Yamamoto Kakuma (山本覚馬)
Kakuma YAMAMOTO (February 25, 1828 - December 28, 1892) is a hojutsuka (ballistic specialist) of the Aizu Domain in the end of the Edo period. He led the Kyoto prefectural government at its initial phase as a local official as well as a politician after Meiji Restoration. He is also known as a person who offered his demesne at the present-day Imadegawa Campus of Doshisha University to cooperate with Joseph Hardy Neesima (Joe NIIJIMA) who founded Doshisha English School (present-day Doshisha University).
The period as a warrior
He was born at a samurai residence near the Wakamatsu-jo Castle as the oldest son of Gonpachi YAMAMOTO who served as a gunnery instructor in the Aizu Domain. The forefather of the Yamamoto family is Kansuke YAMAMOTO, who was a scholar of military science of the Takeda clan. His family served the domain in the field of military science for generations. The name of his mother is Saku. Giei is his childhood name, and Yoshiharu his Imina (personal name).
He recited a Gogonzekku (a poem of four lines, each of five (Chinese) characters) of Toshisen (Selection of Tang Poems, late 16th century) when he was four years old, and he distinguished himself when he learned at Hanko Nisshinkan (a school of the Aizu Domain). He moved to Edo and entered a school of Shozan SAKUMA together with Ayasaburo TAKEDA and Kaishu KATSU when he was 22 years old. He obtained the initiation of archery, horsemanship, spearsmanship and swordsmanship, and received the prize from the lord of the clan when he was around 23 years old. He moved again to Edo at the age of 25, and studied Dutch from, Chujo OKI (大木衷城) as well as enhanced the research of foreign gunnery. He returned to the Aizu Domain and became a professor of the Nisshinkan school when he was 28 years old, and then opened a place for Dutch studies and served as the professor, but he was placed in confinement for one year because he criticized the old-guard crony. However, because he appealed for the necessity of the military system reformation to carry out his original intention, he was selected as a Gunji torishirabe yaku (a person in charge of investigation of military affairs) and a Taiho todori (a leader of cannon) at the same time. In 1862, he followed the lord of the clan, Katamori MATSUDAIRA, who was appointed as Kyoto shugoshoku (Military governor of Kyoto), to Kyoto, and trained the Western-style troops at the headquarters in Konkai Komyo-ji Temple as well as supervised Yogakusho (Institute of Foreign Study) to give the Western study lectures to retainers from various domains in Kyoto.
He distinguished himself during Kinmon Incident in 1864, in which he participated with gun crews, therefore he was appointed as a Koyonin. Due to this appointment, he had more chances to see the important persons from the shogunate and various domains, and broadened his activity scope, however unfortunately he lost eyesight due to an eye disease.
(There are some theories for his blindness, such as that he suffered damage due to a broken piece during Kinmon Incident, and that his chronic disease of cataract was worsened)
However, he did not give up hope; he took charge of an orphaned child of Shozan, who was assassinated, at the request of Katsu, and broadened the Western knowledge from Amane NISHI (a torchbearer) who was introduced to him by Katsu. (Kakuma issued Nishi's major work "Hyakuichi Shinron" [The New Theory of the Hundred and One] later).
He stayed in Kyoto during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in 1868, and was captured by the Satsuma clan and taken to the residence of Satsuma Domain, however the top leaders of the Satsuma clan did not kick him around because they knew his excellence. He wrote a petition 'Kanken' (the house diary of the Saionji family) by dictation during this confinement and submitted it to the lord of the clan. When Takamori SAIGO and others read this, they admired him even more, and treated him all the more respectfully. He was moved to a hospital in the residence of Sendai Domain in 1868, where he met Tomomi IWAKURA, and then he was released next year.
What is "Kanken"
Kanken' is a petition addressed to the new government (addressed to Oyakusho) in July, 1868, in which Kakuma argued about the ideal situation of Japan in 22 different areas such as politics, economics and education. He called this petition as his own view ('Kanken') with modesty.
His petition is remarkably similar to 'Kokuze Sanron' (the Three Major Discussion of State Policy), which a thinker Shonan YOKOI advocated to stress the importance of establishing Fukoku (fortifying the country), Kyohei (strengthening the military) and Shido (morality of samurai) (economics, national defense and ethics), however Kakuma further advanced his idea. His petition dealt with a wide range of matters: 'Constitution,' i.e. the separation of the administrative, legislative, and judiciary branches of government; 'Giji-in' (Diet), i.e. having a bicameral parliament with a lower and upper house; 'Schools'; 'System reform'; 'National polity,' i.e. the shift from the feudal system to the county/prefecture system, abolishment of the hereditary system, and tax system reform; 'Nation building techniques'; 'Iron and steel production'; 'Currency'; 'Food and clothing'; 'Education for women' that promoted the education of girls; 'Heikin-ho' (averaging method), i.e. the average distribution of property; 'Brewing methods'; 'Treaties'; 'National warship program'; 'Harbor regulations'; 'Citizen welfare'; 'Laws concerning hair'; 'Henbutsu-ho' (laws concerning temples), i.e. the opening up of temple schools to the public; 'Shoritsu' (commercial laws); 'Jiho' (timetable method); 'Rekiho' (method of making calendars), i.e. the promotion of the adoption of the solar calendar; and 'Kani' (office doctor), i.e. the promotion of the adoption of Western medical science. This contained a full of excellent foresight and his idea also led to the framework of the new Meiji government strategies.
