Sugae Masumi
Sugae Masumi was an Edo period figure known for his writings describing his journey to Tôhoku and Ezo.
Masumi was born in the countryside outside of Nagoya, in 1754. For reasons which remain largely unknown, he left on a journey in 1783, possibly intending from the very beginning to make his way to the island of Ezo (today known as Hokkaidô). After much traveling, in 1788 he finally found his way across the Tsugaru Strait, to Ezo, where he remained for four years, attempting to learn the language of the Ainu, and to assemble an Ainu-Japanese dictionary. He returned to Honshû (Tôhoku), spending his remaining years in what is today Akita prefecture (i.e. parts of Dewa and Mutsu provinces), never returning south to Edo or Nagoya.
In his later years, he attempted to chart the complete topography of this area, a project he never completed. Masumi died in 1829, leaving numerous diaries full of waka poetry, paintings, and descriptions in great detail of people and places.
References
- Wittkamp, Robert. "Between Topos and Topography: Japanese Early Modern Travel Literature." in Asian Crossings: Travel Writing on China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Hong Kong University Press, 2008. pp15-29.
