Ryohei Noguchi 'Biographies of Bakumatsu Figures: Exclusion and Opening of the Country' Episode 6: Kazan Watanabe (4)

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4

The finances of the Tahara Domain were strained, and the lives of the retainers were becoming increasingly impoverished. Furthermore, the sense of helplessness in being unable to take any effective measures against this situation caused the spirit of the retainers to become decadent and self-indulgent.

Kazan may have learned of the powerless and incompetent internal state of the domain from his father, who had begun to participate in domain administration as the lowest-ranking member of the council of elders.
Within Kazan, the idea seemed to sprout that the key to overcoming his own life of poverty might lie in overcoming the impoverished lives of the retainers and the people of the domain—in other words, through political practice.
At the beginning of 1818 (Bunsei 1), at the age of 26 (by traditional count), Kazan and his comrades launched a movement for domain reform through the promotion of learning, but they were easily blocked by the domain's key officials.

Despairing of the rotten domain administration, Kazan became convinced that there was no other way but to become the greatest painter in the land to save his family from poverty. He attempted to leave the domain and head to Nagasaki to devote himself to painting, but when he encountered the earnest opposition of his parents, who had sensed his intentions, he could not help but give up the idea.

In November of the same year, Kazan drew a collection of genre paintings titled'Issō Hyakutai-zu' (One Hundred Sketches of Life) all at once.
There are 10 illustrations of ancient customs from the Kamakura period to the Meiwa era of the Edo period, and 41 illustrations of the customs of the common people in Edo during the same period—that is, the period of the decline of the shogunate system. These are accompanied by a preface (a treatise on genre painting) and what appears to be a draft of it.

'Issō' means drawing with a single stroke. The brushwork is quick and sharp, yet the finish is elegant. From the customs of the samurai class, such as daimyo processions and martial arts training, to children in temple schools who do not follow a system of simultaneous instruction, rakugo, goldfish scooping, laborers, and sandal repairers—the lives of 368 people, including the four classes of society and even those from discriminated buraku communities, are captured realistically and vividly. In these people, Kazan is attempting to discover the same humanity.

According to the common understanding of Confucianism at the time, the customs of the common people depicted here were to be valued one step below public matters.
In that sense, this collection of paintings goes beyond the framework of Confucianism. At the same time, according to the common understanding of Nanga (Southern School of Chinese painting) at the time, the subjects to be depicted were limited to escapist worlds unrelated to social life.
In that sense, this collection of paintings also went beyond the framework of Nanga.
It can be said that with his awakening to politics, Kazan was stepping into a painting world that was entirely unique and isolated from those around him.

In 1823 (Bunsei 6), at the age of 31, Kazan married 17-year-oldTaka (1807-71), the daughter of Tahara domain retainer Den Wada.
At this time, he wrote'Rules of the Heart' as a self-admonition, and the beginning is written as follows.

But the following year, his fatherSadamichi passed away due to illness. At this time, Kazan, sobbing, took up his brush and painted a portrait of his thin father sitting upright with his sword by his side.

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■ About the photos

※Header photo: Kazan's painting 'Issō Hyakutai-zu' ★★
Quoted from Hideo Hibino [author], 'Kazan Watanabe's Painting and Maritime Defense Thought'.
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/3121509 (Accessed 2026-01-12) p. 150
Preparing to apply to the Tahara City Museum for the use of the original image data.

*★= Kazan's painting 'Issō Hyakutai-zu' is in the collection of the Tahara City Museum. Application for use is currently being prepared.
*★★= Application for use of the original data is currently being prepared with the Tahara City Museum.
Tahara City Museum Collection Data https://jmapps.ne.jp/taharaaichi/index.html

■ Bibliography

■ Author Profile

Ryohei Noguchi
Intellectual historian and writer.
Author of 'The Worldview of "Daibosatsu Tōge"' (Heibonsha, 2009, winner of the 18th Mineo Hashimoto Award), 'Bakumatsu-teki Shikō' (Misuzu Shobo, 2017), and his latest work, 'History of Archipelago Philosophy' (Misuzu Shobo, 2025).
Translator of Louis Menand's 'The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America' (co-translated, Misuzu Shobo, 2011) and Michael Wert's 'Meiji Restoration Losers: Memory and History Surrounding Kozukenosuke Oguri' (Misuzu Shobo, 2019).

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