Kume Kunitake

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kume Kunitake

Kume Kunitake ( Japanese 久 米 邦 武 ; * 1839 in Hizen Province , today Saga Prefecture ; † February 24, 1932 in Tokyo ; also Kumi Kunitake) was a Japanese scientist and historian (specializing in Meiji and Taishō times). His son was the painter Kume Keiichirō .

Life

Kume was born the son of a henchman in the fiefdom of Saga in the province of Hizen .

In 1871 he accompanied a Japanese delegation under Prime Minister Iwakura Tomomi and two other ministers on a 2-year mission to Europe and the USA (so-called Iwakura mission ) as secretary . After his return he worked in the Dajōkan for several years . In 1878 he published a travelogue called Tokumei zenken taishi beiō kairan jikki , in which he described his experiences of the Iwakura mission. In March 1879 he got a position in the Shūshikan , where he was involved in the compilation and publication of official historical works. In October 1888 he received a professorship at the Imperial University of Tokyo . However, by publishing his Shinto -critical essay Shinto wa Saiten no Kozoku , he had to give up his position in March 1892.

Then Kume lectured at the Rikkyō and Waseda University and devoted himself to writing. One of his subjects was the historical reinterpretation of the Jindai myth, i.e. H. the dating of the mythological age of the kami in the established chronology of historical science.

Kume's son Keiichirō studied painting in France and was successful as a painter on his return. Works by him can be seen in the Kume Museum of Art (Tokyo). There the (scanty) remains of Kunitake's documents for the travel description on the occasion of the Iwakura mission are kept and shown. Kume's great-grandson Kume Kunisada was ambassador to the Federal Republic.

Works (selection)

  • Tokumei zenken taishi Bei-O kairan jikki ( Truthful Report of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to America and Europe ), 5 volumes, Tokyo 1878
    • Facsimile edition in 5 volumes. Shûkô shobô, 1975
    • Reprinted in 5 volumes with modern characters. Iwanami Bunko 1977. Commented by Tanaka Akira

In translation:

  • Kume Kunitake: The Iwakura Mission. Kume Kunitake's log book about the visit of the Japanese special embassy to Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1873 . Iudicium Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3891297467 , Web
  • Kume Kunitake. Healey, Graham and Tsuzuki Chushichi, eds. The Iwakura embassy, ​​1871-73: a true account of the ambassador extraordinary & plenipotentiary's journey of observation through the United States of America and Europe (2002). ISBN 0-7007-1712-9 [complete edition in 5 volumes]

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Akimoto Nobuhide:  "Kume Kunitake" . In: Encyclopedia of Shinto. Kokugaku-in , April 13, 2006 (English)
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Kume is the family name, Kunitake the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Kunitake, Kume
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kunitake, Kumi; 久 米 邦 武 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese historian
DATE OF BIRTH 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Hizen Province
DATE OF DEATH February 24, 1932
Place of death Tokyo