Japanese Neo-Confucianism Research in the Early Modern Period

Author: Han Dongyu
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Features: The view that Japan is a "Confucian capitalism" has long been the mainstream discourse in the field of comparative studies on the intellectual history of China and Japan. However, in reality, Japan's modernization has been an ongoing process of "detachment from Confucianism" from the very beginning, in terms of the dominant ideological trends. Importantly, this detachment did not stem from external stimuli but was the result of cultural introspection—the reinterpretation of pre-Qin pragmatic thought. This outcome is vividly reflected in the historical transformation of the Edo period's "detachment from Confucianism and embrace of law" movement before the Meiji Restoration. This book clarifies the profound connections between the New Legalists, New Confucians, Original Legalists, and Original Confucians, authentically recreating the foundational role that Legalist thought played in Japan's self-generated modernization process. It also provides a new observational framework for modern China, which lacks this historical process.