英語訳
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (National Learning Scholars in Yoshida and Hatano Takao) 498
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...doesn't seem reliable. Under these circumstances, I thought there was no other way but to inquire with his son Masahiro, but since he lives in a distant place, it is difficult to find an opportunity to meet him. Having no other choice, in this chapter I have outlined the main points based on what I have been able to learn from various sources and whatever evidence I could find, and then, as I mentioned before, I planned to gradually research more detailed matters. Therefore, in the previous chapter, though incomplete, I selected and discussed only what I considered to be without error.
However, after people read these notes, some have gradually provided instruction, and people like Master Ōkawado Teishū even went so far as to visit my humble residence and relate their memories concerning Kozan—such kindness is truly beyond what I can adequately thank them for. Originally, as you know, Master Teishū was a disciple of Sekine Chidō, but when Chidō was ordered by the domain to study military science on January 20, Keiō 1 (1865) and departed for Edo on February 12 of that year, Teishū entered Kozan's school through Chidō's introduction. From then on, during the entire period when Kozan resided in Yoshida, he constantly attended Kozan's house to receive instruction, so I believe his memory of events after the Keiō period is particularly clear. (Kozan moved his entire household to Tokyo in February of Meiji 5 (1872). I plan to discuss these matters in detail later.)
Therefore, the advice given regarding research on Kozan was truly beneficial, and I came to think of advancing this research further on this occasion. As the investigation progressed, I discovered various new facts, and consequently, two or three points among what I had previously stated required correction, so I have decided to present here as corrections the parts necessary for this chapter. Also, regarding this matter, I have received many beneficial stories from Elder Ono Todō, so among both what I stated in the previous chapter and what I state here, much was brought to my attention by this same elder, and I therefore acknowledge this here with gratitude.
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Toyohashi Mayor Ōguchi Kiroku has devoted his broad knowledge and inexhaustible energy to compiling the Toyohashi City History for over a year, and now as the manuscript nears completion...
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This Toyohashi City Historical Discourse is published once a week (Tuesday) and presented to readers of the Sanyō Newspaper
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Now, regarding Kozan's birthplace, it is as I stated before, but there is a theory that his family were not rural samurai but physicians. Since I have not completed reliable research on this, I will mention it here only as one theory for now. That his original name was the common name Yokoyama Sensuke and his given name was Kan, as I stated before, is agreed upon by all theories.
Now, regarding what kind of activities this person engaged in before being confined in Yoshida in connection with the Bogo Incident, the situation can truly be described as one of various conflicting theories. I believe this is because the related documents from that time were later completely burned, and because Kozan himself made efforts not to speak of his personal history from that period.
However, among these accounts, what seems most credible and to the point is the preface by Nakamura Keiū in the "Kozan Leisure Collection." This book called "Kozan Leisure Collection" was published around Meiji 13 (1880) and is a collection of Kozan's poems and travel writings, with Keiū's preface at the beginning. Most likely, this preface was written for a book called "Kozan's Recent Writings" and was added to the beginning of this "Leisure Collection," but in that preface it states:
"Master Kozan does not like to be called a poet, yet he cannot escape the name of poet. When drunk with sake, he once told me: 'In my youth I left my hometown and took lodging in Edo, but being poor with no resources, I could not follow good teachers, and though I wanted to enter a university and associate with the brilliant minds of the realm, I could not achieve this. I had ambitions in practical statecraft studies but accomplished nothing, passing the months and years in vain while secretly lamenting my situation. When foreign ships entered the harbor and the shogunate government was weak, I was filled with passionate concern for the country and could not sleep through the night. Finally I advocated the theory of imperial reverence and expelling foreigners, running about and exerting all my efforts—sometimes submitting memorials to ministers of state, sometimes discussing national affairs with friends, sometimes composing poems to criticize and admonish the world, sometimes pleading cases for wronged prominent men. Through these activities I incurred guilt, repeatedly endangering myself, yet I never felt regret.'"
This is written exactly as Kozan directly told Keiū, as can be seen in this preface, and since it was placed at the beginning of Kozan's own work, I believe Kozan also approved of it.
Something that describes this matter in slightly more detail is Gamō Shigeaki's "Biographies of Great Men," which records the biography related to Kozan under the title "Biography of Master Kyōkyō." Kyōkyō was a name that Kozan frequently used from the very beginning until quite late in his life...
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (National Learning Scholars in Yoshida and Hatano Takao) 499