Everything about Kokugaku totally explained
Kokugaku (: 國學/: 国学; lit. National study or Japanology) was a school of
Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the
Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars tended to relativatize the study of Chinese and Buddhist texts and favoured philological research into the early Japanese classics.
What later became known as the
kokugaku tradition began in the 17th and 18th centuries as
kogaku ("ancient studies"),
wagaku ("Japanese studies") or
inishie manabi, a term favoured by
Motoori Norinaga and his school. Drawing heavily from
Shinto and Japan's ancient literature, the school looked back to a perceived golden age of Japanese culture and society. They drew upon ancient Japanese poetry, predating the rise of the feudal orders (in the mid 12th century) and other cultural achievements to show the 'emotion' of Japan. One famous 'emotion' appealed to by the
kokugakusha is '
mono no aware'.
The word 'Kokugaku', coined to distinguish this school from
kangaku (Chinese studies), was popularized by
Hirata Atsutane in the 19th century. It has been translated as 'Native Studies' and represented a response to
Sinocentric Neo-Confucian theories. Kokugaku scholars criticized the repressive moralizing of Confucian thinkers, and tried to re-establish Japanese culture before the influx of foreign modes of thought and behaviour.
Eventually kokugaku thinkers succeeded in gaining power and influence in Japanese society. Later, their thought influenced the
Sonnō jōi philosophy and movement. It was this philosophy, amongst other things, that led to the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa in
1868 and the subsequent
Meiji Restoration. In addition
state Shinto and
state socialism (which contrary to its name was actually much more akin to
fascism than
Marxism) developed from
Mitogaku thought and thus indirectly led to Japan's imperialist expansion throughout the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries.
Further Information
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