was a Japanese scholar of kokugaku. He studied under

Hirata Atsutane was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies, and one of the most significant 19th century theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was , and his primary assumed name ...

, and later became his adopted son and heir.

Biography

Hirata Kanetane was born under the name as the eldest son of , a retainer of

Katō Yasutada Kato or Katō may refer to: Places *Kato, Guyana, a village in Guyana *Katō, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Katō District, Hokkaido, a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan *Katowice, a city in Southern Poland, ...

, lord of the Niiya Domain. In the summer of 1820, Kanetane came across a number of books by Hirata Atsutane in a

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen. History The found ...

and after reading them decided to devote himself to

kokugaku was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Edo period. scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of ...

. In 1822, Kanetane travelled to

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

to enroll in Hirata Atsutane's school of kokugaku, the Ibukinoya. On January 15, 1824, Atsutane formally adopted Kanetane as his heir. Kanetane later married Atsutane's daughter, . In 1841, Atsutane was barred from publishing and expelled from Edo back to his native

Kubota Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita, Akita, Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governe ...

by the shogunate's censors. Kanetane accompanied him to Kubota. Atsutane died soon after in 1843 and the Ibukinoya fully came under Kanetane's leadership. On December 28, 1850, the injunction against the publication of Atsutane's writings was lifted and the Ibukinoya was able to resume public operation During the

Ansei was a after '' Kaei'' and before ''Man'en''. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * November 27, 1854 (): The new era name of ''Ansei'' (meaning "tranquil government ...

era, Satake Yoshitaka, lord of the Kubota Domain, commanded Kanetane to use the nationwide network of Hirata disciples to gather and compile information on national affairs. The results of Kanetane's research was compiled under the title . This project is notable for having been an early political use of the power of the kokugaku movement. In the autumn of 1858, Kanetane sent a letter to Tsuruya Ariyo of the

Tsugaru Domain Hirosaki Castle, the seat of the Hirosaki Domain , also known as , was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period JapanRavina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 It is located in Mutsu Province, in northern Honsh� ...

mentioning the recent incursions by the Western powers: After the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, Kanetane briefly headed the revived

Jingikan The , also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, Department of Rites, Department of Worship, as well as Council of Divinities, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century, as part of the reforms. It was first establish ...

before its abolition by the progressivist government. His heir Nobutane died in 1872. Kanetane himself died in 1880.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirata, Kanetane 1799 births 1880 deaths Japanese Shintoists Kokugaku scholars Samurai