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Gi Gakuken was a [[Scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|Ryukyuan scholar-aristocrat]] who traveled as a musician (''gakushi'') on the [[1842]] [[Ryukyuan embassy to Edo]], and to China in [[1844]].

Gi Gakuken was a [[Scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|Ryukyuan scholar-aristocrat]] who traveled as a musician (''gakushi'') on the [[1842]] [[Ryukyuan embassy to Edo]], and to China in [[1844]].

Originally from [[Kumemura]], Gi would have been well-trained in a variety of traditional arts. He was named to the upcoming Edo mission in [[1837]], at the age of 31, but the mission would not take place until five years later, in 1842.<ref>Kaneshiro Atsumi, "Gakudôji, gakushi, kagakushi - uzagaku o tsutaeta hitobito" 「楽童子・楽師・歌楽師－御座楽を伝えた人々」, in ''Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete'' 御座楽の復元に向けて, Naha, Okinawa: Uzagaku fukugen ensô kenkyûkai 御座楽復元演奏研究会 (2007), 78.</ref> In addition to serving as a musician, he composed numerous Chinese-style poems (''[[kanshi]]'') during this 1842 journey in Japan; these were published in Japan the following year, alongside poems by the lead envoy of that mission, [[Urasoe Choki|Urasoe Chôki]], and the ''gieisei'' (head of processional music) [[Tei Gen'i]].

Originally from [[Kumemura]], Gi would have been well-trained in a variety of traditional arts. He was named to the upcoming Edo mission in [[1837]], at the age of 31, but the mission would not take place until five years later, in 1842. In addition to serving as a musician, he composed numerous Chinese-style poems (''[[kanshi]]'') during this 1842 journey in Japan; these were published in Japan the following year, alongside poems by the lead envoy of that mission, [[Urasoe Choki|Urasoe Chôki]], and the ''gieisei'' (head of processional music) [[Tei Gen'i]]. Famed for his Chinese prose and poetry, Gakuken also delivered speeches in Mandarin Chinese, at the request of the lord of [[Satsuma han]], on at least one occasion, for which he was rewarded by the lord.

While resident in [[Fuzhou]] in 1844, Gi received from the British consul the opportunity to create and keep a copy of the 1842 [[Treaty of Nanjing]].

While resident in [[Fuzhou]] in 1844, Gi received from the British consul the opportunity to create and keep a copy of the 1842 [[Treaty of Nanjing]].

==References==

==References==

*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/okinawa-dic/prentry-41026.html Gi Gakuken]," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.

*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/okinawa-dic/prentry-41026.html Gi Gakuken]," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.

*''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'' 知られざる琉球使節, Fukuyama-shi Tomonoura rekishi minzoku shiryôkan (2006), 46.  

*''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'' 知られざる琉球使節, Fukuyama-shi Tomonoura rekishi minzoku shiryôkan (2006), 46.

*Kaneshiro Atsumi, "Gakudôji, gakushi, kagakushi - uzagaku o tsutaeta hitobito" 「楽童子・楽師・歌楽師－御座楽を伝えた人々」, in ''Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete'' 御座楽の復元に向けて, Naha, Okinawa: Uzagaku fukugen ensô kenkyûkai 御座楽復元演奏研究会 (2007), 78.

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