- Yokoi Shonan
nihongo|Yokoi Shōnan|横井小楠| Yokoi Shōnan; (
22 September 1809 –15 February 1869 ) was aBakumatsu period and earlyMeiji period scholar and political reformer inJapan , influential in theBakumatsu period around the fall of theTokugawa bakufu . His real name was Yokoi Tokiari.Life and career
Yokoi was a "samurai" born in
Kumamoto ,Higo Province (present-dayKumamoto Prefecture ), and a distant descendant ofHojo Takatoki . He was sent by the domain toEdo in 1839 for studies, and developed contacts with pro-reform members of the Mito domain. After his return to Kumamoto, he started a group to promote the reform of domain administration alongNeo-Confucianism lines.In 1857, he was invited by the "
daimyo " of Echizen,Matsudaira Yoshinaga to teach at that domainal academy. In 1862, he was unexpectedly made acting head of the Shogunal government" (seiji sosai)" in a move calculated to obtain imperial approval for the "Shogun's" actions in signing theunequal treaties with the western powers in 1858.Yokoi called for a complete reform of the
Tokugawa bakufu government, including a reconciliation between the "Shogun " and the Imperial Court. He called for the complete opening of Japan to foreign trade, economic reform, and establishment of a modern military along western lines. He also called for anational assembly of the major domains, with the Shogun evolving into something that resembled aprime minister .Outraged and astounded by these radical ideas, the "bakufu" government quickly stripped Yokoi of his posts, and even his "samurai" status, and placed him under
house arrest .After the
Meiji Restoration , Yokoi was freed by the newMeiji government , and honored with the title of "san'yo" (councilor).However, Yokoi was assassinated in 1869 by "samurai" who suspected him of being a Christian, and of harboring secret republican sentiments.
References
* Beasley, W. G. "The Meiji Restoration." Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1972.
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