Ideology and Christianity in Japan

摘要

Kiri Paramore sets up a fascinating account of the textual history and intellectual legacy of anti-Christian thought in Tokugawa and Meiji Japan, tracing its development over a three-century period from 1600 to 1900. The study demonstrates the importance of understanding specific historical developments, barbarians) originating among Mito Confucian scholars are linked to earlier Tokugawa anti-Christian discourse. The sixth chapter is arguably the most exiting as it shows how Inoue Tetsujiro (1855-1944) and Inoue Enryo (1858-1919) were key figures in discussions about what philosophy was in the 1890s and early 1900s. While anti-Christian discourse of the later Tokugawa and early Meiji periods seemed to have rarely utilised universal arguments, but instead were rooted in anti-western, conservative Chinese Confucian standpoints, the arguments of this time period are shown to have now evolved into pro-rationalist, and often pro-western ideas. Drawing on ideas taken from Spencerian social organism theory, these academics argued for a new Japanese national identity that was opposed to the Christian Other.