Sugita Seikei (杉田成卿)
Seikei SUGITA (December 18, 1817-March 23, 1859) was Dutch scholar in the end of Edo period. His name is Shin and Seikei is his azana (nickname). His go (pen name) was Bairi or Tenshinro.
Brief Biography
He was born as the grandchild of Genpaku SUGITA and the child of Ryukei SUGITA in Hamamachi, Tokyo. He had been excellent in studying and learned Confucianism by Ryokuya HAGIWARA and Dutch books by Gosaburo NAGURA and others. He had learned Dutch studies by Shindo TSUBOI since he was twenty years old and was deeply influenced by Tsuboi's personality. He was appointed to the translator of the astronomical observatory in 1840 and translated Dutch political book (Constitution) by the order of roju (senior councilor of the Tokugawa shogunate) Tadakuni MIZUNO, but this book did not come out due to MIZUNO's downfall. He translated "Marine gunnery books" that year.
He translated the personal letter to propose the opening of a country to the world to the Edo Shogunate from King of the Netherlands in 1844
He became jii (a court physician) for the lord of Obama domain of Wakasa Province following his father in 1845. He translated the sovereign's message from President of the U.S. in the arrival of Commodore Matthew (Calbraith) Perry in 1853. After resigning the translator of the astronomical observatory the next year, he was mainly engaged in the translation of gunnery books and others and became the professor of Bansho shirabesho in 1856. He made efforts to compile full-fledged Dutch-Japanese dictionaries and was expected to contribute in the future, but he died young at the age of 43 because of frail health by nature as well as strain.
His death haiku (Japanese poem) was `I do not want to either die or live, my flower falls or not depending on wind'.
Personal Profile of Seikei
According to the tradition of the people (Joden OTSUKI and Yukichi Fukuzawa) who knew Seikei in life, he was too sensitive and tended to think melancholily. He was out of fame and fortune, hated secular compromise, was strict to others as well while being humble and was obstinate and unconstraint rather than quiet. He was concerned about the safety of the country with Sanai HASHIMOTO as his disciple and it is guessed that his depressed feeling was deepened by persecution of Dutch scholars since Siebold Incident as well as falling of Dutch scholars themselves.