Background
SAN’EI KOZEKI was born in 1787 in the domain of Shonai in Dewa.
SAN’EI KOZEKI was born in 1787 in the domain of Shonai in Dewa.
He studied Dutch medicine under Yoshida Ku- koku and became close friends with one of his fellow students, Takano Choci.
In 1822 he became a lecturer in the medical school of the domain of Sendai; the following year he went to Nagasaki to study under the German doctor von Siebold and thereafter became physician to the lord of Kishiwada. In 1834 he went to Edo and took a position in the office for the translation of foreign books, which was operated by the shogunate, and around this time joined with Takano Choei, Watanabe Kazan, Suzuki Shunzan, and others, seventeen men in all, to form an association called the Shoshikai for the study of Dutch learning and the discussion of current problems.
In 1839 the shogunate, stung by the criticisms expressed by some of the members of the association, took stern measures to suppress it, arresting Takano Chôei and Watanabe Kazan in the action known as the Bansha imprisonment; San’ei, knowing that he would never be able to stand prison life because of the poor condition of his health, committed suicide.