協同組合
唐人町プラザ甘棠館
TOJINMACHI PLAZA COOPERATIVE “KANTOUKAN”

協同組合唐人町プラザ甘棠館とはThe Tojinmachi Plaza Cooperative “Kantoukan““This place where the “Tojinmachi
Nishi-Ward Redevelopment
Building” was constructed, is thesite where Nanmei Kamei started“Kantoukan” the WesternAcademy. The school educatedmany individuals who would later
actively participate in the outsideworld.

甘棠館初代館長 亀井南冥
Nanmei Kamei, the First Director of the “Kantoukan”
In 1784, Haruyuki of the House of Kuroda, the 7th generation feudal lord of the Fukuoka Clan, opened two schoolsof learning simultaneously, namely “Shuyukan” the Eastern Academy and “Kantoukan” the Western Academy. The
school building for “Kantoukan” the Western Academy was built adjacent to the mansion of Nanmei Kamei inTojinmachi.
Having appointed Nanmei Kamei, a Confucian scholar from the masses as its schoolmaster, the school widely
taught the practical learning of the Sorai School of Confucianism (“Even if learning does away with a bit of morality,
it must educate the important concept of governing a nation and providing relief to the people.”)In the year he became schoolmaster of the “Kantoukan”, Nanmei Kamei professed a counterargument against theview held by the Fukuoka Clan claiming the “Golden Seal” discovered in Shikanoshima Island was fake and not
original, being materials, which were melted down and then cast. Authoring “The Golden Seal Explained”, Nanmei
Kamei is the man known to have safeguarded the “Golden Seal.”

Nanmei Kamei (1743-1814)
A Confucian scholar and physician. Penname: Nanmei. Born Meinohama Village, Sawara
County (presently Meinohama, Sawara-Ward, Fukuoka City).
Started learning the Sorai School of Confucianism from Zen Priest Daicho at the age of
14 where he studied Chinese poetry.
Left for the Kyoto-Osaka Kamigata area at the age of 20, where he mastered medicine
under Dokushoan Nagatomi.
Opened the “Nanmeido” in 1764 in Tojinmachi where he taught Confucianism.
。

甘棠館の結末The End of the “Kantoukan”
Nanmei Kamei is the first person to have certified the Golden Seal, discovered in
Shikanoshima Island, as an important cultural asset of Japan. His
pronouncement was based on the teachings of the Kogaku School ofConfucianism.
Additionally, Nanmei Kamei, known locally as a practical man of chivalrous spirit,
tried to work with society to improve it, but this in turn alarmed the authorities
to detest him.
Attempts were made to build a memorial monument by the remains of theDazaifu Government District and other locations but failed due to opposition by
the authorities.

The Western Academy enjoyed overwhelming popularity due to its motto of free spirit. Yet
perhaps because of a ripple effect from the aftermath of the “Prohibition of Heterodoxy in
the Kansei Era (The Kansei Edict”) enacted in 1790, Nanmei Kamei was forced out of his
post as schoolmaster of the “Kantoukan” in 1792. Furthermore, after the school wasdestroyed by fire 7 years later, the institution officially closed. It was then simultaneously
consolidated under the neo-Confucian “Shuyukan” the Eastern Academy administered by
the Fukuoka Clan.

甘棠は果樹の名“Kantou” is a type of fruit tree. It is known under thedifferent names of:“Karin” (Pseudocyndonia sinesiss or Chinese Quince) and“Zumi” (Malus toringo). Both are deciduous tall trees
belonging to the Rosaceae family. The trees produce
small spherically shaped red or yellow colored fruit,
which tastes sour.

There are two “Kantou” trees planted by the “Tojin Bakery Poem Store”, locatedon the west side of the Kaland Park building, which produce beautiful blossoms
every year.