Neo Confucianism In Japan Essay

Tokugawa Japan’s history began in the 17th century when Tokugawa Ieyasu forged documents in order to validate his claim on the title shogun and ended those who opposed his position. It is during the Tokugawa regime that foreign influences changed and evolved the political, social, and, to an extent, economic lives of the people. From the westerners, Christianity entered and the religion shaped the policies and social issues, also foreign trade affected the natural resources of Japan. On the other hand, China and Korea exerted a lot amount on Tokugawa Japan as well with Neo-Confucianism and the concept of mu’en would change the intelligentsia and aesthetics sphere. In contrast to the foreign influences that developed in the 17th century, there were also movements that came in response to challenge Neo-Confucianism such as Ancient Learning and the revival of Shintoism. With all the foreign influences in the 17th century, it brings to question of Japanese authenticity during Tokugawa Japan. With many foreign influences that helped develop Tokugawa Japan, it is crucially imperative to
Confucianism was developed in China during the 6th century BCE by its founder Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who created The Analects, which is used as the primary source of study for Confucian followers. Neo-Confucianism, it was known as Shushigaku in Japanese, was more focused on metaphysics, and one of the most influential Neo-Confucian philosophers is Chu Hsi. He created his own school called the Confucianism Tao, which emphasized on the Way, and help attain sagehood. Although Neo-Confucianism came to Japan around the 12th century, also known as the Kamakura era, the learning of Neo-Confucianism was kept mainly in Kyoto and practiced solely by Zen monks. It was later that Neo-Confucianism disseminated through Fujiwara Seika, a Zen monk who left his