{"id":591,"date":"2020-11-06T14:03:54","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T14:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/?p=591"},"modified":"2020-11-24T03:20:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T03:20:25","slug":"the-variability-of-kokutai-changes-in-the-concept-of-kokutai-from-aizawa-seishisai-to-yoshida-shoin-in-the-late-edo-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/2020\/11\/the-variability-of-kokutai-changes-in-the-concept-of-kokutai-from-aizawa-seishisai-to-yoshida-shoin-in-the-late-edo-period\/","title":{"rendered":"The variability of kokutai: Changes in the concept of kokutai from Aizawa Seishisai to Yoshida Sh\u014din in the late Edo period"},"content":{"rendered":"

The theory of kokutai<\/em> \u56fd\u4f53 was a pre-war Japanese concept that envisioned an imperial family with \u2018unbroken lineage (bansei ikkei<\/em> \u4e07\u4e16\u4e00\u7cfb)\u2019 to rule Japan as the spiritual, ethical, and political centre of the nation. This ideology formed the core of the Japanese political system from the Meiji Restoration to World War II. It was Aizawa Seishisai \u4f1a\u6ca2\u6b63\u5fd7\u658e, one of the leading scholars of the Later Mito Learning (k\u014dki mitogaku<\/em> \u5f8c\u671f\u6c34\u6238\u5b66), who developed the concept of kokutai<\/em> in New Theses<\/em> (Shinron<\/em> \u65b0\u8ad6). In Aizawa\u2019s later years, Yoshida Sh\u014din \u5409\u7530\u677e\u9670 attempted to create his own theory of kokutai<\/em> after discussing with Aizawa. While both the kokutai<\/em> theories of the two scholars, whose philosophies greatly influenced the nationalist ideology of \u2018revering the emperor and expelling the barbarian (sonn\u014d j\u014di<\/em> \u5c0a\u7687\u6518\u5937)\u2019, proposed a state system centred on the emperor, differences arose in response to the changes in domestic order after the arrival of the Black Ships commanded by American Commodore Matthew C. Perry.<\/p>\n

Firstly, Aizawa and Yoshida disagree on the perception of kokutai<\/em> and other countries. According to Aizawa, kokutai<\/em>consists of the principle of loyalty and filial piety (ch\u016bk\u014d no genri<\/em> \u5fe0\u5b5d\u306e\u539f\u7406) through ancestral rituals.[1]<\/a> This means that the subjects are loyal to the emperor as he shows filial piety to the preceding emperors and ancestral gods through rituals, and at the same time, the history of the ancestors\u2019 loyalty to the preceding emperors confirms the present meaning of filial piety. Furthermore, Aizawa regards Japan as a divine country (shinsh\u016b<\/em> \u795e\u56fd) and assumed the rule of all nations by the emperor was eternal and unchanging. While praising Japan as a divine country, he also called it the \u2018Land of the Center (ch\u016bgoku<\/em> \u4e2d\u56fd)\u2019,[2]<\/a> based on the idea of \u2018Little China (sh\u014dch\u016bka<\/em> \u5c0f\u4e2d\u83ef)\u2019 and regards the \u2018barbarians of the West (seik\u014d no ban\u2019i<\/em> \u897f\u8352\u306e\u86ee\u5937)\u2019 who were advancing into the world as a particular threat to kokutai<\/em>.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Yoshida initially recognises that kokutai <\/em>is the emperor military subjugation of others and argues that it was the duty of the shogun to assist the emperor to govern by defeating foreign enemies. In addition, based on the national consciousness, he criticises the situation that shoguns<\/em> and feudal lords were only defending their strongholds and argued that the people should cooperate to protect the nation. However, when Japan was overwhelmed by the dominant military power of the United States, which made it difficult for Japan to maintain its isolationist system, Yoshida shifted his theory of kokutai<\/em>. He acknowledges that each country has an individual kokutai<\/em> (national polity) and advocates that superior \u2018righteousness of imperial ruler and ruled (\u7687\u671d\u541b\u81e3\u306e\u7fa9)\u2019 to all nations was Japanese unique fundamental principle, kokutai<\/em>.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Secondly, the difference between the two theories of kokutai<\/em> can also be traced in their attitudes toward the shogunate. Aizawa\u2019s theory of kokutai<\/em> was an ideology built on the premise of the Tokugawa feudal system in order for the regime to reorganise its order in response to internal and external crises. In contrast, Yoshida sees the emperor as the permanent sovereign and prioritises the role of all people in Japan as imperial subjects. He argues that people are to devote themselves to the emperor while also serving their feudal lord, and their loyalty to the feudal lord means to promote him to be faithful to the emperor.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

