Arai Ikunosuke | |
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| 荒井郁之助 | |
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| Born | (1836-06-12)June 12, 1836 Edo, Japan |
| Died | July 19, 1909(1909-07-19) (aged 73) Tokyo, Japan |
Arai Ikunosuke (荒井 郁之助; June 12, 1836 – July 19, 1909) was a Japanesesamurai of the lateEdo period. Prominent as Navy Minister of theRepublic of Ezo, he later became famous as the first head of theJapan Meteorological Agency. Also known asAkinori (顕徳) orAkiyoshi (顕理).
Arai Ikunosuke was born in the Tedai-cho district ofEdo, near theYushima Seidō shrine as the son of theTokugawagokenin Arai Kiyobei. His father donated his money to aid villagers from the flood of Fujigawa, which in turn angered the Tokugawa Shōgun. He began learning theChinese classics at age 7, and on the recommendation of his uncle, starting at age 12 he studied swordsmanship(Jikishinkage ryū andShingyōtō-ryū),archery, and horse riding. At age 14, he entered the Shogunate's academy atShoheizaka, and at age 18, he began to study Western-style gunnery. He began his career in the Shogunate at age 20, entering into Dutch studies (rangaku), and was posted as an instructor at theNagasaki Naval Training Center.
After studying mathematics, sailing, and navigation, Arai was appointed a director of the Naval Training Center in 1862. However, he was reassigned to the Shogunate'sKōbusho military academy in 1864, and it was there that he worked withŌtori Keisuke, learning French-style infantry tactics inYokohama in 1865.
In 1868 during theBoshin War of theMeiji Restoration, Arai was assigned as a captain to the Shogunal Navy, and together withEnomoto Takeaki departedShinagawa Harbor when Edo was surrendered to theImperial Army. Traveling toHokkaidō, he became Navy Minister of the newRepublic of Ezo, and while he took part in theNaval Battle of Miyako Bay and theNaval Battle of Hakodate Bay, the Ezo forces were defeated, and Arai was placed in prison, where he remained pending asentence of death. During this time, he wrote the first English-Japanese dictionary.
With his sentence of death commuted, Arai worked with Enomoto inland reclamation for a time, before working in the Agricultural School, as well as becoming head of a women's school. He was later put in charge of the Central Meteorological Agency during theMeiji period, became the first person to photograph thecorona of the sun in Japan, during asolar eclipse in 1887, introduced the meter system, founded Hokkaido University, and established standard time.
Later in life, together with his old colleagueŌtori Keisuke, he contributed to the magazineKyū Bakufu, writing articles about his experiences in the 1860s, as well as about the navy of the former Shogunate.
Arai died ofdiabetes in 1909, at the age of 74.
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