__NOTOC__ or Ekiken, also known as Atsunobu (篤信), was a Japanese

Neo-Confucianist Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in th ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. Kaibara was born into a family of advisors to the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' of

Fukuoka Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Chikuzen Province in modern-day Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyushu. The domain was also sometimes referred to as Chikuzen Domain, or as Kuroda Domain, after the ruling Kuroda ...

Chikuzen Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today part of Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyūshū. It was sometimes called or , with Chikugo Province. Chikuzen bordered Buzen, Bungo, Chikugo, and Hizen Provinces. History The original provincial ...

(modern-day

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

). He accompanied his father to

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

in 1648, and was sent in 1649 to

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

to study Western science. At his father's urging, he continued his studies in Nagasaki as a

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...

from 1650 through 1656. He then re-entered service to

Kuroda Kuroda (written: lit. "black ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese painter * Akinobu Kuroda 黒田明伸, Japanese historian * Chris Kuroda, lighting designer and operator for the band Phish and J ...

, which led to his continuing studies in Kyoto. After his father's death in 1665, he returned to Fukuoka.Yonemoto, Marcia. (2003). ''Mapping Early Modern Japan: Space, Place, and Culture in the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868).'' p. 49. Kaibara's two most significant contributions to Japanese culture were the study of nature based on a blend of Western natural science and Neo-Confucianism, and the translation of the complex writings of Neo-Confucianism into vernacular Japanese. His synthesis of Confucian ideas and Western science influence the formation of

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

, especially

State Shinto was Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the Emperor as ...

, and reflect similar concerns to the

Kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refo ...

movement.

Kaibara's science was confined to

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and Materia medica and focused on the "natural law". Kaibara became as famous in Japan as people such as

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

when it came to science. He advanced the study of botany in Japan when he wrote ''Yamato honzō'' (Medicinal herbs of Japan), which was a seminal study of Japanese

plants Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

. The 19th-century German Japanologist

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

called him the "Aristotle of Japan". Kaibara was known for his manuals of behavior, such as changing his Confucian ethical system based on the teachings of

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

(also known as Chu Hsi) into an easy "self-help" manuals. As an educator and philosopher, it appears that Kaibara's main goal in life was to further the process of weaving Neo-Confucianism into Japanese culture. In this context, he is best known for such books as ''Precepts for Children'' and ''Greater Learning for Women'' (''Onna daigaku''); but modern scholarship argues that it was actually prepared by other hands. Although the genesis of the work remains unchallenged, the oldest extant copy (1733) ends with the lines "as related by our teacher Ekiken Kaibara" and the publisher's colophon states that the text was written from lectures of our teacher Kaibara."

Published works

* ''Dazaifu jinja engi'' (History of Dazaifu Shrine).Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home : Personalities : Kaibara Ekiken
/ref> * ''Jingikun'' (Lessons of the Deities). * ''Onna daigaku'' (Greater Learning for Women), c. 1729. * ''Shinju heikō aimotorazaru ron'' (Treatise on the Non-Divergence of Shintō and Confucianism). * ''Yamato honzō'' (Medicinal herbs of Japan), 1709. * ''Yamato sōhon'' (Grasses of Japan). * ''Yōjōkun'' (The Book of Life-nourishing Principles), 1713. * ''Taigiroku'' (The Record of Great Doubts), posthumously published in 1714.

Notes

References

* Kaibara, Ekiken and Shingoro Takaishi. (1905). '' Women and the Wisdom of Japan'' (Basil Hall Chamberlain, translator). London: John Murray. ** Cranmer-Byng, L. and S.A. Kapadia, eds. (1914). '' Women and the Wisdom of Japan''. London: John Murray. * Ko, Dorothy,

JaHyun Kim Haboush JaHyun Kim Haboush Korean: , ; 1940 in Seoul, Korea – 2011 in New York City) was a Korean-American scholar of Korean history and literature in the United States. Haboush was the King Sejong Professor of Korean Studies at Columbia Universit ...

and

Joan R. Piggott Joan R. Piggott (born 1947) is an American historian specializing in East Asian studies. Education Piggott completed a master of arts from Stanford University in 1972, followed by a doctorate from Stanford in 1987. Career Piggott began her aca ...

. (2003). ''Women and Confucian Cultures in Premodern China, Korea, and Japan.'' Berkeley:

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

. * Yonemoto, Marcia. (2003). ''Mapping Early Modern Japan: Space, Place, and Culture in the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868).'' Berkeley: University of California Press.

External links

* East Asia Institute,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Further reading/bibliography
* National Archives of Japan, illustrated scrolls plus text by Kaibara Ekiken: *

** ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080309203119/http://jpimg.digital.archives.go.jp/kouseisai/category/emaki/itsukushima_e.html Itsukushima kakei,'' guide to Itsukushima, text by Ekiken (circa 1720)*
''Tanngo no kuni Amano hashidate no zu,'' guide to Ama-no-Hashidate, text by Eiken (circa 1726)

"Database of Pre-Modern Japanese Works"
(National Institute of Japanese Literature): Books by Kaibara Ekiken {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaibara, Ekken 1630 births 1714 deaths 18th-century Japanese botanists Japanese Confucianists 18th-century Japanese philosophers Japanese writers of the Edo period Neo-Confucian scholars Pre-Linnaean botanists 17th-century Japanese philosophers 17th-century Japanese botanists