Saitō Chikudō Explained

was a Japanese Confucian scholar, historian, and poet.^{[1] [2]} His real name was Kaoru (馨). His pen name was Chikudō (竹堂) or Bōyōshi (茫洋子).

Life

Chikudō was born in Mutsukoku-Tōdagun-Numabemura (now Tajiri in Tōda District, Miyagi prefecture). He studied under Ōtsuki Heisen and Masujima Ran-en. Chikudō entered Yushima Seidō. where he studied and taught Chinese poetry, and served as the house master in Yushima Seidō. He associated with celebrities, including Ōtsuki Bankei, Hagura Kandō, Saitō Totsudō and Shinozaki Shōchiku. Rai Mikisaburō was Chikudō's junior in Yushima Seidō and a friend of his.

Works

Chikudō wrote most of his poems and prose in Classical Chinese. His interests were very wide: he knew the history of Western countries and used Noah, the history of Babylonia, Alexander the Great, Aristotle, Napoleon and George Washington as poem themes.^[3]

Bibliography

• – biography of Date Masamune
• – biography of Date Aki(伊達安芸),Lord of Wakuya Domain
• – history of the Tōhoku region
• – analysis of Japanese historic persons
  • – report on the First Opium War^[4]
• – history of Western countries

References

• "頼山陽とその時代" (Rai San'yo and his era) : Nakamura Shinichirō（中村真一郎） published in 1976
• "涌谷町史"(Wakuya-Chōshi) : History of Wakuya town

Notes and References

1. Book: 国史大辞典 . 1985 . 吉川弘文館 . Tokyo . 978-4-642-00505-0 . ja. Saitō Chikudō. 6. National History Encyclopedia.
2. Book: Nihon rekishi daijiten . 2000 . Shōgakkan . Tōkyō . 9784095230023 . Shohan . ja. Saitō Chikudō. 2.
3. Book: Wataru . Masuda . On Saitō Chikudō’s Ban shi and Other Writings . Japan and China . 2000 . 53–59 . 10.1007/978-1-137-08365-4_11 . 978-1-349-62659-5 .
4. Mervart . David . Reading european universal Histories in japan, 1790s –1840s . The Historical Journal . 2021 . 61 . 1 . 43–69 . Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/S0018246X19000670 . 225327522 .