Kanda Takahira (神田 孝平, October 31, 1830 – July 5, 1898; pen name Kanda Kōhei) was a scholar and advisor on economics and governmental structure in Meiji period Japan. His translation of William Ellis's Outlines of Social Economy (1846), which he translated to Japanese from a Dutch edition in 1867, is regarded as Japan's earliest study of western economics.[1]
Kanda Takahira | |
|---|---|
神田 孝平 | |
 | |
| 1st Governor of Hyōgo Prefecture | |
| In office November 20, 1871 – September 3, 1879 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 31, 1830 Fuwa District, Mino Province |
| Died | July 5, 1898 (aged 67) |
His many other works include An Outline of Natural Law (Seihō ryaku), a volume published in 1871 which he edited based on Nishi Amane's lecture notes which in turn drew from Dutch economist Simon Vissering.[2][3]
Early life and education
editKanda was born in the Fuwa District of Mino Province, (present-day Gifu Prefecture).[citation needed] He studied rangaku and taught algebra.[4][5] In 1855, he started meeting with Katsuragawa Hoshū II and Yanagawa Shunsan to work on the Collected Dutch Words (Oranda jii), a Dutch–Japanese dictionary.[4]
In 1862, he became a scholar at the Tokugawa shogunate's Institute for the Study of Barbarian Books (Bansho Shirabesho), researching western science and technology.[1][5]
Career
editAfter the Meiji Restoration, Kanda worked for the new Meiji government in many roles including general-affairs official of the Bureau of Institutional Investigation.[5] He was appointed governor of Hyōgo Prefecture.[5]
In 1869, he proposed adoption of a Chinese-style civil service examination system which was rejected, although exams were later introduced for professional appointments.[6] In 1870, Kanda drew on the taxation section of Outlines of Social Economy to propose land tax reforms, which were later implemented during the Land Tax Reforms of 1873.[1] He also established local administration structures.[citation needed] He was a charter member of the Meiji Six Society (Meirokusha) established in 1873.[2][5]
He served in the Council of Elders (Genrōin), and was afterwards appointed to the House of Peers in 1890. He was ennobled with the title of danshaku (baron) in the kazoku peerage system.[citation needed]
In 1887, Kanda was appointed the first president of the Anthropological Society of Tokyo.[5] An avid collector of ancient stone implements, he was the author of the illustrated catalog Notes on Ancient Stone Implements, &c., of Japan (1884).[7][5]
Personal life
editHis adopted son was Kanda Naibu.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c Ericson, Steven J. (2016). "Orthodox Finance and 'The Dictates of Practical Expediency': Influences on Matsukata Masayoshi and the Financial Reform of 1881–1885". Monumenta Nipponica. 71 (1): 83–117. doi:10.1353/mni.2016.0002 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ a b Havens, Thomas R. H. (2015). "3. Study Abroad and Service at Home". Nishi Amane and Modern Japanese Thought. Princeton University Press.
- ^ Howland, Douglas (2001). "Translating Liberty in Nineteenth-Century Japan". Journal of the History of Ideas. 62 (1): 161–181. doi:10.1353/jhi.2001.0005 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ a b Jackson, Terrence (2016). "Chapter Seven. Politicizing the Network: Civil Society in the Meiji Period". Network of Knowledge: Western Science and the Tokugawa Information Revolution. University of Hawai'i Press. p. 138 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fukuoka, Maki (2022). "4 Active Antiquarians". Antiquarians of Nineteenth-Century Japan: The Archaeology of Things in the Late Tokugawa and Early Meiji Periods. Getty Publications. p. 139 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ Choi, Jamyung (2018). "The Hegemony of Tokyo Imperial University and the Paradox of Meritocracy in Modern Japan". The Journal of Japanese Studies. 44 (1): 89–116. doi:10.1353/jjs.2018.0003 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ a b Fukuoka, Maki (2022). "5 Antiquarians in Nineteenth-Century Japan". Antiquarians of Nineteenth-Century Japan: The Archaeology of Things in the Late Tokugawa and Early Meiji Periods. Getty Publications. pp. 188, 190 – via Project MUSE.
External links
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