''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 refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of research into the early Japanese classics.

History

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 favored by Motoori Norinaga and his school. Drawing heavily from Shinto and Japan's ancient literature, the school looked back to a golden age of culture and society. They drew upon ancient Japanese poetry, predating the rise of

medieval Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to Japanese Paleolithic, prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millenni ...

's feudal orders in the mid-twelfth 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, the thinking of kokugaku scholars influenced the

sonnō jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement s ...

philosophy and movement. It was this philosophy, amongst other things, that led to the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 and the subsequent

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

Tenets

The Kokugaku school held that the Japanese national character was naturally pure, and would reveal its inherent splendor once the foreign (Chinese) influences were removed. The "Chinese heart" was considered different from the "true heart" or "Japanese Heart". This true Japanese spirit needed to be revealed by removing a thousand years of Chinese learning. It thus took an interest in philologically identifying the ancient, indigenous meanings of ancient Japanese texts; in turn, these ideas were synthesized with early Shinto and European astronomy.

Influence

The term ''kokugaku'' was used liberally by early modern Japanese to refer to the "national learning" of each of the world's nations. This usage was adopted into Chinese, where it is still in use today (C: ''guoxue''). The Chinese also adopted the kokugaku term "national essence" (J: ''kokusui'', C: 国粹 ''guocui''). According to scholar of religion Jason Ānanda Josephson, ''Kokugaku'' played a role in the consolidation of

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 a ...

in the Meiji era. It promoted a unified, scientifically grounded and politically powerful vision of Shinto against Buddhism,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, and Japanese folk religions, many of which were named "superstitions."Josephson, 108–115.

Notable Kokugaku scholars

* Hanawa Hokiichi *

Hagiwara Hiromichi was a scholar of literature, philology, and nativist studies (''Kokugaku'') as well as an author, translator, and poet active in late-Edo period Japan. He is best known for the innovative commentary and literary analysis of '' The Tale of Genji'' ...

* * Hirata Atsutane *

Hayashi Ōen was a Japanese nationalist, priest, scholar of kokugaku, and Shinto fundamentalist. He was also a physician and military strategist. He is most often known by the pseudonyms or, rarely, . Biography A samurai by birth, Ōen was born the third ...

Kada no Azumamaro was a poet and philologist of the early Edo period. His ideas had a germinal impact on the nativist school of National Learning in Japan. Life Azumamaro was born the second son of Hakura Nobuaki (1625-1696), father of a scholarly family that ...

* Kamo no Mabuchi * * Motoori Norinaga *

Motoori Ōhira was a scholar of Kokugaku, and was the successor to Motoori Norinaga's school master. His pen name was Fuji no Kakitsu (藤垣内). Life Ōhira was born in Matsuzaka of the province of Ise (now Matsuzaka City in Mie Prefecture). He was a son ...

Motoori Haruniwa was a scholar of Kokugaku, and student of the Japanese language. He was a first son of Motoori Norinaga. He was called Kenzo (健蔵) in childhood. Life Haruniwa followed his father and studied the Japanese language from childhood. His father, N ...

* * *

Shimazaki Masaki was a Japanese honjin chief, student of kokugaku, and Shinto priest. He was the father of Shimazaki Tōson. He primarily wrote under the name of , but later in life also adopted the names and finally . His courtesy name was , and he was re ...

Tsunoda Tadayuki was a Japanese scholar of kokugaku. He was also a Shinto priest. Biography Tsunoda Tadayuki was born in 1834 in the remote village of Nagadoro (now within the city of Saku, Nagano Prefecture), the second son of , a kannushi of the local C ...

* Nakane Kōtei *

Yamakuni Hyōbu was a Japanese samurai retainer of the Mito Domain, military strategist, and student of the Hirata school of kokugaku. Biography He was born the eldest son of , a Mito retainer, under the name Yamakuni Tomoaki. His younger brother was . He ...

* Ueda Akinari *

Date Munehiro Date Munehiro or Chihiro（Japanese:伊達宗広 or 千広; June 24, 1802 – May 18, 1877) was a Japanese samurai of Kii Domain and Scholar of Kokugaku, living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods. He was father of Mutsu Munemitsu（� ...

* * * Kume Kunitake *

Hasuda Zenmei was a Japanese nationalist, Shinto fundamentalist, and scholar of kokugaku as well as classical Japanese literature. He was also a historian, author, and military officer. Biography Hasuda was born in 1904 into the family of , abbot of the � ...

References

External links

The Kokugaku (Native Studies) School

Kokugaku
— Encyclopedia of Shinto. {{Authority control History of science and technology in Japan Japanese philosophy