Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900

by Shirane, Haruo, ed.

  Mencius (385?–312? B.C.E.), the first great successor to Confucius, reaffirmed the Confucian confidence in the efficacy of morality in bringing stability to both the individual and society. His thoughts, gathered in the Mencius, expands on the Confucian idea of humaneness, the capacity for mutual respect based on the recognition of a common humanity. Mencius also stressed the complementary principle of rightness (yi, J. gi), an idea of justice and correct behavior in particular situations, and the human capacity for moral and social perfectibility through self-cultivation. He is especially noted for his discussion of the “four beginnings”—natural tendencies in all human beings that can be cultivated into the capacities for humaneness, rightness, ritual decorum, and wisdom. Significantly, both Confucius and Mencius looked back to the golden age of the Three Dynasties—Xia (ca. 2100–ca. 1600 B.C.E.), Shang, and Zhou (ca. 1027–256 B.C.E.)—and the ancient sage-kings—Yao, Shun, and Yu—whom they believed had governed according to the Heavenly Way.

  SONG CONFUCIANISM

  The Zhu Xi school of Confucianism, usually referred to as Confucianism of the Song period (960–1279), was introduced to Japan in the twelfth century. It became popular in the Tokugawa period as a philosophy of the new age and was eventually embraced by the bakufu as the country’s official philosophy. In contrast to Buddhism, particularly Jōdo, or Pure Land, Buddhism, which had a negative, critical view of this phenomenal world, Song Confucianism affirmed both this world and human society. Song Confucianism covered issues ranging from cosmology to views of history and was broad enough to oppose both the worldviews represented by Buddhism and the folk beliefs associated with Shintō.

  Scholars of the Zhu Xi school held that all things in nature are governed by a rational principle (li, J. ri) and material force (qi, J. ki). Rational principle exists within material force and gives it order. Human beings, too, are made up of material force and rational principle, with the differences in the material force accounting for the physical and moral variations among individuals. Rational principle was thought to be identical with “original human nature” (xing, J. sei). Consequently, the pursuit of rational principle was a means of developing the potential of one’s inner nature to guide one in correct behavior. As a person begins to understand rational principle, he or she will be able to live in accordance with it and with the Heavenly Way. Human beings, then, originally are good, but their goodness has been blocked by material force, which makes them sink like jewels in dirty water. Song Confucianism was thus both a metaphysical system and a practical form of ethics based on rational principle, which gave order to the universe. Like earlier Confucians, the followers of the Zhu Xi school stressed the importance of the five cardinal relationships.

  The first key figure in the spread of Song Confucianism in Japan was Fujiwara Seika (1561–1619), a former Buddhist priest who lectured on Confucian texts to Tokugawa Ieyasu and other daimyō. Many of those who studied with Seika later became teachers or prominent scholars. The most famous of them was Hayashi Razan (1583–1657), who gave a series of public lectures in Kyoto on the Analects, which was an attempt to extend the knowledge of this learning beyond the limited circle of aristocratic families and Zen priests, who until this time had monopolized Confucian studies. Razan entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1607 and served four shōguns. Two prominent scholar-teachers who actually practiced the Zhu Xi school’s Confucianism and whose works appear in the following sections were Nakae Tōju, who opened a school in Ōmi Province, and Yamazaki Ansai (1618–1682), who established a Confucian academy (the Kimon school) in Kyoto.

