was a Japanese

Neo-Confucian 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 and writer during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. His most well-known student was

Hayashi Razan , also known as Hayashi Dōshun, was a Japanese Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian philosopher and writer, serving as a tutor and an advisor to the first four ''shōguns'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa ''bakufu''. He is also attributed with f ...

(1583–1657).

Life

He was born in Harima Province (now Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture) on February 8, 1561 to the

Reizei family Reizei family (冷泉家, ''Reizei-ke'') is a Japanese ''kuge'' (court noble) family from Kyoto. It is a branch of the Fujiwara clan, with a long poetic tradition. History The Reizei family descended from Fujiwara no Michinaga through his six ...

. At the age of seven or eight he was sent to the

Shōkoku-ji , formally identified as , is a Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto, first founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, with the existing temple complex having undergone several periods of extensive reconstruction and rebuilding in the succeeding eras. ...

temple to become a

Zen Buddhist Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

priest. There, he studied

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

alongside his Zen studies. In 1596, Fujiwara attempted to travel to

Ming China The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

in order to study under an authentic Confucian master, but inclement weather forced the party to turn back. Fujiwara learned more about

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...

from the Korean scholar Kang Hang.

References

1561 births 1619 deaths Japanese Confucianists 16th-century Japanese philosophers Japanese writers of the Edo period Rinzai Buddhists 17th-century Japanese philosophers {{NeoConfucianism-stub

Life

See also

References