足利学校と上杉憲実 Ashikaga School and Uesugi Norizane

足利学校は、一度訪れてみたいと思っていた場所だった。

この学校は、フランシスコ・ザビエルが”日本で最も大きな大学”とイエズス会への報告に書いたことで、ヨーロッパにもその名が知られた。

創設については諸説あり、その一つには小野篁が839年に創設したという説がある。

小野篁は、遣唐使船への乗船を拒否したことで、その頃は讃岐国に流罪の刑になっており、この説の信憑性は薄い。

幼い頃、父親の赴任地であった陸奥国で育ったので、その話からそうした逸話が生まれたのかもしれない。

毎日地獄とこの世を行き来していた、という伝説が残る小野篁が、この学校を作ったとされているのは、興味深い。

孔子廟には、日本で最古の孔子蔵と合わせて、この学校の古さをアピールするためだろうか、小野篁の像も置かれている。

室町時代に関東管領の上杉憲実が足利の領主になってから、鎌倉の円覚寺から快元を招き学長（能化）としてこの学校を整備していき、ザビエルが日本に来た頃には”学生3000人”と言われるまでに発展した。

入り口の門を潜りしばらく進むと、左手に巨大な孔子像が建っている。

それは、この学校が基本的には儒学の学校であることをよく表している。

この学校に伝わる宗版の文選、礼記正義、尚書正義、周易注疏は、国宝に指定されている。訪れた時は、敷地内の図書館で、文選の帰去来のページが展示されていた。

現在の足利学校は、いくつかの建物が並んでおり、ちょっとした公園のように、ゆったりと内部を回遊できるが、とても3000人の学生が過ごすような場所ではない。

当時は、もっと大きな、現在の大学のような、大きな敷地を有していたに違いない。

徳川家康のブレーンとして活躍した天海や、直江兼続の軍師であった涸轍祖博は、この足利学校で学んだ。

他にも、この学校を訪れた人物としては、江戸時代まででも、宗長、徳川義直、林羅山、谷文晁、渡辺崋山、佐藤一斎、吉田松陰、高杉晋作、など錚々たる名前が並ぶ。

それにしても、”日本で最も大きな大学”にまでこの学校を整備した、上杉憲実という人物に興味が向かう。

上杉憲実は、関東管領として鎌倉公方の足利持氏を支えたが、将軍の足利義教と持氏が対立する中で、終始、両者の関係改善に努めた。

しかし両者の対立は治らず、永享の乱となり、上杉憲実は将軍の命でやむなく主君の持氏を攻め、持氏は自害した。

憲実は、これを苦として隠遁したが、その後もたびたび政治の世界に戻され、最後は諸国漫遊の旅に出て、大内氏の長門でその波乱の生涯を終えた。

儒学を深く学んだ憲実にとって、将軍と鎌倉公方の対立は、どちらに使えるべきか、常に大きな悩みの中にあったに違いない。

上杉憲実は、この足利学校を通してこの世に儒教の精神が広まり、君子による政治が行われて、自分のように苦悩する人がいなくなるように、との思いがあったのかもしれない。

Ashikaga School was a place I had always wanted to visit.

This school became known in Europe when Francis Xavier described it as "the largest university in Japan" in his report to the Jesuits.

There are various theories about its founding, one of which suggests that Ono no Takamura founded it in 839.

However, Ono no Takamura had been exiled to Sanuki Province at the time for refusing to board a Japanese envoy ship to Tang China, so this theory lacks credibility.

He grew up in Mutsu Province, where his father was stationed, so perhaps this anecdote originated from those experiences.

It's intriguing that Ono no Takamura, who is said to have traveled daily between hell and this world, is credited with founding this school.

At the Confucius Temple, along with the oldest Confucius repository in Japan, there is also a statue of Ono no Takamura, perhaps to emphasize the school's ancient history.

During the Muromachi period, when Uesugi Norizane, the Kanto Kanrei (governor of the Kanto region), became the lord of Ashikaga, he invited Kaigen from Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura to serve as the headmaster (Nōke) of this school, which he then developed. By the time Xavier arrived in Japan, the school had grown to the point where it was said to have 3,000 students.

After passing through the entrance gate and walking a short distance, a huge statue of Confucius stands on the left.

This clearly indicates that the school was fundamentally a Confucian school.

The Song Dynasty editions of the Wen Xuan, Liji Zhengyi, Shangshu Zhengyi, and Zhouyi Zhushu, preserved at this school, are designated as National Treasures. When I visited, the page from the Wen Xuan, specifically the section on "Returning Home," was on display in the library on the school grounds.

The current Ashikaga School consists of several buildings, and one can leisurely stroll through the interior like a small park, but it's far too small to have accommodated 3,000 students.

In those days, it must have had a much larger campus, similar to a modern university.

Tenkai, who served as a key advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Karetsu Sohaku, the military strategist for Naoe Kanetsugu, both studied at this Ashikaga School.

Other notable figures who visited this school, even during the Edo period, include Socho, Tokugawa Yoshinao, Hayashi Razan, Tani Buncho, Watanabe Kazan, Sato Issai, Yoshida Shoin, and Takasugi Shinsaku—a truly impressive list.

However, my interest is drawn to Uesugi Norizane, the man who developed this school into "Japan's largest university."

Uesugi Norizane, as the Kanto Kanrei (governor of the Kanto region), supported Ashikaga Mochiuji, the Kamakura Shogun. Amidst the conflict between Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and Mochiuji, he consistently strived to improve relations between them.

However, the conflict between the two did not subside, leading to the Eikyo Rebellion. Uesugi Norizane, under orders from the Shogun, reluctantly attacked his lord, Mochiuji, who committed suicide.

Norizane, finding this difficult, went into seclusion, but was repeatedly drawn back into the political world. He eventually embarked on a long journey throughout the country, ending his turbulent life in Nagato, under the Ouchi clan.

For Norizane, who had deeply studied Confucianism, the conflict between the Shogun and the Kamakura Shogun must have constantly caused him great distress over which side to serve.

Perhaps Uesugi Norizane hoped that through the Ashikaga School, the spirit of Confucianism would spread throughout the world, leading to the establishment of virtuous governance and preventing others from suffering like he did.