Jun 23, 2017
Hokiichi Hanawa’s 271st Birthday
This Doodle’s Key Themes
When Helen Keller visited the memorial house of Hanawa Hokiichi in 1937, she said of the revered scholar, "I believe that his name would pass down from generation to generation like a stream of water." Indeed, traces of Hokiichi's legacy can be found in many fields today. Like a river originating from humble beginnings in Tokyo in 1746, his influence has stretched through law, politics, economics, history, and medicine.
Even during his lifetime, Hokiichi's impact was far-reaching. He is best known for editing the Gunsho ruijū, a collection of more than 500 volumes of kokugaku studies (philology and philosophy). Later in life, Hokiichi established the Wagakusho school, where he taught Japanese classics to a rapt audience of adoring students.
Hokiichi’s early life was not easy — at the age of seven, he lost his vision. But his remarkable memory began to impress local scholars, and he was encouraged to pursue a life of study, ultimately becoming one of the most learned men in the country. Hanawa Hokiichi’s legacy is one of dogged learning, committed teaching, and enduring perseverance, and it lives on in Japanese scholarship and culture.
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