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 ...

of the late

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 characteriz ...

, who went on to become an educator and politician in the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

Biography

A native of Aizu, Yamamoto claimed descent from the famed military strategist Yamamoto Kansuke. A

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

, he could read at age four, and recite

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Jueju ''Jueju'' (), or Chinese quatrain, is a type of '' jintishi'' ("modern form poetry") that grew popular among Chinese poets in the Tang Dynasty (618–907), although traceable to earlier origins. ''Jueju'' poems are always quatrains; or, more s ...

'' poetry at age five. He was sent to Edo at age 22, to study with

Katsu Kaishū Count , best known by his nickname , was a Japanese statesman and naval engineer during the late Tokugawa shogunate and early Meiji period. Kaishū was a nickname which he took from a piece of calligraphy (Kaishū Shooku ) by Sakuma Shōzan. He ...

, under the direction of

Sakuma Shōzan sometimes called Sakuma Zōzan, was a Japanese politician and scholar of the Edo period. Biography Born Sakuma Kunitada, he was the son of a samurai and scholar and his wife , and a native of (or Shinano Province) in present day's Nagano Pref ...

, ''

rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Wester ...

'' and modern military science. He returned to Aizu at age 28, and became an instructor of

hōjutsu , the art of gunnery, is the martial art of Japan dedicated to firearms usage. Hōjutsu is still practiced today, often with antique matchlock firearms such as the tanegashima (gun). The martial art is most common in Japan where access to histor ...

at the

Nisshinkan Nisshinkan(日新館) is Aizu's old school. History It was planned by Harunaka Tanaka in 1798. It was completed in 1803. In 1868, a schoolhouse is burned away by the Boshin War. See also * Byakkotai * Iimori Hill * Aizu-Wakamatsu is ...

, the Aizu domain's academy. In 1862, he was assigned to assist the

Aizu Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the ...

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

Matsudaira Katamori Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He in ...

during the latter's tenure in

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 ...

as ''

Kyoto Shugoshoku The was a Japanese bureaucratic office of the Tokugawa shogunate from 1862 through 1868.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kyōto-shugoshoku''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deutsche Nationalbibl ...

.'' The situation in Kyoto was very unsettled, and Yamamoto fought against Chōshū Domain samurai during the

Kinmon Incident The , also known as the , was a rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan that took place on August 20 unar calendar: 19th day, 7th month 1864, near the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. History Starting with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1 ...

on August 20, 1864. After the start of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

of the

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 did not participate in the nearby

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

, but remained behind with his forces in Kyoto itself to attack the fortified residence of the

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, ...

. During the attack, he suffered a concussion and subsequently lost his eyesight. He was taken into custody by Satsuma forces soon afterwards. After the end of the war, he was pardoned through the intercession of

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 ...

. Subsequently, he was served as a member of the prefectural assembly of Kyoto. After becoming a Christian, Yamamoto worked with

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He ...

to found

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

in Kyoto. Kakuma himself served as the university's second president. Yamamoto's sister was Neesima Yae, who also fought in the Boshin War. Apart from his work in education, Yamamoto was also an author. One of his best-known works was a lengthy work on national reform, penned during his captivity in 1868. Yamamoto was portrayed by actor Ryū Raita in the 1987

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

''Byakkotai'', and by the actor Hidetoshi Nishijima in the 2013 ''

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

'' taiga drama ''

Yae no Sakura is a 2013 Japanese historical drama television series and the 52nd NHK taiga drama. Written by Mutsumi Yamamoto, the drama focuses on Niijima Yae, who is portrayed by Haruka Ayase. Yae is a strong believer in women's rights and the story follow ...

.''

References

*Kobiyama Rokurō (1984). "Matsudaira Katamori kankei jinmei Jiten". pp. 199–211 of ''Matsudaira Katamori no Subete'', edited by Tsunabuchi Kenjō. (Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha), p. 195.

External links

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Discovery of a samurai's vision for Japan attracts interest（防衛省内に山本覚馬「建白書」）
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamamoto, Kakuma Japanese educators Boshin War 1828 births 1892 deaths Gunsmiths Japanese Christians Samurai Meiji Restoration People of the Boshin War Japanese writers People from Aizu Aizu-Matsudaira retainers