Rai San'yō (Japanese:頼 山陽; 21 January 1780,Aki Province – 16 October 1832,Kyoto) was a JapaneseConfucianist philosopher, historian, artist and poet of the laterEdo period. His true name wasRai Noboru.[1]
He was born to asamurai family of theHiroshima Domain. His father, Rai Shunsui, was a respectedNeo-Confucian teacher.[2] His mother, Baisi, was a poet of some note. He first studied humanities with his uncles, who were notable Neo-Confucian scholars.[1] Then, in 1797, he went to theShōheikō, a training school for government bureaucrats inEdo.[3]
Wishing to devote himself to writing instead, at the age of nineteen he detached himself from hisdomain and became a wandering scholar. This was a serious crime without receiving special permission so, to save him from greater punishment, his father disinherited him and locked him in his room for three years.[2] He spent this time studying and writing. It was there he conceived the idea for hisNihon Gaishi ("Unofficial History of Japan") and began composing the first chapters. Many years before, his father had been engaged in writing an official history, but permission had been suddenly withdrawn.[1]
In 1811, he moved to Kyoto, opened a school and continued to work on his history.[2] He soon became part of a circle of writers and scholars that includedYanagawa Seigan [jp] andŌshio Heihachirō and came under the influence of theKokugaku movement. He was finally able to achieve financial independence and travelled throughout Japan, writingKanshi poetry.[3]
One of the main influences of his life wasEma Saikō, a distinguished bunjin painter and composer of kanshi, whom he met in 1813 when visiting her father to further his reputation as a scholar. He was instantly captivated by Ema and expressed his desire for marriage after a few meetings. However, either by rejection of her father because of Ema's previous rejection of marriage or because Rai San'yō decided against asking for her hand, no such marriage took place. Rai San'yō soon married his 17-year-old maid Rie, whom he also taught to compose verse and paint. He did become Ema Saikō's kanshi tutor in 1813 and the two remained close until his death. Through correspondence, he would correct her verses and send her his own poems to practice calligraphy.[4]
In 1827, he completed theNihon Gaishi, his life work,[2] It was modeled on theRecords of the Grand Historian and was in 22 volumes, covering Japanese history from the emergence of theMinamoto clan through the reign ofTokugawa Iemitsu. It was the first comprehensive study of its kind. The work was dedicated to thedaimyō,Matsudaira Sadanobu, who praised it and presented it to theshogunate for approval. Despite winning that approval, it was later banned in several domains, possibly because it advocated strengthening the powers of theEmperor.[2] It has been cited as a major influence on theSonnō jōi movement.
He was also the author of "Records of Japan's Government",[3] in 16 volumes; "Morality and Duty", in 3 volumes; several books of verse and travel diaries. He was also anink wash painter of modest reputation, associated with theNanga School.
In his later years, he suffered fromtuberculosis and succumbed to the disease while working at his desk.[5]
