Goryo Hamaguchi - Early Life (from "A Short Story of Goryo Hamaguchi")

Early Life (from "A Short Story of Goryo Hamaguchi")

“The northwestern part of Hiro-Mura (current Hirogawa-cho) is facing the ocean and Miya-zaki (part of current Arida City) is located about 12 kilometers away right across of the bay. Kiri-saki and Ta-saki are parts of Tamura and Suhara (districts in current Yuasa-cho) along the jugged coastline between Hiro-Mura and Miya-zaki. Shira-saki (part of current Yura-cho) is located about 12 kilometer away from Hiro-Mura in the other direction. Nabae-saki and Medo-saki can be found near the area. The distance between Miya-zaki and Shira-saki is about 16 kilometer and there are Ashika-shima, Tsuru-shima and Kuro-shima in the Hidaka county side of the triangle area in the bay. Taka-shima, Karumo and Kenashi Islands are scattered in the east of those three islands like stars in night sky.”

As Goryo Hamaguchi described above he appreciated the beauty of his hometown in those islands and colors of waves that he could see on any given day from the village by the bay. Even though it would change the natural beauty of the village, he decided to spend a significant amount of money to build a seawall along the coastline of the village (more than 650 meters). He also planted rows of adult pine trees behind the seawall in order to prevent damage to the whole village from such a natural disaster as a tsunami.

The seawall and pines trees are not only the symbol of acts by this great man but also the eternal message to the villagers of what life is all about. Mr. Hamaguchi set an example of overcoming any hardship that we may encounter in our lives with dignity and wisdom. This is how he lived in the period of Meiji Restoration when Japan was searching for a leader can bring a country to right direction.

The Hamaguchi family was known for a ruling family of Hiro-Mura in Arida country over the years. They are the descendents of Yasutada of Taira who served the Lord Shiba in Owari (now called Aichi prefecture) and later renounced his regular daily life to practice at the Hodoin Temple in Mt. Koya. During the Meio period (1492–1500), he moved to Hro-Mura and became a believer of the ninth priest of Jitsunyo (Shonin) in the Honganji Temple sect. And during the Eisho period (1504–1520), he became a Buddhist monk called Seiryo and opened his own center of practice in Hiro-Mura.

His youngest son, Masaayoshi, took over his position to represent current Anraku-ji Temple in Hirogawa-cho. Yajiro Sanekage, another son of Yasutada, started a new family and it marked the beginning of the Hagaguchi family. The family engaged in soy sauce manufacturing business at the port of Choshi in Kamifusa (currently the northern part of Chiba prefecture) during the Genroku period (1688–1703) under Tomonao’s watch. It was the foundation of Yamasa Corporation. The family tradition of using Gihei for the head of Hamagichi family started after Tomonao’s tenure.

Thanks to the geographical advantage of Chiba and other attributes related to soy sauce manufacturing, as well as dedicated efforts by the members of Hamagichi family over the generations after the first Gehei, Yamasa’s business flourished during the periods of Kyoho (1716–1735) and Houreki (1751–1763). Yamasa products were gaining popularity and in a huge demand by people in Edo (now called Tokyo) because of its premier quality. During the Bunsei period (1818–1829), the feudal government of Japan enforced its price control for almost all products. However Yamasa products were exempted from governmental pricing control since its product quality was so superior to others; the government even gave its highest honor to Yamasa as a soy sauce manufacture.

Shichiemon, a younger brother of the fourth Gihei and the first to carry that name, started a branch family under the Hamagichi’s name. Since the second Shichiemon had no child, the younger brother of the fifth Gihei became the next Shichiemon. The sixth Gihei had no child either and the first son of the third Shichiemon became a successor of the original Hamaguchi family. He was Goryo Hamaguchi. Although he was adopted to the original Hamaguchi from its branch family, the fifth Gihei was his grandfather and his stepfather was a real uncle of his. Therefore, the bloodline of Hamaguchi is still intact.

The fifth Gihei, grandfather of Goryo with a great personality, was truly polite and showed his interest in variety of things. He found time to study and enjoyed fine arts every time he could get away from his work. He mastered the painting style of southern Chinese school under Kaiseki Noro and used “Kampo” as his signature. Goryo admired and respected him and was well taken care of by him. In that regard, Goryo was very much influenced by his grandfather in developing his own personality.

Goryo Hamaguchi was born on June 15, 1820 in Hiro-mura. He was raised by his biological mother Shin after his father, the third Shichiemon, died at the age of 22 when he was 2 years old. In September 1831, he was adopted to the original Hamaguchi family as a successor and renamed his name to “Gita”. He soon left Hiro-mura for Choshi where he started learning the family business. The Hamaguchi family (Kichiemon) had house in Koami-cho, a Nihon-bashi district of Edo, where he stayed for a while before coming to Choshi because it was an important place for its business geographically (on the way to Choshi from Kishu). According to the Hamaguchi family creed, family members were treated equally with other employees and were not allowed to fool around. One of the reasons was to learn how to handle lots of problems and to learn how to deal with people. He was not an exception and slept in the same room and ate the same dishes as other employees. Overcoming many hardships in his early ages, he dedicated himself to the family business. At the age of 15, he celebrated his “Genko”, a ceremony to be recognized as an adult, and renamed himself “Gitaro”. He put lots of efforts in practicing swordsmanship and studying the I Ching, as his grandfather Kampo encouraged him. Kampo died in the autumn when he turned 18.