CONFUCIANISM IN THE EDO (TOKUGAWA) PERIOD
In Japan, the official guiding philosophy of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867)
was Neo-Confucianism. This philosophy profoundly influenced the thought and
behaviour of the educated class. The tradition, introduced into Japan from China
by Zen Buddhists in the medieval period, provided a heavenly sanction for the
existing social order. In the Neo-Confucian view, harmony was maintained by
a reciprocal relationship of justice between a superior, who was urged to be
benevolent, and a subordinate, who was urged to be obedient and to observe propriety.
The Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar Chu Hsi's (aka Zhu Xi) ideas were the most
influential, but they were by no means the only ones studied in the Tokugawa
period.
Here are the four main elements of Neo-Confucianism which influenced Japan:
1) Fundamental rationalism
a. stressed objective reason as the basis of learning and conduct
b. pursued the "investigation of thing" as described in The Great
Learning.
c. studied the constant laws of nature and human society (as opposed
to the ceaseless change and Law of Impermanence stressed by
Buddhism).
2) Essential humanism
a. focus on man and his relationships, not the supernatural world
The stress on social order (warrior, farmer, artisans, merchants) was
supported by these ideas.
b. also stressed were the five Confucian relationships
c. clearly rejected Buddhism and Taoism, as Hayashi Razan does on p. 357.
3) Historicism
a. like Confucius in the Analects, scholars hearkened to the past for precedents.
b. in the Japanese case, scholars looked not to Chinese history but to
Japanese history.
4) Ethnocentrism
a. In China, this meant anti-Buddhist and anti-Mongol/Turkic
invaders.
b. In Japan, this meant loyalty to the emperor and intense xenophobia, which
worked nicely with the National Learning scholarship of the time. Also contributed
to isolationism.
The Edo period was a time of growing commerce, but Confucianism was opposed
to it because it held that the fortunes of the government rose and fell with
the fortunes of agriculture, not those of commerce. Both commoner and samurai
ethics were more dependent on Confucianism than any other system.
Hayashi Razan (1583-1657)
-Advisor to Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), the first Tokugawa shogun.
-Helped draft almost all edicts promulgated by the early Tokugawa shogun.
-Was also a scholar of Shinto and National Learning
The concept of the shi (Chinese: shih): "knight" or
"gentleman," someone with a level of "spiritual/moral development,
as well as academic and martial cultivation which is clearly above that of the
average person." (Muller)
-the true shi would be both a good soldier and scholarly
Excepts from Neo-confucian texts:
XIII:20 Tzu Kung asked: "What must a man be like to be called a
shih?" The Master said, "One who in conducting himself maintains
a sense of honor, and who when sent to the four quarters of the world
does not disgrace his prince's commission, may be called a shih."
XIII:28 If you are decisive, kind and gentle, you can be called a shih.
With friends, the shih is clear but kind. With his brothers he is gentle.
XIV:3 Confucius said: "A shih who is addicted to comfort should
not
be called a shih."
XV:8 Confucius said: "The determined shih and the man of jen
will
not save their lives if it requires damaging their jen. They will even
sacrifice themselves to consummate their jen."
XIX:1 Tzu Chang said: "The shih who faced with danger can
abandon his life...he is worth something."
Hayashi equated the shi with the samurai. In Japan, the shi
replaced the chuntze as the ideal.
The samurai was to be learned not just in the art of war, but in the Confucian
classics as well.
Yamazaki Ansai (1618-1682)
--Simple doctrine: "Devotion within, righteousness without"
--Devotion: service to the Shinto deities
--Righteousness: proper behavior in society
--Yamazaki tried hard to reconcile Shinto and Confucian philosophies.
In the end, he claimed that man must take some things on faith
(which is a Shinto statement).
Gave rise to three major trends of the following two centuries:
1. the popularization of Confucian ethics (see Hosoi Heishu)
2. the revival of Shinto and its development as a coherent system
3. intense nationalism
Yamazaki gave a special focus to education
-"the aim of education...is to clarify human relationships"
-This focus on education was continued through into the modern era.
-Yamazaki found The Great Learning particularly important
-closely associated the five relationships to education
The Oyomei (Chinese: Wang Yang-ming) School:
Also Neo-Confucian, but different from most Chu Hsi schools:
Stressed "Intuition" (shin) over "Reason" (ri)
Stressed Action over Words
Felt that man had an innate knowledge, and it was primarily important
for one to cultivate it.
Was theistic, and addressed the existence of God(s)
Man's innate knowledge was closely tied to the "Supreme Ultimate"
In sum scholarly Neo-Confucian studies were widespread and varied. A number
of Confucian "academies" (like think tanks) were established, such
as the Kaitokudo in Osaka. Generally, only the samurai class would attend these
academies. On the popular level, people learned their place in society and the
importance of loyalty and filial piety through travelling scholars. Not all
scholars mixed Confucianism with National Learning: some felt that one or the
other was superior.
The establishment of Oyomei schools also helped reconcile Shintoism with Neo-Confucianism,
because is allowed for supernatural element in a Confucian world.
See also two other excellent links: