Yushima Seidō

The Yushima Seidō has its origins in a private Confucian temple, the Sensei-den (先聖殿), constructed in 1630 by the neo-Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan (1583–1657) in his grounds at Shinobu-ga-oka (now in Ueno Park). The fifth Tokugawa shōgun, Tsunayoshi, moved the building to its present site in 1690, where it became the Taiseiden (大成殿) of Yushima Seidō. The Hayashi school of Confucianism moved at the same time.

Under the Kansei Edict, which made neo-Confucianism the official philosophy of Japan, the Hayashi school was transformed into a state-run school under the direct control of the shogunate in 1797, the most important school of this kind in the country. The school was known as the Shōhei-zaka Gakumonjo (昌平坂学問所) or Shōheikō (昌平黌), after the supposed birthplace area of Confucius (昌平, Shōhei in Japanese). During the time of the Tokugawa shogunate, the school attracted many men of talent, but it was closed in 1871 after the Meiji Restoration. The school campus at the time covered a much larger area than the current grounds of the temple, including where the modern Tokyo Medical and Dental University stands.

The rector of Shoheikō was for all intents and purposes at the head of the educational system in Edo. The position was held by the head of the Hayashi clan.

The school had three kinds of students: direct trainees of the Shogunate bureaucracy (稽古人, Keikonin) , resident trainees (書生, Shosei) and free listeners (聴聞人, Chōmonjin) attending only open lessons. The Keikonin were from the Hatamoto and Gokenin families in Edo, direct vassals of the Shogunate. A small dormitory for them was available, but its capacity was limited, and most Keikonin students would commute daily from their Edo estate. A larger dormitory was available for the Shosei resident trainees, who were coming as scholarship students from all Han fiefs of the country. Besides lessons, the Shosei students lived on campus and spent a lot of time scholarly debating among themselves, naturally creating a strong alumni network spanning all over the country, which was key during the Meiji restoration.[2]

An introduction by a Keikonin following by an interview by the teaching staff was needed to enroll the school. Courses were focusing on confucian teachings with in-depth studies from start to end of Chinese texts. Unsurprisingly, the Four books and Five classics were studied extensively. On top of lessons for the resident students and the Keikonin, there were open courses available to the common people everyday.

Several kinds of examinations were performed, from the Sodokuginmi (素読吟味, litt."Reading examination"), held yearly to evaluate younger trainees and whether they could continue or not their studies, to the prestigious Gakumonginmi (学問吟味, litt. "Scholar examination"), held only 19 times [3] in the whole history of the school.

• Saitō Chikudō
• Takasugi Shinsaku
• Akizuki Teijirō
• Kume Kunitake
• Kiyokawa Hachiro
• Matsumoto Keido
• Edayoshi Shinyo
• Mishima Choshu

Flags beside the entrance to the Yushima Seido

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