was a Japanese nationalist,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, scholar of

kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refo ...

, and

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...

. He was also a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

military strategist A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. He is most often known by the

pseudonyms A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

or, rarely, .

Biography

A samurai by birth, Ōen was born the third child of , a retainer of the Kumamoto Domain. He studied under Nagase Masaki, and was noted for his scholarly studies of the Japanese classics of Higo as well as the writings of earlier scholars of the kokugaku movement. Among these, he was particularly influenced by the spiritual and cosmological writings of

Hirata Atsutane was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies, and one of the most significant theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was , and his primary assumed name was . He als ...

. A deeply religious man, Ōen placed substantial emphasis on the use of the ''

ukehi is a Japanese Shinto divination ritual. Function and performance Hayashi Oen, a nineteenth-century practitioner of ''ukehi'', identified six functions of the rite. He claimed it could be used to: * ask for information or messages from the ''ka ...

'' ritual in divination, calling it, "the most wondrous of all Shinto rites". In 1853, Ōen became aware of the arrival of the American naval squadron off the coast at Uraga. He immediately armed himself and, shouldering a

votive image A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generall ...

Yahata was a city in Japan until it was absorbed into the newly created city of Kitakyushu is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in b ...

, traveled to the scene, evidently with the intention of directly engaging the Americans. However, by the time he arrived, the diplomatic discussions had ended and the fleet had already departed. After returning to Kumamoto, Ōen's teaching was changed. He became increasingly single-minded in the carrying out of rites and began instructing his students in methods to defend the country from the Americans, who he believed harbored a desire to eventually conquer or subjugate Japan. He assessed that the long peace of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

had left Japan in a state of military inanition, and that it was likely that a

total war Total war is a type of warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over non-com ...

against the European and American powers would end in Japan's destruction. However, he advocated the immediate prosecution of such a war on the grounds that it was necessary to defend Japan's native way of life at all costs, even if the nation's population should expire. Ōen promulgated his highly xenophobic views through his school, the , which he established in 1837 within the ruins of Chiba Castle, not far from

Kumamoto Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle located in Chūō-ku, Kumamoto, in Kumamoto Prefecture. It was a large and well fortified castle. The is a concrete reconstruction built in 1960, but several ancillary wooden buildings remain of the original castle ...

. He advocated resistance to Western influence and trade, and recommended the expulsion of foreigners from Japan. His students included the swordsman-activist Todoroki Buhē and assassin

Kawakami Gensai was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. A highly skilled swordsman, he was one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period. Gensai's high-speed sword discipline allowed him to assassinate targets in broad daylight. Ear ...

. In 1868, he became a teacher at the

Jishūkan Jishūkan was the Han school of Kumamoto, Japan existing between 1755 and 1870. It was established by Hosokawa Shigekata, the 6th Hosokawa clan daimyō of Higo Province, Kumamoto, Kumamoto, inside Kumamoto Castle and this school is known for p ...

, and also worked as an advisor to

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernity. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iwa ...

within the new government. He died aged 73 at the home of his student Otaguro Tomoo. After his death, his students, led by Tomoo, adapted his teachings to form the basis of the Shinpūren movement. A great deal of information about Ōen's life and activities was preserved by the Sakurayama Compatriots' Society (桜山同志会), established in 1886 for the bereaved family members of former Shinpūren warriors. Ishihara Shikō, an orphan left behind by the Shinpūren incident, wrote and lectured extensively on Ōen and his followers until his death in 1936. The Sakurayama Compatriots' Society is long since defunct, but the records it maintained are now housed in the in the vicinity of modern-day Sakurayama Shrine, in

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,0 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Oen 1797 births 1870 deaths Samurai 19th-century Japanese physicians Japanese government officials Japanese nationalists Kokugaku scholars Japanese theologians Japanese military doctors Meiji Restoration People of the Boshin War Japanese priests Japanese Shintoists Anti-Christian sentiment Anti-Americanism Military strategists