Handbook of Confucianism in Modern Japan

A Sinocentric bias in mainstream assessments of Confucianisms modern genealogy is due to a neglect of modern Japanese Confucianism by political and moral philosophers and intellectual historians during the post-war era. This collection of essays brings modern Japanese Confucianism to international scholarly notice, covering the time period between the Bakumatsu era and the 21st century. It provides insight into the intellectual and ideological proclivities of reformers, educators, and philosophers reconstructing Confucian thought during critical phases in Japans modernization, imperialist expansionism, and post-1945 reconstitution. It also serves as a corrective to the Sinocentric bias in the 20th-century intellectual history of Confucianism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 270 pages
Publication date: 04 April 2022
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press

In mainstream assessments of Confucianism's modern genealogy, a Sinocentric bias persists, partly due to a general neglect of modern Japanese Confucianism by political and moral philosophers and intellectual historians during the post-war era. This collection of essays joins a select group of studies in bringing modern Japanese Confucianism to international scholarly attention, primarily spanning the period between the Bakumatsu era of the mid-19th century and the 21st century. The essays in this volume offer valuable insights into the intellectual and ideological tendencies of reformers, educators, and philosophers who explicitly reconstructed Confucian thought or were implicitly influenced by it during critical phases in Japan's modernization, imperialist expansionism, and post-1945 reconstitution as a liberal democratic polity. They serve as introductory readings for those unfamiliar with the ideas of modern Japanese Confucian thinkers and reformers whose work is less known outside Japan and, in some cases, has been overlooked within Japan. Moreover, these essays serve as a necessary corrective to the aforementioned Sinocentric bias in the 20th-century intellectual history of Confucianism. For Confucian scholars currently exploring the compatibility of Confucianism with democracy, at least some of the studies in this volume serve as a cautionary reminder. They urge readers to contemplate how Confucianism was also reconciled with the authoritarian ultranationalism and militarism that characterized Japan's political system in the 1930s, ultimately leading to the outbreak of war in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789463725286