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Hiraga Gennai was an 18th century Japanese scholar and man of letters (1728-1779). In academia, he contributed to the development of pharmacology, Western learning, and natural history. He used this knowledge to produce literary works. He also produced Western products. He used his knowledge to encourage the development of Japanese industry.
Life of Gennai Hiraga (平賀源内)
Gennai was born into a samurai family in what is now Kagawa Prefecture. After his father died in 1749, Gennai succeeded him as governor of the family.
Inclination toward pharmacy and Western learning
In 1752, Gennai’s talents were discovered by his lord and he was able to go to Nagasaki to study. In Nagasaki, the Dutch East India Company conducted trade on Dejima Island, and Chinese merchants arrived at the Chinese residence. Gennai was interested in these foreign cultures. In particular, he had a strong interest in Western culture through the Dutch and observed it closely. In addition, he also pursued research in pharmacology. After completing his studies, Gennai returned to Sanuki.
In 1754, Gennai handed over the reigns of the family to his sister-in-law, freeing him from the duties of the family head. He studied under Tamura Ransui, a pharmacologist, and deepened his research. 1755, he attempted to reproduce Dutch artifacts he had learned about in Nagasaki and produced a magnetic needle. He then moved to Osaka. There, he studied under a famous doctor.
In 1756, at the age of 29, Gennai moved to Edo (Tokyo) and continued his studies in pharmacology. Around this time, he came into contact with Sugita Genpaku, who later became active in Western studies.
Nationwide Pharmaceutical Products Fairs
In 1757, Gennai held a pharmaceutical products fair in Yushima, Edo. Among the investors were his own lords. Therefore, this meeting was held under the patronage of the lords of his hometown.
From 1761, Gennai’s master began to hold a similar pharmaceutical fair in Osaka. Gennai also exhibited there.
In 1762, more than 2,000 items were exhibited from all over the country at Gennai’s Yushima products meeting. Gennai selected 360 of them and introduced them in his “Bussui Hinshitsu” (1763). The book was strongly influenced by Chinese pharmacology, but it also utilized Western knowledge. This book was an important contribution to natural history in Japan.
Contribution to industrial development
This book also belonged to the trend of promoting industrial development and Western learning at the time. For example, it described the cultivation of ginseng and sweet potatoes. Since Japan was dependent on imports of these products, Gennai tried to make the country self-sufficient in them. Gennai gained fame through this book and his activities at the Bussan-kai.
In the years that followed, Gennai continued to pursue his natural history interests and pushed for the development of industry and commerce. Much of Gennai’s work was based on his desire to reduce dependence on foreign products and promote industrial development by making better use of his country’s natural resources and craft techniques.
To this end, Gennai focused, for example, on the ginseng mentioned above, cotton chintz imported from India, and silk fabrics and ceramics imported from China. Gennai made various attempts. For example, he investigated mineral resources in the northern part of the Akita domain, developed glass-blowing techniques, experimented with static electricity, developed fireproof cloth using asbestos, and raised sheep for wool.
The sheep breeding failed because the environment was not suitable. He also reproduced and developed Western artifacts and produced a thermometer.
Gennai Pottery
In 1755, Gennai visited Nagasaki and recognized the importance of international trade. Among the goods he traded, he paid attention to Chinese ceramics, as mentioned above. He decided to open a new kiln in his hometown of Kagawa.
Gennai later stated, “Japanese people place great value on foreign objects. The Japanese place great value on foreign objects and will pay enormous sums of money for them. If Japanese ceramics were superior, of course we would not spend money on foreign goods.
The Chinese and the Dutch would come for this pottery and bring it back to their own countries, and this would benefit us for many years to come. Since the material is clay, no matter how much pottery we export, we do not have to worry about depleting our resources, he said.
So Gennai invented a new type of ceramics and called it Gennai-yaki. These were mostly square, hexagonal, and octagonal dishes. The ceramics were brown, yellow, and mostly green in color. It was modeled after the fine ceramics of Fujian, China. The decorative shapes and motifs are diverse. Some have designs of maps of Japan, Europe, and the Americas.
Activities as a Writer
At the same time, Gennai also began to work as a man of letters. In 1763, for example, he published two successful works, “Furyu Shidoken-den” and “Nenashigusa,” which satirized society. These works are regarded as the pioneers of Edo novels.
Gennai also produced the joruri play” Shinrei-yaguchi watashi” , which was also a great success. This is still performed today as a representative work of Edo joruri. He also produced a number of plays, which he compiled into the “Fu-rai Rokubusyu.” These are eccentric satires and social criticisms, and have a certain status in the history of early modern literature.
Study in Nagasaki: Paintings of the Akita School
In 1772, Tanuma Okitsugu was appointed to the position of a minister . Gennai became acquainted with Tanuma around that time, and once again traveled to Nagasaki on a Dutch translation assignment. Gennai learned what might be useful for Japan’s colonization and development, absorbing Western-style painting methods, for example.
In 1773, Gennai responded to an invitation from the Akita clan and became involved in mining development. At that time, he was also involved in mine management in Akita. At the same time, he taught Western-style painting to Akita samurai. As a result, a Western-style painting school called the Akita School was born.
Late Years
In 1774, Gennai failed in his mining business in Chichibu, and in 1776, he produced a replica of an electric light based on an electric light he had obtained in Nagasaki. This was a device that caused static electricity through friction. Gennai marketed the elektrokiter, claiming that the electricity had therapeutic properties. However, it did not sell well.
In 1779, Gennai was caught for killing and wounding people and died in prison.
People associated with Gennai Hiraga
Sugita Genpaku: He met Hiraga Gennai in Edo when he was 30 years old and became a lifelong friend. Sugita Gempaku became a Dutch scholar and made a name for himself by translating “Kaitai Shinsho” (The New Text on Anatomy). However, Sugita’s actual role in the translation was slightly different from what has been conventionally believed…
Source: National Diet Library (https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/778302/1/3)
Recommended references
I城福勇『平賀源内』吉川弘文館, 1986
芳賀徹『平賀源内』朝日新聞社、1989
福田安典『平賀源内の研究 : 大坂篇 』ぺりかん社, 2013
Christine M.E. Guth, Craft culture in early modern Japan : materials, makers, and mastery, University of California Press, 2021
