Yoshida Shōin
| Yoshida Shōin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | 吉田 松陰 |
| Born |
Sugi Toranosuke (杉 寅之助) 20 September 1830 Hagi, Nagato Province |
| Died | 21 November 1859 (aged 29) Edo |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Yoshida Shōin (吉田松陰?, September 20, 1830 – November 21, 1859), commonly named Torajirō (寅次郎), was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many ishin shishi who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration.
Born in Hagi in the Chōshū region of Japan, Shoin was the second son of Sugi Yurinosuke - a modest rank Samurai. Yurinosuke had two younger brothers, Yoshida Daisuke and Tamaki Bunnoshin. Yoshida Shoin was adopted at the age of four by Daisuke Yoshida. The process of adopting younger sons from the Sugi house was established generations before Shoin’s birth. To avoid financial insolvency, the Sugi house controlled two additional samurai lineages-the Tamaki and the Yoshida lineages. The oldest male became the Sugi heir and the younger Sugi sons were adopted by the Tamaki and Yoshida lines as their heirs-to ensure the Sugi succession was protected this required the head of the house in the Yoshida line and most generations the Tamaki line to remain unmarried. Daisuke, already in ill health, died one year later at the age of 28, leaving Yoshida Shoin as the heir of the Yoshida lineage at five years of age. Daisuke’s early death left Shoin as the heir of the lineage. His house was also the instructor to the daimyo in military studies. Due to Shoin’s young age, four men were appointed to represent the Yoshida house as instructors. Shoin’s younger uncle, Tamaki, set about accelerating Shoin’s education to prepare the boy for his eventual duties as Yamaga instructor. This period of intense study suggests a formative experience that shaped Shoin into an educator and activist that helped spur the Meiji Restoration.
At the end of 1851, Shoin left for a four-month trip across Northeastern Japan. He had been granted verbal permission from the Choshu government but left before receiving his written permission in an act of defiance. This act of defiance was a serious offense known as dappan or “fleeing the han". He returned to Hagi in 1852. His punishment from the daimyo was costly but sweet for Shoin. He was stripped of his samurai status and his stipend of 57 koku with it. His father, Sugi Yurinosuke, was appointed as his guardian. Shoin was then granted 10 years of leisure in which he could study in any part of Japan that he chose.
...
Wikipedia