  NAKAE TŌJU

  Nakae Tōju (1608–1648), a samurai in the service of a feudal lord in Shikoku, resigned his post when he was twenty-seven to return to his native village in Ōmi Province, near Lake Biwa, to care for his aging mother and devote himself to scholarship. Around this time Tōju wrote Dialogue with the Elder (Okina mondo, revised in 1650), in which he explains the essential points of the Zhu Xi school and how they should be applied to actual situations. The book takes the form of a dialogue in which the Elder, a venerable master called Tenkun (Heavenly Ruler),1 answers questions asked him by his disciple Taijū.2 The following is from the opening of the first volume, which focuses on the Confucian Classic of Filial Piety as a guide to human conduct. Here Tōju concentrates on filial piety (kō) as a treasure that exists within each person and permeates all existence. In Heaven it becomes the Heavenly Way; on Earth it becomes the Earthly Way; and for humans, it becomes the Human Way. For Tōju, filial piety embodies two fundamental virtues, “love” (ai) and “respect” (kei), found throughout the Five Relationships: between parent and child, ruler and minister, husband and wife, elder sibling and younger sibling, friend and friend. The key relationship was between parent and child, infused by love and respect, thus should support all the other social relationships and become the basis for all the other Confucian virtues. Tōju emphasizes that each person has an inherent good that must be cultivated and practiced. He goes on to argue that everyone—lord, retainer, or commoner—is endowed by nature with “luminous virtue” (meitoku), which, if one takes into account the “time, place, and one’s status,” enables one to act correctly in any situation.

  DIALOGUE WITH THE ELDER (OKINA MONDŌ, 1640-1641, REV. 1650)

  On the Virtue of Filial Piety

  TAIJŪ’S QUESTION: People’s hearts appear in a variety of forms, so there is great diversity in their actions. When distinguishing between right and wrong in a particular situation, people often become confused and do not know which way to turn. Which way should we choose to govern the course of our lives?

  ELDER’S RESPONSE: Each of us possesses a spiritual treasure unique under Heaven, called “the pinnacle of virtue, the essence of the Way.”3 You can make this treasure your guide, protecting it with your spirit and activating it with your body. This treasure is fully in accord with the Sun above us and is fully apparent to the Four Seas below us. Therefore, when you take part in the Five Relationships, they harmonize without discord.4 When you apply this treasure to the wise deities, they accept it. When you order the realm under Heaven, all under Heaven are pacified; when you govern the state, the state is in order; when you organize your household, your household is regulated; when you apply it to yourself, you become single-minded; and when you follow it in your heart, your heart is clear. When you extend this treasure, it expands beyond Heaven and Earth, and when you put it away, it buries itself in the depths of your heart. It is truly a sublime and holy treasure. For these reasons, when people take good care of it, the ruler has a long, prosperous reign over the Four Seas; the various lords live in splendor in a unified realm; the houses of nobles and ministers flourish; the military make names for themselves and rise in rank; and the common people store up their goods and take pleasure in them.

  Discarding this treasure means that the Human Way does not take hold. Not only does the Human Way not take hold, but the Heavenly Way and the Earthly Way do not take hold either. Not only do the Heavenly Way and the Earthly Way not take hold, but the mysterious changes of the Great Void cannot take place. Great Void, Three Realms,5 Universe, Demons and Spirits, Creation and Transformation, Life and Death—this treasure encompasses them all. Seeking out and studying this treasure is known as the scholarship of Confucius. Those who embody this treasure from birth are known as sages; those who acquire it through learning and follow it conscientiously are recognized as wise. In order to shed light on the darkness of myriad generations, Confucius wrote the Classic of Filial Piety to serve as a mirror for seeking and studying this treasure. However, in the eighteen hundred or so years since the Qin dynasty,6 few people have completely understood this treasure. Now in this age of the Great Ming, many have come to revere, trust, propagate, and elucidate this classic.7 The Great Shun8 embodied this treasure and rose from being a commoner to the rank of Son of Heaven. King Wen embodied this treasure and served at the side of the Heavenly Emperor.9 Tongying preserved the treasure and thus made the Heave
nly Weaving Maiden his wife.10 Wuer preserved this treasure and was spared heavenly punishment for evil deeds committed in a former life.11 It is impossible to enumerate all the wondrous examples that have been handed down to us from the past. You must redouble your faith and apply this treasure well!

  TAIJŪ ‘S QUESTION: Such a treasure is truly something well worth discovering, but if the Way it comprises is so vast, then it may be impossible for people in our station to live up to it.

