replied by reciting the following Chinese poem.

The new study of the Handan walk is not yet mastered, and I have forgotten my old way of walking; both difficulties are combined. I do not follow the fashion of the times, but I do not oppose the world; I wish to avoid crawling on all fours for the rest of my life.

This is based on the anecdote "The Walk of Handan" from the Autumn Floods chapter of Zhuangzi. It is an anecdote about how blindly imitating others leads to forgetting one's own original ways and losing both. Shozan composed the poem to say that if he took up Western studies anew, his Chinese studies would be neglected and become half-baked, so it would be better for him to devote himself exclusively to Confucianism. It is said that when Fukuzawa saw this reply, he laughed loudly, saying, "He says whatever he pleases." Seeing his mentor's poem based on the Zhuangzi he had studied in his youth, Fukuzawa likely felt a sense of nostalgia.