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(★)(A Study of Conservatism in Japanese Intellectual History)(Second Edition)(´Confucianism in Modern Japan´ has been out of print for ten years, but the problem of the continuity of Confucian thought in modern Japan has persisted as a subject of interest, to the point that the Hokuseido Press decided to reprint the book. This second edition of the book is basically a reprinting of the original 1959 version, corrected for typographical errors, together with some minor editing.／ Almost twenty years have gone by since the research for ´Confucianism in Modern Japan´ was carried out, and the study of Japanese intellectual history has progressed greatly during this period. Undoubtedly if one were to embark now on a study of Confucianism in modern Japan, it would require a deeper analysis of Confucian thought in the context of the intellectual atmosphere of modern Japan.／ Although such additional analysis is not included in this new edition, I was convinced from a trip to Japan in 1970 that the interpretations originally presented in the book were still valid. When I wrote ´Confucianism in Modern Japan´, I had never visited the Yushima Seidoo (湯島聖堂) in Tokyo, the central shrine of Confucianism in Japan. During my trip to Japan in 1970, I had the good fortune to be shown through the Yushima Seido by Professor Abe Yoshio (阿部吉雄), a director of the Shibunkai (斯文会), the leading Japanese Confucian organization in modern times. This organization, whose history and membership reflect the vicissitudes of Confucianism in Japan since the Meiji period, was a focus of attention and a major source of information for this book. Therefore, to find that the organization still existed and was active in post-1945 Japan was a pleasant though unexpected surprise.／ On the occasion of my visit to the Yushima Seidoo, I was asked by Professor Abe to make an address at the forthcoming Confucian spring ceremonies. I was unfortunately unable to be present at these ceremonies, but having described them in detail in pre-1945 Japan in my book, I was interested to learn what types of persons were now attending them and the tenor of their addresses. The roster of those present in 1970 was similar to that of the prewar years. The Minister of Education and other important members of Japanese government and business circles attended, together with outstanding scholars such as Morohashi Tetsuji and Uno Tetsuto, and members of the diplomatic corps. In particular, the fact the Chinese Nationalist ambassador gave an address seemed significant to me, because it indicated that Confucian thought still represents a common intellectual heritage for a number of countries in the Far East.／ At this writing, Japan and Communist China are drawing closer together, and Nationalist China has severed official relations with Japan. The uses of the past, in this case of China´s Confucian past, are viewed quite differently in Nationalist China from Communist China, where Confucian thought is regarded as having been an intellectual contrivance of the ruling classes to maintain their power. In view of this attitude, one cannot help wondering whether the Confucian spring and autumn ceremonies, sponsored by the Shibunkai at the Yushima Seido, will continue to be considered a common bond between Communist China and Japan. What seems certain is that the philosophical and socio-political tradition of Confucianism will remain as part of the dialogue between the past and present in Asia. The role assigned to the Confucianism, however, will change according to the dominant values and objectives in society. ´Confucianism in Modern Japan´ attempts to display this changing role in Japan between 1868 and 1945.／September, 1972, Warren W. Smith Jr.／[from ´FOREWORD to the SECOND EDITION´] ◆Warren W. Smith Jr. was born in 1924 in San Francisco, California and went to Caracas, Venezuela soon afterwards with his parents. He returned to the United States to attend high school and college, graduating from Yale University in 1944 with a major in government and history. He spent three years in the U.S. Navy, during which he learned Japanese at the Navy´s Japanese Language School in 1945-46. In December 1946, he went to Korea for the U.S. Military Government, and on returning to the United States in 1949, he entered Graduate School at the University of California in Berkeley. He obtained an M.A. degree in History in January, 1954 ; in May 1955, passed his written and oral doctoral examinations ; and in 1971 was granted his Ph.D. by the University of California. Since 1956, he has been working as an economic analyst in Venezuela, as well as continuing research on Oriental history. He is coauthor of a ´Korean Studies Guide [University of California Press, 1954]´ ; delivered papers at the Boston and New York meetings of the Association for Asian Studies in 1957 and 1958 ; and is a cotranslator of Hatada Takashi, ´A History of Korea [ABC Clio Press, 1969]´. This book is based on his Master´s thesis.／ ▼CONTENTS／ ●I : THE BACKGROUND OF CONFUCIANISM AND THE TOKUGAWA LEGACY／1.Chinese Confucian Background／2.Early Japanese Confucianism and Trends of Orthodox Confucianism in the Tokugawa Period／Confucianism and Western Learning／The Fusion of Confucianism with the Imperial Restoration Movement／ ●II : CONFUCIANISM THROUGH THE MEIJI PERIOD AND FIRST PART OF THE TAISHOO PERIOD TO 1918／1.The Decline of Organized Confucianism／2.The Adjustment of Confucianism to the Times and its Recurrence in Various Fields／3.Attempts to Revive Confucianism on an Organized Scale through 1890／4.Motoda Eifu and the Imperial Rescript on Education／5.Confucian Development after 1891／ ●III : THE SHIBUNKAI AND THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CONFUCIAN REVIVAL FROM 1918-1933／1.Aims of the Shibunkai and Opening Speeches given at its Founding Ceremonies in 1918／2.Literary and Educational Activities related to Confucianism／3.Confucian Views on Political, Economic and Intellectual Problems／4.Government Participation in Confucian Ceremonies and the Increasing Association of Confucianism with Japan´s ´Kokutai´／ ●IV : CONFUCIANISM IN JAPAN AFTER 1933 AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS IN JAPANESE OVERSEAS POSSESSIONS AND JAPANESE DOMINATED AREAS／1.The Nationalism of Confucianism in Japan Proper／2.Japanese Support for Confucianism in Korea／3.The Wang-tao in Manchuria／4.The Position of Confucianism in the Provisional Government of China and in the Central Government of China／ ●CONCLUSIONS／) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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