  ELDER’S RESPONSE: That is not a good way of explaining this issue. It is precisely because it is a vast Way that ordinary people like us are able to grasp it. The light of the sun and the moon, for example, is great, so any creature with eyes can use that light. The very fact that this treasure is so vast means that without distinguishing between exalted and humble or male and female, all people, both young and old—provided they still have their original hearts—can follow the Way. When considering this treasure, we realize that in Heaven, it becomes the Heavenly Way; on Earth, it becomes the Earthly Way; and when it appears among people, it becomes the Human Way. Originally it had no name, but in order to teach sentient beings, sages in the distant past gave it an identity, calling it “filial piety.” Since that time, it has come to be known to even the humblest of dense and deluded men and women. Its true nature, however, has rarely been fathomed, even by venerable scholars, learned Confucians, or others with extraordinary intellectual faculties. Because of this lack of awareness, people have generally held that if filial piety is just a simple matter of obeying one’s parents, it is only a short-sighted principle of little value. Confucius lamented this state of affairs, so in order to clear the hearts of those for myriad ages to come, in the Classic of Filial Piety he explained that the virtue of filial piety, wondrous and incomprehensible, vast and deep, is a marvelous way without beginning or end.

  If you wish to explain in simple words what runs through filial piety, it can be boiled down to the two terms, “love” [ai] and “reverence” [kei]. “Love” means to cherish. “Reverence” means to revere those above and to avoid treating lightly or contemptuously those below. For example, filial piety is like a bright mirror. Depending on the form and the color of whatever looks into this mirror, the images reflected will continue to change, but the shape of the brightly reflecting mirror itself will remain the same. In the same way, the human relationships between father and son or ruler and minister change in thousands and tens of thousands of ways, but not one of these relationships fails to contain these qualities of virtue, love, and reverence.

  To further explain filial piety and its relationship to love and reverence, one needs first to address the notion of the Five Relationships. Since love and reverence for one’s parents serve as the basis of all these relationships, we do not distinguish between the basic principle and its application but refer to it simply as “filial conduct” [kōkō]. Accordingly, because love and reverence are found in relationships in various manifestations, Confucius gave them names and described them in his teachings. To love and revere one’s ruler with an undivided heart is referred to as “loyalty” [chū]. To love and revere one’s ministers and subordinates according to the proper decorum is referred to as “humaneness” [jin]. To teach one’s children well, loving and revering them, is referred to as “compassion” [ji]. To love and revere one’s elder brother in accordance with harmony and order is referred to as “deference” [tei]. To strive toward goodness and to love and revere one’s younger brother is referred to as “reverence” [kei]. To preserve the correct modes of conduct and to love and revere one’s husband is referred to as “obedience” [jun]. To preserve righteousness and to love and revere one’s wife is referred to as “harmony” [wa]. Finally, to love and revere one’s friends without deception is referred to as “faithfulness” [shin].

  When we discuss this principle from the perspective of the body, we realize that the clarity of our ears and eyes, the activity of our four limbs, and the laws governing motion, inertia, relaxation, and incumbency all are, without exception, present along with the virtue of filial piety and its corresponding love and respect. As we have seen, because this is a benign and morally based Way, no matter how dense and deluded men and women may be, anyone, even small children at our feet, can comprehend it and practice it well. At the same time, even renowned sages rarely understand filial piety completely. It is truly a singular Way of conduct and a precious treasure without equal. But when it is treated like Bian He’s Jade Matrix and is incapable of illuminating the darkness of this vulgar world, the resulting state of affairs is truly lamentable.12

  [Nakae Tōju, NST 29: 22–25, translated by Lawrence Marceau]

  CONFUCIAN VIEWS OF LITERATURE

  The modern scholar Nakamura Yukihiko identified three prominent Confucian-based views of literature in early modern Japan.13 The first was the “transmitting the Way” (saidō) theory, which regarded literature as a means or vehicle for transmitting or teaching the Confucian way. This position assumed that literature was subordinate to or a tool for Confucianism. The second view was the “encouraging good, chastising evil” (kanzen chōaku) theory, which held that the purpose of literature was teaching moral behavior. According to this view, the purpose of the love poems in the Book of Songs (Shijing) was to encourage good and discourage evil by revealing the positive or negative consequences of human action and behavior. The third view assumed that because the function of Confucianism was to govern and aid society, there was no need for literature, which could be used as a vehicle for encouraging immoral behavior. To come into contact with such literature, to be seduced by its beauty, was to lose focus and will, a position summarized by the phrase “playing with things, losing will” (ganbutsu sōshi).

