Takayama Hikokurō

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Takayama Hikokurō
Takayama's tomb in Kurume
Takayama at the Sanjō Bridge

Takayama Hikokurō ( Japanese 高山 彦 九郎 , first name also Masayuki (正 之); born 1747 in Hosoya (細 谷) in the province of Kōzuke , died August 4, 1793 in Kurume ) was a Japanese historian and a very committed advocate of the imperial cause. He is counted among the "Three Ecclesiastics of the Kansei Era".

Live and act

Takayama was born the son of a rural samurai in Hosoya in what is now Gumma Prefecture. He came to Kyoto at the age of 18. where he found a strong protector in Dainagon Nakayama Naruchika (1741-1814). He mainly devoted his time to Japanese history and was amazed to find that the shogun had usurped the rights of the emperor in the Middle Ages. Takayama then traveled through Japan and tried to renew the prestige of the imperial family.

In Kyoto, he visited the Sanjō Bridge and turned in the direction of the Imperial Palace, fell on his knees and from a distance worshiped the Emperor. He also visited the residences and graves of the nobility to emphasize the rights of the emperor. The Tokugawa government exerted pressure to prevent his activities, even demolishing the properties of the noble families who had taken him in. Takayama then went to Kyushu in the hope of being able to advance the emperor's cause there as well. But even there he was persecuted by the shogunate, and when he reached Kurume in Chikugo Province , he finally committed seppuku . He was buried in Kurume at the Henjō-in (遍照 院) temple, where his grave still exists today.

Takayama is unforgotten as a role model for all who stand up for the emperor.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The other two eccentrics of the "Kansei no sankijin" (寛 政 の 三 奇人) were Hayashi Shihei and Gamō Kumpei .

literature

  • S. Noma (Ed.): Takayama Hikokurō . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 716.
  • Papinot, Edmond: Takayama Masayuki . In: Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Japan. Reprinted by Tuttle, 1972 edition of 1910 edition. ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 .

Web links

Commons : Takayama Hikokurō  - collection of images
personal data
SURNAME Takayama, Hikokurō
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 高山 彦 九郎 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Writer and historian
DATE OF BIRTH 1747
PLACE OF BIRTH Kōzuke Province
DATE OF DEATH 4th August 1793
Place of death Kurume