It's often assumed that the Meiji period (1868-1912) is when Japan made the spectacular jump from feudal backwater to industrialized, modern nation. However, what seems to be a sudden change came about, in part, because of processes that were already at work before 1868. This is where our topic for today, Egawa Hidetatsu, comes in. (at left: A self-portrait by Egawa)
Three big points I'd like you to remember about Egawa.
- His very old family roots and classical education.
- Despite those roots, his interest in and advocacy for technological and institutional innovation.
- His role as teacher to some of the major innovators of the 1860s.
Roots
Egawa is known alternatively by his common name (tsūshō 通称), Egawa Tarōzaemon. Some sources also list him under his nom de plume, Tan'an. He came from a family with generations of history dating back to the Heian (794-1185) period. Our Egawa was the 36th generation head of his family. Since 1590, the Egawa family served the Tokugawa clan as local intendant (daikan 代官) of a swath of territory that included lands in Izu, Suruga, Kai, and Musashi Provinces, in the modern-day Tōkai region. The land was valued at 54,000 koku, rivaling that of many lesser lords by sheer size. The Egawa family's office was at Nirayama, in modern-day Izunokuni city (the building is now listed by the Japanese government as an Important Cultural Property). Nirayama is where Egawa was born, on 23 June 1801. He received a classical education in the scholarly and martial arts. As his father Hidetake was long-lived, Hidetatsu did not inherit family headship and the position of intendant until age 35.
Career and Innovation
In 1836, soon after his succession, he went to Nagasaki. Here he studied Western technology and military science under Takashima Shunhan, a local official and scholar. A key point of Egawa's career would always be his curiosity for foreign technical knowledge and a desire to improve and strengthen Japanese institutions and defenses. He was also a close associate of Watanabe Kazan, an administrator of the nearby Tawara domain, who is still remembered for painting in the western style.
After the Morrison incident of 1837, the Tokugawa government began considering methods of strengthening its coastal defense. Mizuno Tadakuni, head of the shogun's Council of Elders, ordered Egawa and Torii Yozo to survey Edo Bay late in 1838. This was for intended improvements in defense. Torii, known for his opposition to foreign learning, was an ironic colleague to Egawa.
One of Egawa's greatest contributions toward technological development in Japan was his construction of the reverberatory furnace at Nirayama, in 1842. This allowed for the casting of stronger, larger cannons, and was one of several such furnaces that would be built in Japan over the ensuing decades. It was at the same time that Egawa experimented with baking hardtack (kanpan 乾パン) as a portable, shelf-stable form of field rations. He also designed a new, simplified military uniform, dark blue in the European style but distinctly Japanese in design. He also designed a standardized style of military cap, called a Nirayama hat (Nirayama-gasa) after his residence. Nirayama hats (at left) were often used in the fighting that was rampant in Japan during the 1860s.As part of these experiments in reforming military uniform and cuisine, in 1849 Egawa again made a contribution to reform when he submitted a memorial to the Tokugawa government. Here he called for the institution of peasant conscription. While his proposal was rejected, his theories were further refined and put into practice during the 1860s. This was a decade which saw an explosion in conscription.
Egawa was charged by the shogunate with strengthening Edo Bay's defenses when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's fleet arrived in 1853, and designed a series of gun emplacements on artificial islands in the bay. He was assisted by western experts whom the shogunate had invited. Eleven islands were planned, five were built. Most of these were incorporated into landfill in the decades following the Edo period and now form the modern district of Odaiba. Battery Numbers 3 and 6 survive; Battery 3, with restored walls, is a park.
Egawa died in 1855, and was succeeded by his son Hidetoshi. Hidetoshi, also known by the common name Tarōzaemon, continued his father's work, particularly in the realm of military reform.
Students
Egawa's students represent a final point of his achievement. While Egawa himself only saw partial success in his career as an innovator, his students would take many of the same ideas and employ them to great effect in the following decades. They went on to become some of the leading figures of the Bakumatsu-Meiji transition period. They included the military scientist Sakuma Shozan, the radical pro-emperor activists Yoshida Shoin and Hashimoto Sanai, Tokugawa infantry commander and later diplomat Otori Keisuke, and Kido Koin, who was a leading figure in the early Meiji government.
Egawa himself did not lead the revolution that came, but he taught the men who did.
Conclusion
So as they say on the internet-- tl;dr: Coming from very old and wealthy roots, Egawa Hidetatsu was an innovator in industry and military science, a radical reformer, and an all-around renaissance man. While he wasn't the man who led 'the revolution' in Japan, he was way ahead of his time, and educated some of the people who did.
Thanks for reading!
***
Links
General
- Egawa Estate Museum homepage http://www.egawatei.com/ (Accessed 27 December 2012)
- Painting of Bamboo Plants. http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kotenseki/html/bunko08/bunko08_b0154/index.html (Accessed 27 December 2012)
- Calligraphy. http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kotenseki/html/chi03/chi03_03539_0018/index.html (Accessed 27 December 2012)
Books
- Armstrong, Robert. Just Before the Dawn. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1912.
- Frederic, Louis. Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002.
- Fukuzawa Yukichi. Autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa. Translated by Eiichi Kiyooka. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966.
- Harootunian, Harry D. Toward Restoration. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970.
- Keene, Donald. Frog in the Well. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
- Mashima Hirotaka. Dōnatsu no Ana. Tokyo: Ozora Shuppan, 2009.
- Slade, Toby. Japanese Fashion: A Cultural History. New York: Berg, 2009.
- "Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire." http://www.pbs.org/empires/japan/timeline_1800.html (Accessed 29 December 2012)
- Nirayama hat photo (via Wikimedia Commons) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jidai_Matsuri_2009_098.jpg (Accessed 29 December 2012)
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