13 Facts About Hayashi Shihei

Hayashi Shihei was a Japanese military scholar and a retainer of the Sendai Domain.

Hayashi Shihei's name is sometimes transliterated as Rin Shihei.

However, when Hayashi Shihei was only three years old, his father was expelled for some reason and became a ronin.

However, Hayashi Shihei had an elder sister, Kiyo, in the service of Date Yoshimura at the Date clan residence in Edo.

Hayashi Shihei became the concubine of the 6th daimyo of Sendai Domain, Date Munemura.

On Date Yoshimura's death, they moved to Sendai; however, Hayashi Shihei himself had no official post or stipend, and remained unemployed within the household.

Hayashi Shihei maintained an active correspondence with many of the leading rangaku scholars, economists and military scientists of the day.

Hayashi Shihei travelled to Nagasaki in 1777 where he was especially impressed with the size and strength of the Dutch ships, and learned of Russian intentions to advance south from Siberia into Asia from the Dutch Opperhoofd.

Hayashi Shihei complained of the lack of organized drill exercises, and stressed the importance of choren, or teamwork drill, rather than mere individual martial training.

Hayashi Shihei gave technical descriptions about shipbuilding, cannons and other military designs.

Hayashi Shihei especially was critical of the Shogunate's sakoku national isolation policy.

Together with Takayama Hikokuro and Gamo Kunpei, Hayashi Shihei is known as one of the "Three Excelling Men of the Kansei Period".

Hayashi Shihei's grave is at the Buddhist temple of Ryuun-in in Aoba-ku, Sendai.