(15 June 17474 August 1793) was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

and historian, and one of the early proponents of the ''

sonnō jōi was a ''yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement sought ...

'' movement which became highly influential during the

Bakumatsu period was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji govern ...

in the events leading to them

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. He was later known as one of "Three Excelling Men of the Kansei Period" (

Kansei was a after ''Tenmei'' and before ''Kyōwa''. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * 1789 : The new era name of '' Kansei'' (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-min ...

no san-kijin 寛政の三奇人). His

Dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

was Shōin Ihaku Koji (松陰以白居士).

Biography

Takayama was the son son of Takayama Ryōzaemon Masakiyo, a local samurai in what is now part of the city of

Ōta, Gunma is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 224,358 in 109,541 households, and a population density of 1300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōta is located ...

. He claimed descent from Takayama Shigehide, one of the 16 companions of

Nitta Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famously marched on Kamakura, besieging ...

, the famed imperial loyalist during the wars of the

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

. After reading the medieval chronicle ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...

'' at the age of 16 he became a Buddhist priest and at the age of 18 left home (leaving behind a suicide note) and travelled around the country spreading his theories on the supremacy of the

Imperial house A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

and illegitimacy of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. During his travels, he cultivated a wide circle of acquaintances with whom he regularly corresponded, including

Hayashi Shihei was a Japanese military scholar and a retainer of the Sendai Domain. His name is sometimes transliterated (according to the Sino-Japanese reading) as ''Rin Shihei''. Biography Hayashi was born in Edo as the second son of Hayashi Gonhyoue Yoshi ...

Uesugi Harunori was the 9th ''daimyō'' of Yonezawa Domain in Dewa Province, Japan (modern-day Yamagata Prefecture), under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. After retirement, he adopted the ''art-name, gō'', or pen name, Yōzan (鷹山). Today, h ...

Hirose Tansō Hirose Tanso (広瀬淡窓) (22 May 1782 in Hita – 28 November 1856) was a neo-Confucian scholar, teacher and Japanese writer. Born into a wealthy merchant family, Hirose founded in 1801 the Academy Neo-Confucian Kangien (咸宜園). In Hiros ...

and others. Thwarted in his efforts to reach

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

due to high security by the shogunate, he turned to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

instead. He resided for a time at the house of the ''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...

'' Iwakura Tomokazu, presented a memorial to

Emperor Kōkaku was the 119th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')光格天皇 (119)/ref> Kōkaku reigned from 16 December 1780 until his abdication on 7 May 1817 in favor of his son, Empe ...

and wrote numerous patriotic poems. He was outraged by the treatment of ''

Dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'' Nakayama Naruchika by the shogunate over an issue pertaining to the

regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...

for Emperor Kōkaku and publicly criticized the ''

rōjū The , usually translated as '' Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''sh� ...

Matsudaira Sadanobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the mid-Edo period, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief of the Tokugawa shogunate, from 1787 to 1793. Early life Mats ...

. Forced to leave Kyoto, he travelled to

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

in hopes of enlisting

Satsuma Domain The , briefly known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province, the core of the modern city of Kagoshima, ...

in his efforts against the shogunate, but was rebuffed. After traveling to various parts of Kyushu, he was arrested by the shogunate at the home of a friend in

Kurume, Fukuoka is a Cities of Japan, city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 303,579 and a population density of 1,320 persons per km². The total area is 229.96 km². On February 5, 2005, the town o ...

and was invited to commit ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

''. Takayama left a diary which later influenced

Yoshida Shōin , commonly named , was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the late years of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many ''ishin shishi'' who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration. Early life ...

and the proponents of the Meiji restoration, and following the establishment of the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

, he was upheld, along with

Kusunoki Masashige was a Japanese samurai of the Kamakura period remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and restore power in Japan to the Imperial Court. Kusunoki ...

and

Ninomiya Sontoku , also known as Ninomiya Kinjirō (二宮金次郎), was a Japanese agriculturalist. He lost his parents when he was a boy, but through hard work and diligence, he rebuilt his fallen family at the age of 20. Later, he rebuilt approximately 600 v ...

as examples of imperial loyalists in pre-war patriotic education. He is best known, however, for a large bronze statue in front of

Sanjō Ōhashi is a bridge in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It spans the Kamo River as part of Sanjō-dōri (三条通り ''Third Avenue''). It is well known because it served as the ending location for journeying on both the Nakasendō and the Tōkaidō; th ...

in Kyoto, depicting Takayama bowing in the direction of the

Kyoto Imperial Palace The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Today, the grounds are open t ...

. The statue was erected in 1924 to celebrate the accession of

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

. It was melted down in 1944 for metal for use in the war effort, and replaced with a stone stele with writing by

Tokutomi Sohō was the pen name of a journalist and historian active from late Meiji period through mid-Shōwa period Japan. Named Tokutomi Iichirō at birth, he was the older brother of noted author, Tokutomi Roka. Biography Sohō was born in Minamata, Higo ...

. The statue was finally restored in 1961.

Takayama Hikokurō former residence and hair mound

The location of the house where Takayama was born in Ōta, Gunma was proclaimed a National Historic Site in 1931, together with a mound in the nearby family cemetery containing his severed topknot of hair, which was brought back to his family after his suicide. The house has long been demolished and the site has reverted to farmland, but some traces of the well and hedges remain. The location is about a 10-minute walk from Hosoya Station on the

Tōbu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and '' keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second long ...

Isesaki Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by the private railway company Tobu Railway, extending from Tōbu-Dōbutsu-Kōen Station in Saitama to Isesaki Station in Gunma Prefecture. The Isesaki Line can refer to the entire section between Asakus ...

. The Takayama Hikokurō Memorial Museum is located a short distance away.Ōta city official home page
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takayama, Hikokuro 1747 births 1793 deaths Samurai Japanese writers of the Edo period

Biography

Takayama Hikokurō former residence and hair mound

See also

References