Background
Honda Toshiaki was bom in Murakami in the province of Echigo in 1774.
economist journalist philosopher politician
Honda Toshiaki was bom in Murakami in the province of Echigo in 1774.
At the age of seventeen he went to Edo in search of teachers, and there studied mathematics, astronomy, and swordsmanship.
He also acquired a knowledge of the geography and customs of foreign countries, as well as of the techniques involved in astronomical observation, navigation, metal refining, and the production of explosives, by reading translations of Western works on the subject.
At the age of twenty- three he opened a private school in the Otowa area of Edo and hence came to be called Otowa-sensei. Later he turned over the direction of the school to his disciple Sakabe Hironao and embarked upon an extensive tour of the country to observe the geography and special products of its various regions.
Around 1809 he for a time entered the service of the Maeda family, lords of the domain of Kaga, but soon resigned.
In views communicated to Matsu- daira Sadanobu and other important statesmen of the time, he urged the government to encourage trade through officially supervised shipping activities, to take steps to ensure a more equitable distribution of goods and prices and to relieve the grain shortages that caused unrest in the cities, and to seize economic power from the wealthy merchants and instead exploit it to strengthen and enrich the nation as a whole.