神戸の富山芝人、 富山隆と前田吉彦の繋がりは？

The more I research 富山芝人 (Toyama Shibahito) through this はがき collection, the more I uncover about his life, despite the information being quite fragmentary. He not only worked on an abridged translation of the book Russo-Turkish War Records (露土戦争記), published in 1878 (Meiji 11), but he also contributed to HIOGO NEWS and was actively involved in the tree nursery business in 神戸 (Kobe). We do not yet know whether 富山隆 (Toyama Takashi), who was also active in the nursery business, was the son, brother, or another relative of 芝人 (Shibahito).

One postcard from this collection features 富山芝人 (Toyama Shibahito) writing from Kobe on October 10, 1891, to 富山隆 (Toyama Takashi) in Tottori, Inaba. Shibahito seems to address the card "in care of" someone, but we are unable to decipher that name. This document is significant as it showcases Toyama Shibahito's penmanship (see above). Takashi was likely there on a business trip.

Additionally, we found a card written by Toyama Takashi on January 21, 1886, sent to someone named Kobayashi in Tansu-machi, Tokyo. From this card, we can also discern Takashi's penmanship style. However, to our untrained eyes, Shibahito and Takashi share a very similar writing style(see above).

The two cards we illustrate here (see above) further demonstrate that 富山芝人 (Toyama Shibahito) had a connection with HIOGO NEWS. One of these cards, a New Year's greeting dated 1885, was sent by Takaatsu Okazaki of Osaka (岡崎高厚 1853-1904, Freedom and People's Rights Movement Activist of the Meiji Era) and is simply addressed to Toyama at Hyogo News (兵庫ニュース). Another New Year's card from the same year, also originating from Osaka, addresses Toyama as 兵庫ニュース社長 (President of Hyogo News). We understand that HIOGO NEWS was a biweekly English newspaper based in Kobe (Hyogo), first published on April 23, 1868.

Furthermore, the Toyama family was involved in the plant nursery business, as evidenced by four illustrated cards that include the term "植木商" (Ueki-shō) in their address. This term refers to businesses engaged in the cultivation and sale of plants, trees, and shrubs, often focusing on ornamental or landscape plants. The dates on these cards are 1886, 1888, 1890, and one with an illegible postmark.

Additionally, although one card (see below) does not include "植木商" (Ueki-shō) in the address, it references lily bulbs in a message sent by 井代篤子 (Ishiro Atsuko) in 1883. Unfortunately, we could not find any information about her online.

Finally, we were able to confirm that 富山芝人 (Toyama Shibahito) is indeed the translator of Russo-Turkish War Records (露土戦争記). In the book, he is mentioned as having performed 抄訳 (しょうやく, shōyaku), which refers to a "summary translation" or "abridged translation." This process involves translating only the essential parts or main points of a document rather than providing a verbatim translation. His name and address are clearly indicated in the book (see photos).

When we posted about the famous peonies (see October 16 post), known as "Kiksuke peonies," featured in One Hundred Views of Osaka, we had no idea how crucial a role Toyama would play in our subsequent posts. We do not yet know how he is related to Maeda Yoshihiko, but they were neighbors in Kobe. We hope to uncover more as this blog progresses.