Arai Hakuseki
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Arai Hakuseki (新井 白石) (March 24, 1657-June 29, 1725) is a Confucianist, poet and politician in Japan during the middle of Edo Period, who advised the Shogun, Ienobu. His personal name is Kinmi (君美). Hakuseki was his pen name. His father was a Kururi han samurai Arai Masazumi (新井 正済).
Hakuseki was born in Edo and from a very early age displayed signs of genius. According to one story, at the age of three Hakuseki managed to copy a Confucian book written in Kanji, character by character. Because he was born on the same year as the Great Fire of Meiwa and because he was hot tempered and his brow would crease looking like 火 or 'fire', he was affectionately called Hi no Ko (火の子) or child of fire. He was a retainer of Hotta Masatoshi, but after Masatoshi was assassinated by Inaba Masayasu, the Hotta clan was forced to move from Sakura to Yamagata then to Fukushima and the domain's income declined. Hakuseki offered to leave, becoming a ronin and studied under a Confucianist, Kinoshita Jun'an. He was offered a post by the largest han, the Kaga, but he offered the position to a fellow samurai.
On 1693, Hakuseki was called up to serve by the side of Manabe Akifusa as a "brain" for the Tokugawa shogunate and shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. Under the top Roju, Abe Seikyo, with strong support from Ienobu, they launched Shotoku no Chi, a series of economic policies designed to improve the shogunate's standing. By minting new and better quality currency, inflation was controlled. Calculating from trade records, Hakuseki deduced that fully 75% of gold and 25% of silver in Japan had been spent on trades with foreign countries. He implemented a new trade policy, the Kaihaku Tagae-ichi Shinrei(海舶互市新例), to control payments to Chinese and Dutch merchants by demanding that instead of precious metals, products like silk, porcelain, and dried seafoods should be used for trading. He also simplified rituals for welcoming the Joseon Dynasty's ambassadors, in the face of opposition from the Tsushima Confucianist Amamori Hoshu. While some of Hakuseki's policies were still carried out after Ienobu's death, after the 6th shogun, Tokugawa Ietsugu, died and Tokugawa Yoshimune's rule began, Hakuseki left his post to begin his career as a prolific writer.
His works include:
- Hankanfu (藩翰譜) - A list of daimyo's family tree
- Koshitsu (古史通) - A work that detailed ancient history of Japan
- Oritaku Shiba-no-ki (折りたく柴の記) - A diary and memoire
- Sairan Igen(采覧異言)
- Seiyō Kibun (西洋記聞) - A work describing the Occident, based on Hakuseki's interviews with Giovanni Battista Sidotti
- Tokushi Yoron (読史余論) - A historical work
He was buried in Asakusa (current day Taito, Tokyo), Ho'onji temple but was later moved to Nakano, Tokyo, Kotokuji temple.