Title

The National Theory of the Unity of Religion and Politics and Its Founding Process in Japan

Author

Koyasu Nobukuni & Wei-fen Chen

Genre

Article  

Pages

365-376

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Language

Chinese

Key words

Mitogaku, Soraigaku, Aizawaseishisai, Kokutairon, Shinron

Abstract

    This article discusses how Aizawaseishisai’s (會澤正志齋) Shinron (新論) standing for the late Mitogaku (水戶學), built Kokutairon (國體論) and reconstructed the view of a country by the national theory of the unity of religion and politics. The author also analyzes how the Japanese Confucianists at the end of the Shogunate proved the holiness of Japan as a primitive country by utilizing the ideal world model in the Chinese classics with the discourse of Japanese History. Through the discourse of Jisi Guojia (祭祀國家), they invented a myth to cope with the crisis then and constructed a new nation pattern─a new community. The author tries to provide new viewpoints on the great issues of the history of thought in the Edo period, including the significance of Mitsogaku, the evaluation of Shinron, and the influence of Soraigaku on the modernity of Japan.