Hiroshima Was Good to Jozan

In 1623, Ishikawa Jozan’s mother, who had already been troubled by various ailments, became bedridden. His days living as a poet in Kyoto were coming to an end, and through the help of Itakura Shigemasa, he arranged an academic posting in Hiroshima. His job could best be described as scholar-in-residence to the Asano family governing the region, and his responsibilities included lecturing on Neo-Confucian texts and teaching younger samurai of the domain.

Well known today, Japan’s sixth largest city was little more than an emerging castle town when Ishikawa arrived, a place still in search of an identity. It had been founded in 1589 by Mori Terumoto, displacing the traditional fishing villages that had long occupied the site. For a committed Kyotoite like Ishikawa, going to Hiroshima must have seemed like living in exile. In fact, Jozan reportedly told his friends that he would not have accepted the posting had his mother been well. Considering that he returned to Kyoto almost immediately following his mother’s death, it seems reasonable to conclude that he was a reluctant teacher.

For the twenty-first century traveler retracing Jozan’s steps, the closest site of significance to the train station is the splendid stroll garden Shukkeien. Built by the Asano and designed by legendary tea master Ueda Soko in 1620, it is inconceivable that Jozan did not visit it on at least one occasion. There is a curious object on the site that suggests he would have felt compelled to make a visit. The object is a stone that resembles a turtle once owned by Ishikawa’s teacher, Fujiwara Seika, the father of Neo-Confucianism in Japan. A phone call to the garden did not help me ascertain when or how the rock was acquired, but it is more proof of the Asano’s commitment to Neo-Confucianism at a time when Buddhist thinking still held sway throughout most of the domains.

Hiroshima’s pride in their connection to Ishikawa is evident at the reconstructed castle in the heart of the city. Despite its modern interior, the castle manages to project a traditional look thanks to its wood-panelled exterior that resembles railway ties treated with tar. Inside, the history of the city from its founding until the end of the Edo period is well presented. There is a small section dedicated to the Confucian scholars who were patronized by the Asano, including Ishikawa. As ambivalent as he felt about living in Hiroshima, the Asano remunerated him generously, paying him 2000 koku a year, a stipend that would have been appropriate for a samurai commanding a number of men. Without the money he received in Hiroshima, it is doubtful he would have been able to afford to build Shisendo on a substantial piece of land in Ichijoji. If that wasn't enough to improve Ishikawa's attitude about serving in Hiroshima, the Asano decision to continue paying him four more years after he left their service surely did.

Travis Belrose is the author of The Samurai Poet, a work of historical fiction based on the life of Ishikawa Jozan. Learn more here.