Tejima Toan (手島堵庵)
Toan TEJIMA (June 12, 1718 - March 8, 1786) was a moral philosopher who lived in the mid-Edo period. He was a son of a wealthy merchant, Kaigaku UEKAWA, and his mother belonged to the Uekawa clan. Waan TEJIMA was his son. His real name was Takafusa UEKAWA. His common name was Genemon OMIYA. His name in adulthood was Ogen, and he was also known as Tokaku.
He began studying under Baigan ISHIDA at the age of 18. In 1738, he reached kaigo (became enlightened), and he passed down his family business to Waan around 1773. After that, he studied and lectured on Sekimon-shingaku (a popularized blend of Buddhist, Shinto and Confucian ethical teachings) and became famous, owing partially to a string of deaths of his senior apprentices. When he retired, at first he lived in Gorakusha in Kyoto Tomikoji, and even though he used it as a place for lectures and learning, he built Shuseisha in Gojo Higashinotoin in 1773, Jishusha in Nishijin in 1779 and Meirinsha in Kawaramachi in 1782 because of an increase in the number of his disciples, and he made an effort to spread and propagate Sekimon-shingaku.
His disciples included Doni NAKAZAWA, Shoo FUSE, Kisui UEKAWA, Gido WAKISAKA and Tokuken SATTA.