Altruistic Activities
He saved the lives of many of his fellow villagers of Hiro, Kii Province (current Hirogawa, Wakayama), when a massive tsunami struck the Kii Peninsula in 1854. He set fire to stacks of rice sheaves as landmarks to guide villagers to safety. Lafcadio Hearn wrote a story about him in Gleanings in Buddha-Fields: Studies of Hand and Soul in the Far East (1897), called "Inamura no Hi: The burning rice fields". The story chronicled Goryo's heroism and accounts of his efforts were also introduced into Japanese textbooks.
Hamaguchi participated in various recovery efforts in Hiro, including the construction of a sea wall more than 600 meters long, 20 meters wide and 5 meters high, which minimized damage from tsunamis in later years. He spent his own money on the project (the equivalent of 1,572 ryō (gold coins)) and hired a total of 56,736 villagers to work on it.
In the field of education, Hamaguchi established a private academy for learning kendo (Japanese fencing) and Chinese classics with Hamaguguchi Toko and Iwasaki Meigaku at the end of the Edo period. This private academy was later called "Taikyu-Sha" and became the current Taikyu Junior High School after a few changes.
Read more about this topic: Goryo Hamaguchi
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