NINOMIYA, SONTOKU

(1787-1856)

A diligent scholar and successful agriculturalist of the lateTokugawaperiod, who came to the attention of the Tokugawa shogunate as a result of his success in leading civil engineering and land cultivation projects. He emphasised frugality and the rational re-investment of surpluses. He founded the hotokusha or repayment of blessings society, which developed into the widespreadHotokumovement.