The period of politics
After being set free, Kakuma served in Kyoto Prefectural Government thanks to the recommendation of Sakuma KAWADA, a Daisanji (second to a governor) of Kyoto Prefecture, and led the Kyoto government as an adviser of Masanao MAKIMURA (who later became the governor by Order of Kyoto Prefecture) who was taking the helm of the Kyoto government as a Gon Daisanji (second to a governor). Also he gave lectures on politics and economics at home (the students at that time were such as Michiyuki MATSUDA who later became the governor of Shiga Prefecture and Tokyo Prefecture, and Shiro FUJIMURA who later became the governor of Osaka Prefecture), and also promoted the industrialization policy of the initial prefectural government under Makimura and made great contribution to the modernization of Kyoto. He organized the first 'Exhibition' in Japan and also wrote the guidebook in English, which was the first guide written in English. He got lamish around this time.
The period of religious belief
In Spring, he identified with "Tiandao suyuan" (Evidence for Christianity) given by a missionary doctor, Gordon (U.S.) who was engaged in mission work in Osaka at that time. He believed that Christianity can truly polish the heart of Japanese people and help promote their advancement. At that time, he met Joe NIIJIMA (who later married with his younger sister Yae NIIZIMA) and promised that he would cooperate with him when he came to know his plan to establish a school. Kakuma handed over his site (6000 Tsubo [unit of land measurement; 3.95 square yards; 3.31 square meters]) of the former Satsuma Domain residence, which he bought after Meiji Restoration, to Niijima to build a school. And then, he submitted 'Shigaku kaigyo negai' (request for opening private [non-governmental] school [college, university]) to Ministry of Education in the joint names of Niijima and Kakuma, which was later approved. This school site was succeeded by the later established Doshisha English School and its successor Doshisha University, and is used as Imadegawa Campus at present ('Doshisha' is said to have been named by Kakuma).
Two years after he was relieved from the duty as an adviser, he was elected to be as a representative of the prefectural government by obtaining 51 votes in Kamigyo Ward during the first election. He became one of the first Kyoto prefectural representatives, and also the first chairman. He resigned both his position as chairman and his membership next year, and then was engaged mainly in the operation of Doshisha. He became the chairman of the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and got baptized together with his wife Tokie in the same year. Niijima passed away. Kakuma contributed to the development of Doshisha as the temporary president of Doshisha. He died at the age of 64 in 1892. He was raised to Jugoi (Junior Fifth Rank). His grave is in Hachioji.
Family
His parents had three sons and three daughters, but one son and two daughters died when small. Kakuma married with Ura in Aizu when he was around 29 years old. His oldest daughter died when small, and his second daughter was born in 1862. He went up to Kyoto at that time. His younger sister Yae and Shonosuke KAWASAKI (who was a Western scholar and a son of the doctor of the Izushi Domain in Tajima Province, who was invited to the place for Dutch studies as a professor) got married in 1865. His younger brother Saburo died during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, and the other family members were held up in Tsuruga-jo Castle, but his father Gonpachi died on the battle field outside the castle. After separated from Shonosuke, Yae fearlessly fought saying 'Gun more than sewing,' but finally surrendered the castle after engraving a poem 'Who would see the moon in my familiar sky tomorrow night?' on the castle wall using a Kanzashi (an ornamental hairpin).
Kakuma bought a residence in Kyoto with the size of 100 Tsubo (unit of land measurement; 3.95 square yards; 3.31 square meters) from Tatsugoro SHINMON (a fire brigade in the later Edo period and the head of professional gamblers, who came to know Yoshinobu HITOTSUBASHI in Ueno and whose daughter became a concubine of Yoshinobu) at the price of 36 yen, and lived there (the monthly salary of Kakuma at that time is 45 yen). His second daughter, Hisae was born in 1870. The next year his mother Saku (who later served as a Shakan (a dormitory dean) of Doshisha Girls' School), Yae and Mine went up to Kyoto and lived together with him. Ura stayed in Aizu asking for divorce. In the same year he married with Tokie who had been providing his personal care. Yae learned such as English because she had a good foresight, and was called a Christian lady due to her Western clothes and hair style after baptized and married with Niijima. Saku and Mine got baptized in the same year. Mine married with Tokio YOKOI (the oldest son of a Confucian scholar Shonan YOKOI and the third president of Doshisha) in 1881. Tokio was a maternal cousin of Roka TOKUTOMI (real name: Kenjiro), who wrote a novel 'Kuroi me to chairo no me' (Black Eyes and Brown Eyes) describing his conflicted love affair with Hisae.
After bearing the oldest son named Heima (平馬), Mine died at the age of 24, and Heima (平馬) was adopted to be the heir of the Yamamoto family. The engagement of Hisae and Roka was broken off in the same year. Niijima died in Oiso in 1890, and Kakuma died at home two years later. Hisae died due to an illness at the age of 23 in 1893, and Saku died at the age of 85 in 1896, who lived the longest of the family (Yae died at the age of 85). He detested ostentation in society, and held the idea of 'cutting one's coat according to one's cloth' to be of the greatest importance.