Yanagawa Shunsan

2025/07/15

Image: From "Photo Album of Matsudaira Shungaku's Collection" (Courtesy of Fukui City History Museum)

There was a genius who left behind numerous legends and anecdotes in this country from the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji era. His name was Yanagawa Shunsan. Versatile and talented with a photographic memory, he mixed humor and self-deprecation into his interactions. Though he could be mischievous, he was caring and devoted himself to introducing Western academic knowledge, systems, and culture while assisting his colleagues, performing pioneering work in many fields. In particular, because he played a central role in the publication of "Seiyo Zasshi" (Western Magazine) and "Chugai Shinbun," he is described by Osatake Takeshi as the "founder of newspapers and magazines."

Fukuzawa Yukichi mentions Yanagawa Shunsan's name only once in "The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi." It appears in a passage stating that when the Meiji government was established, the first three Western scholars from Edo to be summoned were Kanda Takahira, Yanagawa, and Fukuzawa. However, the two men were acquainted and shared mutual friends. I would like to briefly record Yanagawa's life and touch upon his relationship with Fukuzawa.

Yanagawa Shunsan was born on February 25, 1832, in Yamato-cho, Nagoya, Owari (now Marunouchi, Naka-ku), as the son of Chitaya Buhei. His original name was Kuriki Tatsusuke, which he later changed to Nishimura Ryozo.

Before he was even two years old, Tatsusuke began writing characters without being taught. His surprised parents sent him to study calligraphy under Niwa Bankanshi, a calligrapher and official scribe for the domain. Word reached the domain lord Tokugawa Nariharu, and at the age of three, he was summoned to the lord's presence. After producing many pieces of calligraphy, when the lord requested one final scroll, he reportedly wrote in large characters, "I'm tired of this now," surprising everyone. Nariharu declared him a child prodigy, saying that if he became a monk, he would surely become an extraordinary Zen master. He was also introduced in the book "Konrin Tsukumo no Chiri" as a calligrapher, described as "a strange child who can write well without learning and read books without being taught."

Later, his talents blossomed significantly through his studies under Ito Keisuke, an Owari-based practitioner of Dutch medicine and herbalist, and Ueda Tatewaki Nakatoshi, a gunnery expert. In 1841, in Ito's publication "Yogaku-hen," Nishimura Ryozo (formerly Kuriki Tatsusuke) served as a collaborator alongside Ito's eldest son, Keizo. He was ten years old by traditional counting. In Ueda Tatewaki's "Seiyo Hojutsu Benran," published when he was 22, he was listed as a reviser, though it is said he was the true author (Narushima Ryuhoku, "Anecdotes of Master Yanagawa"). Furthermore, in 1854, he shared the collaboration on Ito's translation "Shoseki-hen" with Ueda. He also learned medical sciences from Ito. Ryozo's 1855 work, "Gufu Byoko," was a treatise on dysentery.

In addition, he fully mastered Japanese and Chinese classics. His poetry and prose, along with his handwriting, were magnificent. His friend Narushima Ryuhoku evaluated him by saying, "His greatest strength lies in Kokugaku (Japanese studies)" ("A Brief Biography of Master Yanagawa"). This is unsurprising, as Niwa Bankanshi was a disciple of the Kokugaku scholar Suzuki Akira, and Ueda Tatewaki, along with his wife Kaiko, were followers of Motoori Ohira; since they all studied both Japanese and Chinese classics, he was able to learn to his heart's content. Among his friends from this period was the chemist Utsunomiya Saburo, a lifelong friend under Ueda Tatewaki. At Ito's school, Chimura Goro, who would become an English scholar, and Tanaka Yoshio, who would become a naturalist, along with his younger brother Daisuke, came to study from the household of the Chimura clan (the family of Ueda's wife). It could be called an Owari period surrounded by good teachers and beneficial friends.

Ryozo went to Edo in 1856 and changed his name to Yanagawa Shunsan.

Prior to this, he had briefly become Ito's adopted son and used the name Keisaku, but he later shaved his head and returned to his original name, Nishimura Ryozo (Kimura Shinpei, "Was Yanagawa Shunsan the Adopted Son of Ito Keisuke?"). Taking the opportunity of a trip to Edo on official business, he made up his mind, closed his house in Nagoya, and traveled again. He was 25 years old. In his own work "Nise Monogatari," he wrote, "Once a man lived in his hometown in misery, and deciding to become a monk to pursue learning, he set out."

