On the Life and Activities of Masanari KITAZAWA a forgotten Historian and Geographer

要旨

KITAZAWA was born to the family of a retainer of the lord Sanada of the Matsushiro fief in Shinano Province. He studied under Zozan SAKUMA in his youth and was much influenced by his teacher. After the Meiji Restoration, he obtained a position in the central government, representing the Matsushiro fief. After that, he entered the services of the Historiographical Bureau of Tokyo University, the Department of Foreign Affairs and so forth.In 1879 he made utmost efforts to establish the Tokyo Geographical Society, and since then, on the one hand he did much for its management and development, and on the other hand, devoted himself to the studies on history and geography, especially on those of Mongolia and Korea, which adjoin to China. Many papers and books, containing outstanding results of his studies concerning the said fields, were given to the public during that time.He acted as a headman of Koishikawa Ward and also as a government official of Ogasawara Islands. He was a teacher of Japanese literature and Chinese classics at Takada Middle School in his last several years and died in 1901.

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