  These Confucian views of literature did not mean, however, that Japanese Confucian scholars were indifferent to or opposed to literature. On the contrary, Confucian scholars such as Fujiwara Seika and Hayashi Razan were avid practitioners and readers of literature, as evident in their collected writings: the voluminous Prose Writings of Master Fujiwara (Fujiwara sensei bunshū) and the Collected Works of Master Hayashi Razan (Razan Hayashi sensei shū). Seika also produced a collection of his waka and wrote a book on ancient theories of Chinese literature, while Razan wrote a commentary on Essays in Idleness (Tsurezuregusa) and edited collections of tales of the supernatural.

  YAMAZAKI ANSAI

  The scholar most responsible for making the Zhu Xi school of Confucianism the orthodoxy was Yamazaki Ansai (1618–1682), for whom the ultimate goal of this philosophy was preserving the correct social order. To achieve this, he stressed the attitude of “reverence” (Ch. jing, J. kei), which implied stability of mind and circumspect behavior.

  JAPANESE LESSER LEARNING (YAMATO SHŌGAKU, 1660)

  In the following passage from the preface to Japanese Lesser Learning, Ansai reveals his views of vernacular fiction, condemning The Tales of Ise and The Tale of Genji, two Heian romances about the amorous heroes Narihira and Genji, respectively. The two texts, which recently had become available in woodblock-print editions to commoner audiences, were considered by many readers to be ideal vehicles for vicariously reliving the elegance of the Heian court. In Japanese Lesser Learning Ansai attacks the late medieval Confucian scholar Kiyohara Nobukata (1475–1550), who argued that even though these Heian classics included stories about love, they also taught respect and courtesy. Ansai urged his readers to focus on his own work instead of what he termed “licentiousness.” This view, of “playing with things, losing will,” was so widely accepted that even Emperor Kōmyō (r. 1643–1654), an avid student of Chinese poetry, would not go near classical Japanese poetry or The Tale of Genji because of the deleterious effect he thought these works had had on the court.

  The fact that people today will frivolously walk down a road from which there is no return is due to the existence of The Tale of Genji and The Tales of Ise. It is said that The Tale of Genji was written as an admonishment for men and women. It is extremely doubtful,
however, that such frivolity could serve to admonish anyone. Kiyohara no Nobukata asserted that although The Tales of Ise deals with matters of lust, it also includes depictions of ritual decorum and humaneness and that Confucius and Mencius would have acted in the same way as Narihira did if they had been in his position. It is not worth discussing the merits or failings of such falsehoods!

  [Yamazaki Ansai zenshū, zokuhen ge, translated by Lawrence Marceau]

  ANDŌ TAMEAKIRA

  A Confucian scholar samurai and commentator on the Japanese classics, Ando Tameakira (1659–1716) spent most of his career in the service of Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628–1700), the lord of the Mito Domain who supported such scholarly projects as the Great History of Japan (Dai Nihon shi) and a commentary on the Man‘yōshū, the ancient-period anthology of poetry, both of which Tameakira contributed to.

  SEVEN ESSAYS ON MURASAKI SHIKIBU (SHIKA SHICHIRON, 1703)

  The following selection from Ando Tameakira’s Seven Essays on Murasaki Shikibu is a defense of The Tale of Genji from a Confucian standpoint. In the fifth essay, “The Intentions of the Author,” Tameakira counters earlier Buddhist views of The Tale of Genji as “wild words and specious phrases” (kyōgen kigo), as senseless and deceiving fiction, as well as earlier Confucian views of the novel as causing moral depravity. He argues that fiction has a deeper Confucian purpose in “encouraging good and chastising evil.”14 For Tameakira, Murasaki Shikibu is the model of a virtuous woman, and her Tale of Genji teaches women proper values and social manners.