, commonly named , was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the late years of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many ishin shishi who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration. Early life Born Sugi Toranosuke in Hagi in the Chōshū region of Japan, he was the second son of Sugi Yurinosuke (1804–1865), a modest rank Samurai and his wife Kodama Taki (1807–1890). Yurinosuke had two younger brothers, Yoshida Daisuke and Tamaki Bunnoshin. Sugi Toranosuke's eldest brother was Sugi Umetarō (1828–1910), his four younger sisters were Sugi Yoshiko (later Kodama Yoshiko) (1832–1924), Sugi Hisa (later Odamura Hisa) (1839–1881), Sugi Tsuya (1841–1843), and Sugi Fumi (later Katori Miwako) (1843–1921), his youngest brother was Sugi Toshisaburō (1845–1876). Sugi Toranosuke was later adopted at the age of four by Yoshida Daisuke and was renamed to Yoshida Shōin. The process of adopting younger sons from the Sugi house was established generations before Shoin's birth. To avoid financial insolvency, the Sugi house controlled two additional samurai lineages-the Tamaki and the Yoshida lineages. The oldest male became the Sugi heir and the younger Sugi sons were adopted by the Tamaki and Yoshida lines as their heirs-to ensure the Sugi succession was protected, this required the head of the house in the Yoshida line and most generations the Tamaki line to remain unmarried. Daisuke, already in ill health, died one year later at the age of 28, leaving Yoshida Shoin as the heir of the Yoshida lineage at five years of age. His house was also the instructor to the daimyō in military studies. Due to Shōin's young age, four men were appointed to represent the Yoshida house as instructors. Shōin's younger uncle, Tamaki, set about accelerating Shōin's education to prepare the boy for his eventual duties to be trained as a Yamaga instructor. In 1839 at the age of 9, he was taught by a military art instructor at Meirinkan. At the age of 11, his talent was recognized for his excellent performance for his lecture to the daimyō Mōri Takachika. At the age of 13, he led the Chōshū forces to conducted a Western fleet extermination exercise. In 1845, he received a lecture on the Naganuma Military Arts by Yusuke Yamada. In 1851, he went to Edo and studied the Western military science under Sakuma Shōzan and Asaka Gonsai. In 1851, he studied under Miyabe Teizō and Yamaga Sosui