Educator. He was one of the great scholars in Edo period. He opened a school in Edo (now Tokyo)and his teachings had a great influence on many people including Yoshida Shoin, an intellectual and hero of the Meiji Restoration, Takamori Saigo, a veteran statesman of the Meiji Restoration and upon whose life “The Last Samurai” movie is based, as well as Sontoku Ninomiya, who helped developed more efficient agricultural techniques. He was a native of Hirashima, Owari and later studied in Kyoto and Nagasaki. After starting “Omeikan,” a private school in Edo, he disseminated philosophies to not only the samurai class but to farmers, artisans and tradesmen as well. The powerful Saijyo, Hitoyoshi and Yonezawa clans appointed him “Hansyu,” a teacher. He was the acknowledged personal mentor of Yozan Uesugi, the renowned lord of the Yonezawa clan. His doctrine was characterized by its practical applications beyond “desk theory.” He later was appointed by, the Owari clan, one of the three branch of families of the influential Tokugawas, as a school inspector, Dean of the Meirindo clan school. (bio by: Warrick L. Barrett)