In 1857, Shunsan became known to and was employed by Mizuno Tosanokami, the attached karo (senior counselor) of the Kishu Domain who ruled the 35,000-koku Shingu territory. The number of Western books he translated at the Edo residence reached as many as 100 volumes.

On the other hand, he began frequenting the Katsuragawa family, who were renowned as Dutch medicine practitioners and physicians to the Shogunate. The preface to Japan's first Western mathematics book, "Yosan Yoho," written by Shunsan that same year, was provided by Katsuragawa Kunimoto. At the time, the family was in the midst of compiling the Dutch-Japanese dictionary "Oranda Jii," centered around the brothers Kunioki (Hoshu) and Kunimoto (Hosaku). Shunsan's linguistic ability, appearing like a comet, must have been a great help. In the afterword written by Kunimoto, Shunsan's name appears as one of the collaborators, and the text itself is written in Shunsan's beautiful handwriting.

Many scholars visited the Katsuragawa house, including Narushima Ryuhoku, Kanda Takahira, Ishii Kendo, Mitsukuri Shuhei, Utsunomiya Saburo (who arrived a year later), and Fukuzawa Yukichi from Osaka, greatly expanding Shunsan's circle of friends. Shunsan had a sophisticated and frank personality, a quick wit, and was rich in knowledge, education, and poetic sentiment. However, his personal appearance was extremely unimpressive; at one residence, women and children raised a fuss, thinking a beggar monk had arrived. He loved drinking and entertainment; when drunk, he would perform the "Kappa Dance," and everyone would laugh at the hilarity. His charm lay in possessing many personalities, like a man of a hundred faces, within a single person.

In 1858, the year "Oranda Jii" was completed, Shunsan entered the service of the Kishu Domain with a stipend of 70 koku as a physician assigned to the Dutch Studies office upon Mizuno's recommendation. When he first arrived in Edo, he called himself a "town doctor of Owari Province," but he had now become a physician employed by one of the three branch families of the Tokugawa.

However, the times required him even more. After the conclusion of the five-nation treaties in the Ansei era, foreign affairs increased day by day, and the absorption of overseas knowledge and the cultivation of human resources became urgent tasks for the Shogunate. In the leap 8th month of 1862, Shunsan was hired as an assistant professor at the Bansho Shirabesho (renamed Kaiseijo the following year), the Shogunate's Western studies educational institution, where he was reunited with his old acquaintances Chimura Goro, Ito Keisuke (who resigned in 1863), Tanaka Yoshio, and Utsunomiya Saburo.

His achievements after joining the Bansho Shirabesho and Kaiseijo were numerous. While primarily teaching chemistry, he also advanced his study of foreign languages, expanding from Dutch to English and French. Furthermore, the content of his translations and writings spanned a wide range, from Japanese and Western languages to science, military science, and literature. He also published Japan's first photography technical book, "Shashinkyo Zusetsu," and a guidebook for chess.

Shunsan's work pace exceeded that of ordinary people. As Yukawa Yoku, who wrote the preface to Shunsan's "Yogaku Shishin," said, "When he opens a Western book, he translates as he reads; his eyes are fixed on the book while his brush flies across the paper, possessing an almost unstoppable momentum." It is said he was incredibly fast. Stories remain that he continued translating without stopping his brush while talking to people, yet made no errors. He also frequently reviewed his friends' manuscripts and wrote many prefaces. Tanaka Yoshio recalled, "Yanagawa Shunsan was quite a talented man and a skilled writer, so he would look over our work, write for us, or make corrections."

Another important task of Shunsan's was the translation of Western newspapers. For the sake of Shogunate officials, the faculty of the Kaiseijo selected and translated newspaper articles published by Westerners in the treaty ports from 1863 to 1867, creating handwritten newspapers. This group was called Kaiyakusha, and Shunsan was at the center of distinguished figures such as Mitsukuri Teiichiro (Rinsho), Kato Kozo (Hiroyuki), and Toyama Sutehachi (Masakazu). During this time, in 1866, he was promoted to the rank of professor at the Kaiseijo and became a direct retainer of the Shogun, and in the following year, he assumed the position of professor.

