--- title: Google Doodle Honors Blind Japanese Scholar Hanawa Hokiichi description: Hanawa Hokiichi, one of Japan's most revered scholars, would have turned 271 today. canonical: https://time.com/4829722/google-doodle-hanawa-hokiichi/ author: Joseph Hincks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-23T05:45:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:44:48.516Z og:title: Google Doodle Celebrates Blind Japanese Scholar og:description: Hanawa Hokiichi was born 271 years ago today. og:url: https://time.com/4829722/google-doodle-hanawa-hokiichi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8dd24df7cc0fb3a/6988d2fb8fd2ee1181357ad7/hokiichi-hanawas-271st-birthday-5749337278644224-2xa-2.gif?branch=production&width=782&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 782 og:image:height: 440 og:image:alt: hokiichi-hanawas-271st-birthday-5749337278644224-2xa 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Google Doodle Celebrates Blind Japanese Scholar twitter:description: Hanawa Hokiichi was born 271 years ago today. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte8dd24df7cc0fb3a/6988d2fb8fd2ee1181357ad7/hokiichi-hanawas-271st-birthday-5749337278644224-2xa-2.gif?branch=production&width=782&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Google Doodle Celebrates the Birthday of Japan's Blind Scholar Hanawa Hokiichi > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2ccf9a00-0e91-4527-8db2-e16822390328&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Joseph Hincks](https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Jun 23, 2017 5:45 AM UTC  Google Doodle celebrates what would have been the 271st birthday of Hokiichi Hanawa Google Doodle celebrates what would have been the 271st birthday of Hokiichi Hanawa Google Doodle by [Joseph Hincks](https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Jun 23, 2017 5:45 AM UTC Hanawa Hokiichi, Japan’s revered blind scholar and Buddhist monk of the Edo-era, was born on this date a full 271 years ago. A Google [Doodle](https://www.google.com/doodles/hokiichi-hanawas-271st-birthday) appearing in the country Friday shows the savant seated next to a kneeling student, with dreams of books floating above his head — alluding to his reputation as a font of wisdom. Hokiichi is known for compiling the more than 500-volume Gunsho ruijū, a vast collection of linguistic texts and classical literature. He is also remembered as a person who persevered in the face of adversity; after going blind when he was a young boy, Hokiichi impressed local scholars with his extraordinary memory. He studied history, literature, medical science and jurisprudence under several masters. When American author and activist Hellen Keller visited the Hanawa Hokiichi memorial house in 1937, she described it as the most significant event of her trip to Japan. “I believe that his name would pass down from generation to generation like a stream of water,” Keller reportedly said. 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