英語訳
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estate was under the rule of Chief Inspector and Grand Counselor Asafusa. The jitō (estate steward) was Sasaki Saemon Sadatsuna." Odaniyama, near Takahata where the Elder was born, has the ruins of an ancient castle built by Asai Ryōshō during the Eishō era, passed down through Hisamasa to Nagamasa, and destroyed by Oda Nobunaga during the Genki years.
The Elder's family lineage descends from Counselor Ono no Takamura and is related to the Yokoyama family, senior retainers of Kanazawa (10,000 koku) in Ishikawa Prefecture. Therefore, the Elder originally bore the Yokoyama surname and was called Sen'suke. His twelfth-generation ancestor Yokoyama Kamon-no-kami Iemori served Kyōgoku Takatsugu with military distinction, and a letter of commendation is preserved in the family. Takatsugu was from Ōmi, served the three houses of Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa, and became lord of Ōtsu Castle. Since his wife was the younger sister of Lady Yodo, during the Keichō campaign he was urged by Ishida Mitsunari and Lady Yodo to join the Western Army, but refused. He was troubled by the Western Army during Ieyasu's eastern campaign and temporarily fled to Mount Kōya. Yokoyama Iemori was a brave general under Takatsugu's command who had his residence in Takahata and died in battle in Yamashiro Province. One younger brother returned to farming and guarded the family residence site for generations; a building over two hundred years old still exists today, which the Elder's son Masahiro renovated in previous years. (See photograph) The ancient tomb of their ancestor Ono no Takamura is in Murasakino, Kyoto. In later years, the Elder consulted with his kinsman from Kanazawa, Yokoyama Tamon Masakazu (who took the literary name Ranshū and was skilled in poetry and prose), to repair the grave marker. He wrote the five large characters on the monument face and had his son Masahiro's composition "Record of the Ancient Tomb" carved in stone. The Elder composed three poems in harmony with Ranshū's poetry at that time:
Recently I consulted with Kaga's Ranshū to repair Counselor Ono's tomb,
Ranshū composed poetry, and I also wrote the same
Half entrusted to villagers, half to temple monks. Planning to prevent thorns from randomly invading and searching. Dare to wield this humble brush to inscribe the monument face. This too is a heart filled with thoughts of our ancestor.
《Marginal note: Half entrusted to villagers, half to temple monks. Planning to prevent thorns from wantonly invading and encroaching. Daring to wield this humble brush to inscribe the monument face. This too is a heart filled with reverent thoughts of our ancestor.》
When the Elder completed his studies, due to his birthplace connections, he responded to an invitation from Yoshida domain lord Matsudaira Izu-no-kami Nobuhisa (later Ōkōchi Gyōbu-daiyū) in Edo to become a Confucian retainer, and further became a domain samurai (60 koku stipend). When the Ansei Purge broke out in Ansei 5 (1858), he was banished from Edo by domain order, and further confined to Yoshida by shogunal command (permanent house arrest in his home domain). He changed his name to Ono Dōnosuke, also took the literary name Ansei, and continued to use the Kozan designation throughout. His birthplace Takahata is located north of Lake Biwa at the foot of Odaniyama, surrounded by mountains on all sides—the literary name Kozan (Lake Mountain) was taken from this setting. When he first came to live in Edo, he resided in Kanda Otamagaike (south of the Kanda River, present-day Moto-Iwai-chō), calling himself Gyokuchi Senshi, and later had other aliases like Kyōkyōsei and Dōō. He advanced from Confucian retainer of Toyohashi domain to samurai status, then was redesignated as Tokyo Prefecture samurai, and died of illness on April 19, Meiji 43 (1910), at the advanced age of ninety-seven. When the Elder was eighty-seven, he suffered a serious illness and was temporarily in critical condition; when this reached the Emperor's attention, he was specially granted the court rank of Junior Fifth Rank, recovered, and lived another ten years. (See Imperial Grant of Court Rank)
His wife Motoko was born on July 3, Bunsei 5 (1822), as the third daughter of Katō Kōemon, a samurai of Iida domain (Hori Hyōgo-no-kami, 17,000 koku, later Matsumoto Prefecture) in Shimoina District, Shinano Province, Nagano Prefecture. Around the time when the Elder was thirty-six (Motoko twenty-eight), this was arranged through the mediation of the Elder's respected friend Yasui Sokken. Motoko preceded the Elder in death by seven years, dying at age eighty-three on January 2, Meiji 37 (1904). Motoko's older brother was called Katō Ichisuke (given name Nobutoshi, literary name Sanshō), who studied under Koga Dōan and associated with Saitō Setsudō, Yasui Sokken, Masaya Seikei, and others. He was modest and sincere, especially loyal to old friendships. The Elder had four sons. The eldest, Masahiro (original name Inosuke, literary name Sōshō), was born in Edo on October 12, Kaei 4 (1851) (when the Elder was thirty-eight and Motoko thirty), and inherited the family headship. He entered government service in Meiji 5, advancing from Left Chamber Secretary to the Right Chamber, serving successively as Cabinet Secretary and Assistant Director of the Records Bureau. After retirement, he briefly worked for a trading company but soon withdrew, and died of illness at age seventy-eight on March 29, Showa 3 (1928). The Elder's second and third sons both died young, and his youngest son Gentarō took the Yokoyama surname and currently resides in Tokyo. Masahiro had no children,