Kokugaku 1682811 217301160 2008-06-05T13:16:19Z 134.147.184.162 '''Kokugaku''' ([[Wiktionary:Kyūjitai|Kyūjitai]]: 國學/[[Wiktionary:Shinjitai|Shinjitai]]: 国学; lit. National study) was a school of [[Japan|Japanese]] philology and philosophy originating during the [[Tokugawa period]]. Kokugaku scholars tended to relativatize the study of Chinese and Buddhist texts and favoured philological research into the early Japanese classics. What later became known as the ''kokugaku'' tradition began in the 17th and 18th centuries as [[kogaku]] ("ancient studies"), [[wagaku]] ("Japanese studies") or ''inishie manabi'', a term favoured by [[Motoori Norinaga]] and his school. Drawing heavily from [[Shinto]] and Japan's ancient literature, the school looked back to a perceived golden age of Japanese culture and society. They drew upon ancient Japanese poetry, predating the rise of the feudal orders (in the mid 12th century) and other cultural achievements to show the 'emotion' of Japan. One famous 'emotion' appealed to by the ''kokugakusha'' is '[[mono no aware]]'. The word 'Kokugaku', coined to distinguish this school from ''kangaku'' (Chinese studies), was popularized by [[Hirata Atsutane]] in the 19th century. It has been translated as 'Native Studies' and represented a response to [[Sinocentrism|Sinocentric]] [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] theories. Kokugaku scholars criticized the repressive moralizing of Confucian thinkers, and tried to re-establish Japanese culture before the influx of foreign modes of thought and behaviour. Eventually kokugaku thinkers succeeded in gaining power and influence in Japanese society. Later, their thought influenced the [[Sonnō jōi]] philosophy and movement. It was this philosophy, amongst other things, that led to the eventual collapse of the Tokugawa in [[1868]] and the subsequent [[Meiji Restoration]]. In addition [[state Shinto]] and [[socialism in one country|state socialism]] (which contrary to its name was actually much more akin to [[fascism]] than [[Marxism]]) developed from [[Mitogaku]] thought and thus indirectly led to Japan's imperialist expansion throughout the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries. ==See also== * [[Japanese nationalism]] * [[Keichū]] * [[Kada no Azumamaro]] * [[Kamo no Mabuchi]] * [[Motoori Norinaga]] * [[Hagiwara Hiromichi]] * [[Hirata Atsutane]] * [[Ueda Akinari]] ==External links== * [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kokugaku-school/ The Kokugaku (Native Studies) School]. * [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1172 Kokugaku] — Encyclopedia of Shinto. [[Category:Science and technology in Japan]] [[Category:Japanese philosophy]] [[de:Kokugaku]] [[es:Kokugaku]] [[ko:고쿠가쿠]] [[ja:国学]] [[ru:Кокугаку]] [[fi:Kokugaku]]