Nakae Chōmin
| Nakae Chōmin | |
|---|---|
Nakae Chōmin
|
|
| Born |
December 8, 1847 Kōchi Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | December 13, 1901 (aged 54) Osaka, Japan |
| Nationality | Japan |
| Occupation | Journalist, Politician |
| Known for | development of liberalism |
Nakae Chōmin (中江 兆民?, December 8, 1847 – December 13, 1901) was the pen-name of a journalist, political theorist and statesman in Meiji-period Japan. His real name was Nakae Tokusuke (中江 篤助?). His major contribution was the popularization of the egalitarian doctrines of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Japan. As a result, Nakae is thought to have been a major force in the development of liberalism in early Japanese politics.
Nakae was born in Kōchi, Tosa Domain (present day Kōchi Prefecture). His father was an ashigaru, or lower ranking foot soldier in the service of the Yamauchi clan of Tosa. Having displayed an early aptitude for Western learning, after studies at the domain academy, Nakae was selected to study French and Dutch at Nagasaki and Edo. Later, he worked as a translator for the French minister to Japan, Léon Roches.
After the Meiji Restoration, he was selected as a member of the Iwakura Mission and travelled abroad (under the patronage of the Justice Ministry) to study philosophy, history, and French literature in France, where he lived from 1871 until 1874. While in France, Nakae translated some of the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau into Japanese (most importantly, Rousseau’s "Du contrat social") and Eugène Véron's L'esthétique. He joined Saionji Kinmochi at Emile Acollas' Law School for foreign students in Paris.
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