Confucianising Science: Sakuma Shōzan and wakon yōsai Ideology

摘要

Sakuma Shōzan (1811-1864), a late Edo scholar, urged shogunal authorities to adopt Western science and technology, which he represented as consistent with the Confucian epistemological framework, in particular the rationalist metaphysics of the Zhu Xi school. His ideas are commonly credited as the basis for the key Meiji slogan wakon yōsai, but this article argues against that interpretation, discussing important differences in the way Sakuma conceived the ''national realm''.