Talk:Sakuma Shōzan

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Ian Buruma's book 'Inventing Japan' (published 2003) has this to say of Shozan's death:

Sakuma Shozan, who had developed theories, based on Western knowledge, on the best ways to defend Japan against foreign incursions, was imprisoned for encouraging his pupil [Yoshida Shoin] to study overseas. He wrote a famous treatise, entitled Reflection on My Errors. After his release, he was murdered by anti-Western fanatics for riding his horse on a European-style saddle

This reason given is one quite different to the what is currently stated in this Wikipedia article, and although I don't know on what authority Buruma has this information, if it's in a published book it must attract some credibility? 222.154.137.82 09:11, 7 May 2007 (UTC)