Shunsan became the head of the Kaiseijo on March 11, 1868. The Kaiyakusha had launched "Chugai Shinbun" the previous month. They compiled domestic and international information, printed it with the Kaiseijo's wooden movable type, and sold it. This continued until Issue 45 on June 8, and they also published 23 external volumes and one extra edition, "Betsudan Chugai Shinbun." In a turbulent era of scarce information, these newspapers were greatly welcomed and reportedly sold like wildfire. Separately, Shunsan also published "Seiyo Zasshi" from 1867 to 1869. This was an enlightenment magazine with the aim of "collecting strange theories from around the world to refresh the eyes and ears, like the magazines published monthly in Western countries," and was written by Utsunomiya, Kanda, Tanaka, and others in addition to Shunsan.

Even for the new government after the collapse of the Shogunate, the versatile Yanagawa Shunsan was a necessary presence. He continued to serve as head of the Kaiseijo after the new government took over, and when it was reorganized into the Kaisei School that same year, he was appointed to the translation and proofreading section. The following year, he was appointed to the investigation of Tokyo's primary and secondary schools. It seems newspapers remained important to him, as he used the wooden movable type he had taken over to launch "Kanjun Chugai Shinbun" in March 1869.

In July 1869, Shunsan was appointed as a Junior Doctor of the University and changed his official name to Harukage, and was awarded the Senior Seventh Rank in the same year. Although he was dismissed shortly after for some reason, he was reinstated in November through the arrangements of the University Chancellor Matsudaira Shungaku.

Amidst the dizzying changes in social conditions and his own position, Shunsan remained as busy as ever. However, at some point, he contracted tuberculosis, and his condition worsened without others noticing. On February 20, 1870, in front of the visiting Utsunomiya Saburo, Shunsan ate a large meal of eel over rice, saying he felt exceptionally well today. Immediately after saying, "Ah, that was delicious," he suffered a massive pulmonary hemorrhage and died. He was 39 years old. People were shocked by the news of the death of this genius who had run through life at full speed, and they deeply mourned his passing.

It seems Fukuzawa Yukichi felt the same. In later years, in the recollections of a former student named Hakusuisei, there is a story that Fukuzawa was deeply grieved when his friend "Yanagawa," whom he greatly respected, died suddenly.

It is unknown when Fukuzawa first met Shunsan, but since "The Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi" states, "When I came to Edo, the first place I would visit was the Katsuragawa house," I believe it was not long after he arrived in Edo in October 1858. Shunsan, who loved alcohol and the pleasure quarters, differed from Fukuzawa, who liked alcohol but had no connection to the red-light districts. However, since they both frequented the Katsuragawa house and associated daily with mutual friends, they must have had many points of contact; in fact, they were once present at the same banquet held by Ryuhoku ("Itsumandegusa").

Looking at Fukuzawa's disciples, Tanaka Yoshio's younger brother Daisuke (later Tanaka Yoshikado) enrolled in September 1864. Also, Indo Gento, who entered the school in December 1867 and later became the Fukuzawa family's physician, was the adopted son of Tsuboi Gen'eki, a Dutch medicine practitioner from Shingu who had exchanged a "vow of brotherhood" with Shunsan. Gento was an old acquaintance of Shunsan, and Gen'eki's biological son Senjiro also studied under Shunsan before joining Keio University four days after Shunsan's death.

In Issue 12 of "Chugai Shinbun," there is an article regarding a pirated edition of Fukuzawa's "Guide to travel in the western world," asking readers to let them know if the name or address of the publisher is discovered. In "Kanjun Chugai Shinbun," notices for Fukuzawa's books and translations appeared many times. One can imagine the communication between the two.

Time passed, and on March 12, 1881, with Fukuzawa as one of the organizers, a memorial service for Shunsan was held at the Shiba Koyokan. Katsuragawa Hoshu remembered the deceased and composed this poem:

Flowers and autumn leaves / In the spring and autumn of this flourishing reign / It is sorrowful to remember / If only you were here

His grave still remains today at Ganryu-ji Temple in Asakusa.