02 April 2023
Mind dump, sans edit
Choshu Five — five young men who broke law in Japan that had already resulted in death of others such as Yoshida Shoin accused of sedition.
Shoin is famous in Japan for being a brilliant thinker who travelled widely within Japan. Shoin wanted Japanese scholars to be able to travel out of Japan to study the world. This was strictly forbidden in a way we would associate North Korea today.
Short version: Shoin was executed at age 30. Actually, age 29 by modern counting. Many older Japanese still count age as from conception, not birth. So they count the 0 year as year 1. In other words, the day you are born you are considered 1, not 0. (Actually, it gets more complicated than this. Please, some kind Japanese person please step in and explain now older Japanese people count age compared with younger Japanese method).
Bottom line, Shoin was executed at age 30 as counted at that time, but he would have been 29 in the way we count today.
A few hours ago, Masako and I were just at Shoin’s grave amid the cherry blossoms.
After Shoin was executed in 1859, his executioner is reported to have said Shoin was the most honorable man he ever executed.
Today, at Shoin’s grave, we met a 78 year-old Japanese man who road his BMW motorcycle all the way from Sendai to Shoin’s grave at Hagi.
Shoin was considered such a great thinker even at age 29 that people still pilgrimage to pay respects. Masako and I talked with senior motorcycler because he recognized Masako at the cemetery. He follows Masako’s work and was surprised to meet her by Shoin’s grave. (People recognize Masako all the time even in America and Europe).
Masako also studied Shoin and considers Shoin one of Japan’s greatest thinkers. Shoin is said to have lectured a Feudal Lord about Sun Tzu when Shoin was 11 years-old. (Or 10?)
At the time of Shoin’s life, Japanese were not allowed to leave Japan even to study. In relation to this, and sedition, Shoin was executed.
But Japanese scholars picked up the baton and sneaked out of Japan to study afar.
The Choshu Five slipped off to England in 1863 to study and returned to Japan with much knowledge that helped Japan quickly catch up with and surpass much of the West.
