「知の巨人」渡部昇一〈しょういち〉5 “A Giant of Knowledge”, Shoichi Watanabe 5

「知の巨人」渡部昇一〈しょういち〉５

（５）恩師・佐藤順太先生
　「知の巨人」渡部昇一に強い影響を与えた人物がいます。高校時代の英語教師佐藤順太先生です。書斎を持つ読書家で、渡部昇一が人生の師と仰いだ教師です。『致知』（2017年6月号）に掲載された「二十代をどう生きるか」という連載コラムの第七十八回目に、「恩師・佐藤順太先生」について書いています。
 
「人生の恩師との出逢いも忘れられない。高校時代に英語の授業を担当していた佐藤順太先生である。佐藤先生は知識を愛する人という表現がぴったりな方で、私は知らず知らずのうちに知識欲を掻き立てられ、身を乗り出して佐藤先生の授業を聴いていた。卒業の際、遊びに来いとお誘いいただき、数名の同級生とご自宅に伺ったことがある。私はそこで生まれて初めて本物の書斎を見た。天井まで書棚があり、数々の和綴じの本や『小泉八雲全集』の初版、イギリスの百科事典二十四巻などが収蔵されている。とても山形県の田舎の一教師の書斎とは思えなかった。佐藤先生は着物姿でゆったり書斎に腰を掛けながら、いろんな話をしてくださった。
　その時、私はこういう老人になりたいと強く思った。一生の目的が定まった瞬間だったと言っても過言ではない。まさしく佐藤先生に痺れたのである。」（渡部昇一「二十代をどう生きるか」（『致知』2017年6月号）
 
　渡部昇一は、常々「自分もあの人のようになりたい」という“人生のモデル”を持っていました。そうしたモデルとなった人物には、佐藤順太先生の他に、本多静六（林学博士・造園家・株式投資家。日本の「公園の父」といわれる）、ヒルティー（スイスの法学者・宗教思想家。『眠られぬ夜のために』の著作で知られる）、白川静（漢文学者・東洋学者。『字統』『字訓』『字通』の字書三部作で知られる）らを挙げることができます。
 

“A Giant of Knowledge”, Shoichi Watanabe５

 
(5) His Mentor: Mr. Junta Sato
 
　　　There is a person who had a strong influence on the ``knowledge giant'' Shoichi Watanabe. His name is Mr. Junta Sato, and I was an English teacher in high school. He is an avid reader who owns a study and is a teacher whom Shoichi Watanabe looked up to as his mentor in life. In the 78th installment of the column titled "How to live in your 20s" published in "Kakuchi" (June 2017 issue), he wrote about his mentor, Mr. Junta Sato.
 
　　``I will never forget meeting my mentor in life Mr. Junta Sato, who was in charge of my English class when I was in high school. Mr. Junta Sato can best be described as someone who loves knowledge, and without realizing it, my desire for knowledge was aroused, and I leaned forward to listen to Mr. Sato's class. When he graduated, he invited me to visit him, and I visited his home with some of his classmates. There I saw a real study for the first time in my life. There are bookshelves up to the ceiling, and there are many Japanese-bound books, the first edition of the ``Koizumi Yakumo Complete Works,'' and 24 volumes of the British encyclopedia. It was hard to believe that it was the study of a teacher from rural Yamagata Prefecture. Mr. Sato sat comfortably in his study wearing a kimono and talked about various things. At that time, I felt strongly that I wanted to be that kind of old man. It is no exaggeration to say that this was the moment when my life's purpose was determined. I was truly moved by Mr. Sato. ” (Shoichi Watanabe “How to Live in Your Twenties” (“Kakuchi” June 2017 issue)
 
　　　Shoichi Watanabe always had a ``model for life'' and ``I want to be like that person.'' In addition to Mr. Junta Sato, the people who served as such models include Mr. Seiroku Honda (Ph.D. in forestry, landscape architect, and stock investor. He was known as Japan's "father of parks") and Hilti (Swiss legal scholar and stock investor. Religious thinker. Known for writing ``For a Sleepless Night''), Mr. Shizuka Shirakawa (Chinese literature scholar and orientalist. Known for the ``Jitou'', ``Jikun'', and ``Jitsu'' trilogy), etc. can be mentioned.　（To be continued）