Okamoto Kansuke

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Okamoto Kansuke
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Okamoto Kansuke ( Japanese 岡本監 輔 , commonly called Bumpei (文 平), Gō : Ian (韋 庵); born November 22, 1839 in Anabuki (穴 吹 町) in Awa Province ; died November 9, 1904 in Tokyo ) was an explorer of the Areas north of Hokkaidō .

Live and act

Okamoto Kansuke was born the son of a small farmer in Anabuki (now Mima). It was the time of upheaval in Japan, before and after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Okamoto became concerned about the northern areas like Hokkaidō and beyond, as the Russians showed interest in these areas. He made three trips to Sakhalin between 1863 and 1865 and mapped the south of the island when he was around 30. He found that Sakhalin was full of resources and repeatedly urged Japanese authorities to take possession of all of Sakhalin without being stopped by Russia.

His views were at odds with those of Kuroda Kiyotaka , the leading figure in the development of Hokkaidō. In protest, Okamoto resigned from running the Sakhalin office in 1870.

Over the next 20 years he continued his education, wrote books, taught Japanese in Taiwan, and during that time traveled three times to China to observe the situation. During the 1880s and 1890s, Okamoto tried to organize a group to colonize the northern Kuril Islands, but was unsuccessful.

From 1894 Okamoto became the director of the former Tokushima Junior High School (徳 島 中学) and made a big impression on the local youth. He fell ill in the middle of the Japanese-Russian War and died in Tokyo in 1904. He was buried on the Chokoku-ji (長 谷 寺) in the Nishiasabu district. His hometown Mima erected a monument to him.

Okamoto wrote 60 books, including the autobiography "Okamoto yiden" (岡本 自 伝).

Remarks

  1. ↑ Published in the year Meiji 34 ≈ 1901.
  2. ↑ According to the old calendar: October 17th, year Tempō 10.
  3. ↑ Today Mima , Tokushima Prefecture .
  4. ↑ Five years later, Japan gave Sakhalin to the Russians and received the central and northern Kuril Islands in return .

literature

  • S. Noma (Ed.): Okamoto Kansuke . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1137.

Web links

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Okamoto is the family name, Kansuke the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Okamoto, Kansuke
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 岡本 監 輔 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese explorer and cartographer
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Mima , Tokushima Prefecture
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1904
Place of death Tokyo