The difference between the two theories of statehood can be attributed to the threat of foreign powers, which became increasingly realistic at the end of the Edo period. Aizawa formulates kokutai<\/em> theory based on the \u2018theory of social hierarchy (taigi meibum ron<\/em> \u5927\u7fa9\u540d\u5206\u8ad6)\u2019, which derives from Neo-Confucianism, with the assumption of governance by the shogunate. However, Yoshida\u2019s theory of kokutai<\/em>, which he advocated after witnessing the powerful military power of the United States and experiencing a shake in the legitimacy of the shogunate, contained a stronger element of \u2018theory of delegation of power (taisei inin ron<\/em> \u5927\u653f\u59d4\u4efb\u8ad6)\u2019 of National Learning (kokugaku<\/em> \u56fd\u5b66), which assumes that the authority of the shogunate originates from itself but is merely delegated by the emperor. Thus, in comparison to Aizawa, his vision of the national body proved to be an advantageous theory for building a political system with the emperor at the centre, as it undermined the legitimacy of the shogunate\u2019s rule of Japan.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, while both the national state proposed by Aizawa and Yoshida are built on the premise of loyalty to the emperor and share some elements of Neo-Confucianist \u2018theory of social hierarchy\u2019, they differ in their interpretation of kokutai<\/em> and other countries, as well as in their attitudes towards the Tokugawa regime. The worsening of Tokugawa Japan’s domestic and foreign situation and the destabilisation of the political order resulted in the transition in the theory of kokutai<\/em> from Aizawa to Yoshida.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anderson, Emily (ed.), Belief and Practice in Imperial Japan and Colonial Korea<\/em> (London, 2017).<\/p>\n

Yoshida, Toshizumi \u5409\u7530\u4fca\u7d14, Mitogaku No Kenky\u016b: Meiji-ishin-shi No Saikent\u014d<\/em> \u6c34\u6238\u5b66\u306e\u7814\u7a76\u2014\u660e\u6cbb\u7dad\u65b0\u53f2\u306e\u518d\u691c\u8a0e (Tokyo, 2016).<\/p>\n

Yamaguchi-ken Ky\u014dikukai \u5c71\u53e3\u770c\u6559\u80b2\u4f1a (ed.), Yoshida Sh\u014din Zensh\u016b Dai 2 Kan<\/em> \u5409\u7530\u677e\u9670\u5168\u96c6\u7b2c2\u5dfb (Tokyo, 1934).<\/p>\n

Yamaguchi-ken Ky\u014dikukai \u5c71\u53e3\u770c\u6559\u80b2\u4f1a (ed.), Yoshida Sh\u014din Zensh\u016b Dai 3 Kan<\/em> \u5409\u7530\u677e\u9670\u5168\u96c6\u7b2c3\u5dfb (Tokyo, 1939).<\/p>\n

Imai, Usaburo \u4eca\u4e95\u5b87\u4e09\u90ce, Seya, Yoshihiko \u702c\u8c37\u7fa9\u5f66, Bit\u014d, Masahide \u5c3e\u85e4\u6b63\u82f1 (eds.), Nihon Shis\u014d Shi Taikei 53: Mitogaku<\/em> \u65e5\u672c\u601d\u60f3\u53f2\u4f53\u7cfb53 \u6c34\u6238\u5b66 (Tokyo, 1973).<\/p>\n

Yoshida, Tsunekichi \u5409\u7530\u5e38\u5409 et al.<\/em> (eds.), Nihon Shis\u014d Shi Taikei 54: Yoshida Sh\u014din<\/em> \u65e5\u672c\u601d\u60f3\u53f2\u4f53\u7cfb54 \u5409\u7530\u677e\u9670(Tokyo, 1978).<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Usaburo Imai, Yoshihiko Seya and Masahide Bit\u014d (eds.), Nihon Shis\u014d Shi Taikei 53: Mitogaku<\/em> (Tokyo, 1973), pp. 51\u201353.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid.<\/em>, p. 65.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid.<\/em>, p. 50.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Yamaguchi-ken Ky\u014dikukai (ed.), Yoshida Sh\u014din Zensh\u016b Dai 2 Kan<\/em> (Tokyo, 1934), p.479\u2013480.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Yamaguchi-ken Ky\u014dikukai (ed.), Yoshida Sh\u014din Zensh\u016b Dai 2 Kan<\/em> (Tokyo, 1939), p. 566.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The theory of kokutai \u56fd\u4f53 was a pre-war Japanese concept that envisioned an imperial family with \u2018unbroken lineage (bansei ikkei \u4e07\u4e16\u4e00\u7cfb)\u2019 to rule Japan as the spiritual, ethical, and political centre of the nation. This ideology formed the core of the Japanese political system from the Meiji Restoration to World War II. It was Aizawa … Continue reading “The variability of kokutai: Changes in the concept of kokutai from Aizawa Seishisai to Yoshida Sh\u014din in the late Edo period”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":677,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591\/revisions\/677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}