Art Encouragement Prize for Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
市塵
This historical novel follows the life of Arai Hakuseki, the scholar who advised the sixth Tokugawa shogun Ienobu and worked for political reform. With Shuhei Fujisawa's restrained prose, it traces Hakuseki's resolve and disappointments as he tries to bring learning into practical government while living in poverty and poor health.
Work Information
A historical novel about the ideals and solitude of a scholar who rose from ordinary life to the center of shogunal politics.
Shijin centers on Arai Hakuseki, who was involved in abolishing the Laws of Compassion, reforming currency, and reconsidering foreign policy and trade. The novel asks what a scholar can achieve in politics and where such ideals break down. Rather than dwelling on the glamour of power, it emphasizes the weight of daily life and the persistence of conviction.
Review Summaries
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The appeal lies in its refusal to flatten Arai Hakuseki into a simple heroic figure; it presents him as a person burdened by illness and family grief. The tension between reformist ideals and political resistance is conveyed through his inner life.
Book Information
- Publisher
- 講談社
- Published
- 1989-05-01
- Pages
- 409 pages
- Language
- 日本語
- ISBN-13
- 9784062044363
- ISBN-10
- 4062044366
- Price
- 104 JPY
- Category
- 本/文学・評論
Amazon.co.jp: 市塵 : 藤沢 周平: 本
Reviews
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なんか物悲しい
新井白石の伝記小説である。甲府宰相綱豊に仕え、綱豊が六代将軍家宣となったため、側用人の間部詮房とともに五代将軍綱吉の悪政を改め、勘定奉行荻原重秀の貨幣改鋳の悪を追及し、宣教師シドッチを尋問し、といった活躍ののち、家宣、家継の相次ぐ死によって幕政から遠ざけられていくらかさびしい余生を送る。 儒者であるから地味な生活ぶりで、ただ弟子だった男の人妻との駆け落ちは描かれるが、白石本人にはちっとも色気がないので、全体に物悲しさが漂う。まあ、徳川時代の学者というのは、こんなものだろう。