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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the rhetoric of remonstration in the manifestos from three figures who led violent movements in 1837: Ōshio Heihachirō, Ikuta Yorozu, and Yamadaya Daisuke. The circulars did not just stoke the flames of unrest; they also worked to stoke the fiery egos of movements' leaders.

Paper long abstract:

English and Japanese language monographs on Ōshio Heihachirō have enjoyed a resurgence over the last decade, with studies ranging from an extensive literature review in _Monumenta Nipponica_ (McMullen 2021) to Ōshio's investigation into practitioners of Christianity in Osaka (Miyazaki, et. al. 2020) to a vocabulary of Yōmeigaku employed in his texts (Morita 2017). This presentation builds on such recent scholarship by exploring the rhetoric used in Ōshio's final piece, his Gekibun (檄文: Call to Action). It then turns to Ikuta Yorozu, a noted Kokugaku scholar from Echigo Province who led a six-person attack on a jinya outpost in Kashiwazaki. Ikuta's own call to action was a letter he sent to former pupils in the month preceding his movement. This paper lastly focuses on the Kaijō (回状: circular) of an herbalist named Yamadaya Daisuke who left Osaka to lead thousands of peasants on a march from his hometown in northeastern Settsu province to the Emperor's residence in Kyoto.

Ōshio's gekibun naturally served as the blueprint for the other two manifestos, since news of his early 1837 riot appeared quickly circulated in newsprints across the provinces. His piece promises a restoration of order and virtuous rule for those who join the ideologue's plans to make the corrupt pay for their perceived crimes. Beyond the outline of the movement, though, Ōshio applies boilerplate Confucian rhetoric and historical references to elevate himself as the sole figure who can rectify the ills befalling Japan. Both Ikuta and Yamadaya also outline their respective movements in their final texts. Furthermore, in his letter, Ikuta draws from his scholarship in Waka poetry as well as his service in the bushi ranks to draw attention to his leadership. While lacking the intellectual credentials of the other two, Yamadaya stresses his background as a druggist and merchant as a justification for his own cause.

Together, these three pieces demonstrate that the calls to the action worked not only to publicize the plans of the movements, but they also worked to promote and even aggrandize the names of the leaders.