Hiraga Gennai

Hiraga Gennai (平賀 源内; born c.1729; died 1779 or 1780) was a Japanese polymath and rōnin of the Edo period. He was a pharmacologist, student of Rangaku, author, painter and inventor well known for his Erekiteru (electrostatic generator), Kandankei (thermometer) and Kakanpu (asbestos cloth). Gennai composed several works of literature, including the fictional satires Fūryū Shidōken den (1763), the Nenashigusa (1763), and the Nenashigusa kohen (1768), and the satirical essays On Farting and A Lousy Journey of Love. He also authored two guidebooks on the male prostitutes of Japan, the Kiku no en (1764) and the San no asa (1768). His birth name was Shiraishi Kunitomo, but he later used numerous pen names, including Kyūkei (鳩渓), Fūrai Sanjin (風来山人) (his principal literary pen name), Tenjiku rōnin (天竺浪人) and Fukuchi Kigai (福内鬼外). He is best known by the name Hiraga Gennai.

Biography

Family history Hiraga Gennai was born in 1729 in the village of Shidoura, Sanuki Province (part of the modern city of Sanuki, Kagawa). He was the third son of Shiroishi Mozaemon, a low-level provincial samurai in the service of the Takamatsu Domain. The Shiroishi clan traced their roots to Saku District in Shinano Province where they were local warlords with the surname of "Hiraga". However, after they were defeated by the Takeda clan, they fled to Mutsu Province and entered the service of the Date clan, taking the new surname of "Shiroishi" from a location in Mutsu. They accompanied a cadet branch of the Date clan to Uwajima Domain in Shikoku, but eventually moved to Takamatsu where they supplemented their meagre income as a low-ranking samurai with farming. Gennai studied Confucianism and haiku poetry, and crafted kakejiku as a child in Takamatsu.

Early life In 1741, Gennai began his studies as an herbalist and became an apprentice to a physician at the age of 12. Later at the age of 18 Gennai was offered an official position in the herb garden of the local Daimyō (大名, daimyō). In 1748, his father died, and he became head of the family.

Midlife

Life in Nagasaki In 1752, Gennai was sent to Nagasaki to study western medicine, including European pharmaceutical and surgical techniques and other rangaku topics. Two years later, he turned his house over to his younger sister's husband. Nagasaki was at the time one of the only ports that foreign ships were allowed to enter and therefore the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) along with a host of Chinese traders resided in the port town, and there were able to do business under highly regulated supervision. The interaction that Gennai had with the Chinese merchants and members of the VOC introduced him to ceramics. The following year Gennai relocated to Osaka and Kyoto, where he studied herbal medicine under Toda Kyokuzan before moving to Edo in 1757.

Life in Edo In Edo, he studied with Tamura Ransui, and with his oversight and support Gennai began to cultivate natural specimens of ginseng. This made the transition from imports of the medicinal herb to domestic production possible. While in Edo Gennai wrote a number of books, some on scientific or nature topics, some satirical novels, in the kokkeibon and dangibon genres. Gennai was an onna-girai and composed several works on the subject, including guidebooks on the male prostitutes of Edo and works of fiction exalting sex between men over heterosexuality.In his scientific experiments, Gennai prospected for various minerals, wove asbestos, calculated temperatures, and worked with static electricity. His 'Elekiteru' device (sometimes spelled as Elekiter based on the original Dutch spelling) has been recognized as IEEE Milestone (Milestones:Elekiteru: First Electrostatic Generator in Japan, 1776 ) He returned to Nagasaki to study mining and the techniques of refining ores.

Mining In 1761, he discovered iron deposits in Izu Province and worked as a broker to establish a mining venture. He also held exhibitions of his various inventions in Edo, and came to be known to Tanuma Okitsugu, a senior official in the Tokugawa shogunate, as well as the doctors Sugita Genpaku and Nakagawa Jun'an. In 1766, he assisted Kawagoe Domain to develop an asbestos mine in what is now part of Chichibu, Saitama. While these, he also studied techniques to improve the efficiency of charcoal furnaces and the construction of river boats.

Pottery In 1772, while on a trip to Nagasaki, Gennai uncovered a store of clay; this led to him petitioning the government to allow him to manufacture pottery on a large scale, for both exports and domestic use. He is quoted as having said:

If the Japanese ware is good, then naturally we will not spend our gold and silver on the foreign commodity. Rather to the contrary: since both the Chinese and Hollanders will come to seek out these wares and carry them home, this will be of everlasting national benefit. Since it is originally clay, no matter how much pottery we send out, there need be no anxiety about a depletion of resources. Gennai made or instructed a number of Japanese pottery pieces which are named Gennai ware after him. The style is unique with brilliant colours, mostly three, following the Kōchi ware style from Gennai's native island of Shikoku.

Teaching In 1773, he was invited by Satake Yoshiatsu to Kubota Domain to teach mining engineering, and while in Dewa Province, also gave lessons in western oil painting.

End of life Gennai was back in Edo by the summer of 1779, where he undertook repairs to a Daimyō mansion. His final days are surrounded in mystery. The most prevalent account is that he was arrested in late 1779 for killing two carpenters on the project in a drunken rage after they had accused him of stealing the plans for the mansion. He subsequently died of tetanus in prison on January 24 of the following year. Sugita Genpaku wanted to hold a funeral service, but this was denied for unknown reasons by the Shogunate, so Sugita held a memorial service with no body and with no tombstone. This has given rise to many theories over the years that Gennai had not actually died in prison, but had been spirited away, possibly by the intervention of Tanuma Okitsugu, and lived out the rest of his life somewhere in obscurity.

Grave of Hiraga Gennai

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