Shinron by Aizawa Seishisai, Kodansha: 9784065341971

**日本の国益を守り尊皇攘夷に献身した思想家**
江戸時代後期から末期（幕末）の水戸藩士・水戸学藤田派の学者・思想家。代表作に「新論」があり、その中で尊王攘夷論を唱えたことで知られる。
生涯
天明2年（1782年）、水戸藩士・会沢恭敬の長男として、水戸城下の下谷で生まれる。母は根本重政の娘。幼名は市五郎または安吉。
寛政3年（1791年）、10歳で藤田幽谷の私塾（のちの青藍舎）へ入門し、「沈深にして卓識あり」と評された。
享和3年（1803年）、格式留守列となり、江戸彰考館勤務となる。文政4年（1821年）には藩主・徳川治紀の諸公子の侍読（教育係）を命じられ、その中に後の9代藩主・斉昭もいた。
安政5年（1858年）、幕府の日米修好通商条約締結に関して、朝廷から水戸藩に戊午の密勅が下ると、会沢は密勅を水戸藩から諸藩へ回送することに反対して、勅諚の朝廷への返納を主張し、藩内の尊王攘夷鎮派の領袖として尊皇攘夷激派と対立する。
文久3年（1863年）、水戸の自邸にて死去。82歳。墓所は茨城県水戸市の本法寺。
評価
正志斎は『新論』において尊王攘夷論を唱えた人物として知られるが、同時代の多くの知識人は神話的な国体論に関心を示さず、思想書というよりも海防論の書として評価した。
English Summary
**A thinker who was dedicated to protecting Japan's national interests and revering the Emperor and expelling the foreigners**
A samurai of the Mito domain and a scholar and thinker of the Fujita school of Mito studies from the late Edo period to the end of the Edo period (the end of the Edo period). His most famous work is ``Shinron,'' and he is known for advocating the theory of sonno-joi.
lifetime
Born in 1782 in Shimotani, in the vicinity of Mito Castle, as the eldest son of Yasutaka Aizawa, a samurai of the Mito domain. Her mother is Shigemasa Nemoto's daughter. His childhood name was Ichigoro or Yasuyoshi.
In 1791, at the age of 10, he enrolled in Yukoku Fujita's private school (later Seirisha), where he was described as ``deep and knowledgeable.''
In 1803, he became a formal absentee and worked at Edo Shokokan. In 1821, he was ordered to be a samurai (trainer) for the princes of Harunori Tokugawa, the lord of the domain, and among them was the future 9th lord of the domain, Nariaki.
In 1858, when the imperial court sent the Mito clan a secret imperial edict concerning the Shogunate's conclusion of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan, Aizawa sent the imperial edict to the Mito clan. He opposed the forwarding of the imperial edicts to the various domains, insisted on the return of the imperial edicts to the imperial court, and as the leader of the son-no-joi-chochin faction within the domain, he opposed the son-no-joi geki faction.
He died in 1863 at his residence in Mito. 82 years old. His grave is located at Honpoji Temple in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Evaluation
Seishisai is known as the person who advocated the Sonno-joi theory in his ``Shinron'', but many intellectuals of his time showed no interest in the mythical Kokutai theory, and evaluated it as a book on coastal defense rather than a book of ideas.
Wikipedia:会沢正志斎