Yui Shōsetsu

Who was Yui Shōsetsu?

Yui Shōsetsu was a military strategist, and leader of the unsuccessful 1651 Keian Uprising. Though a commoner, and thus not officially of the samurai class, Yui was known as one of the "Three Great Ronin" along with Kumazawa Banzan and Yamaga Sokō.

Born in Sunpu to humble origins, Yui is said to have been gifted in his youth; he was taken in by a number of rōnin from the area, who taught him recent history, and likely swordsmanship and military strategy as well.

As an adult, he found employment as an instructor at a samurai academy, teaching swordsmanship and related disciplines. But these academies, which could be found throughout the country, served not only the pure function of schools of martial arts; certainly, discipline, ethics, and related arts were taught as well. But the schools also served as social and intellectual spaces, in which political ideas were discussed, and grievances aired in a familiar environment where comrades and friends met. Students were almost exclusively members of the samurai class, but running the full gamut of rankings, from daimyo to ronin. As regulations were made stricter at this time, and many ronin expelled from their domains, the number of students grew dramatically.