近代日本和儒教的变化

Abstract

The Meiji Restoration in 1868 is the great turning point for Japan to enter the modern world. This article examines the intellectual landscape in Meiji Japan based on the relationship of Confucianism and native studies (kokugaku). Confucianism was the state learning of the Tokugawa bakufu but also had the aspects of revolutionary ideas for anti-bakufu movements because it had an internal conflict between the loyalty to the social order and righteous revolution to salvage the people from terrible rulers. The bakufu indeed collapsed and we can interpret this as the result of realizing the revolutionary aspects of Confucianism. Sato Issai already noticed this conflict of Confucian logic and Yoshida Shoin launched wholesale discussions of this issue. Another feature of Meiji Confucianism was the assimilation with native studies respecting the imperial authority. This assimilation was maximized in Fujita Togo and Fujita Yukoku’s ideas seen from Mito scholarship. These ideas became the basis of Meiji intellectual tradition and Meiji Constitution. Since this assimilated philosophy endowed emperor with flawless ethical authority, they believed that emperor cannot make a wrong decision. This shows that the combination of Confucianism and native studies did not have only a positive side. However, we can understand this from the perspective of Confucianism as the attempt to transform itself with other philosophical notions.