Matsura Seizan

• Born: 1760/1/20
• Died: 1841/6/29
• Titles: Iki-no-kami
• Other Names: 松浦清 (Matsuura Kiyoshi), 松浦英三郎 (Matsuura Eizaburou)
• Japanese: 松浦静山 (Matsuura Seizan)

Matsuura Kiyoshi, perhaps more well-known by his art-name (gô) Matsuura Seizan, was the 9th lord of Hirado han (61,500 koku). He is especially known for his 200-volume Kasshi yawa, a collection of records of his thoughts and experiences.

Known as Eizaburô as a child, he was born in 1760 the son of Matsuura Masanobu, who was in turn the third son of the 8th lord of Hirado, Matsuura Sanenobu. His father Masanobu died in 1771, and upon his grandfather's retirement in 1775/2, Eizaburô, known by his adult name Kiyoshi, became lord of Hirado at the age of 16, with 61,700 koku. His rank and title were Junior Lower Fifth Rank, Iki-no-kami. Facing chronic difficulties in the domain finances, Kiyoshi undertook numerous structural and economic reforms, and is credited with considerable noticeable successes in that realm.

A studious person even from a young age, and avid poet, Kiyoshi took on the poetry name Seizan, and promoted study and the arts in his domain. He is said to have been well-versed in the customs of both elite samurai and court society, Chinese and Japanese history, historical anecdotes, waka, herbalism, natural history, folklore, and Rangaku, among other fields. He engaged in intellectual and cultural intercourse with many prominent scholars of his time, including Kimura Kenkadô, Minagawa Kien, Sanada Yukitsura (lord of Matsushiro han), and Ôseki Masunari (lord of Kurohane han).　In 1779, he opened a han school called the Ishinkan, and the following year established libraries known as Gakusaidô in Hirado, and Kan'onsai in Edo. He then also established a the Kenkisai in 1784, an office for the compilation of histories; the Matsuura kaseiden was compiled there.

Seizan was also active in martial arts and military matters. He practiced Shingyôtô-ryû swordsmanship, and strengthened domain military preparedness & maritime defenses.

As daimyô, Seizan was obliged to travel between his domain, in Kyushu, and Edo, every other year; his 200-volume Kasshi yawa ("Evening Stories of the Kinoe Year"), written from 1821/11 until his death in 1841, reveals his great interest in spectacles and special events. He is known to have attended machi-iri Noh on at least one occasion (likely somewhat often), and to have purchased woodblock prints depicting the Ryukyuan embassy to Edo of 1790. He describes the street processions of the 1832 mission in some detail, in a section of the Kasshi yawa known as Hoshin ryûheiki.

He retired in 1806, and entered the tutelage of his friend Hayashi Jussai, head of the Hayashi clan of Confucian scholars. Following his death in 1841 at the age of 82, he was buried at Tenshô-ji in the Honjo neighborhood of Edo.

References

• "Matsuura Seizan," Bijitsu jinmei jiten, Shibunkaku.
• "Matsuura Seizan," Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten, Asahi Shimbunsha.
• "Matsuura Seizan," Sekai daihyakka jiten, Hitachi Solutions, 2013.
• "Matsuura Seizan," Britannica kokusai daihyakka jiten, Britannica Japan, 2014.