Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
The peace of the Tokugawa Period, roughly 1600 to 1868, enabled great cultural flourishing in Japan, including a vibrant intellectual scene. In addition to Buddhist and Chinese studies, as well as the study of Western technology and science, one of the intellectual currents was Kokugaku--National Learning. With an emphasis on ancient Japanese history and literature, it eventually helped lay the foundations of the Sonno Joi movement and the Meiji Restoration.
SOURCES:
The Mito Ideology, Koschmann
Visions of Virtue, Najita
Before the Nation, Burns
Things Seen & Unseen, Harootunian
The peace of the Tokugawa Period, roughly 1600 to 1868, enabled great cultural flourishing in Japan, including a vibrant intellectual scene. In addition to Buddhist and Chinese studies, as well as the study of Western technology and science, one of the intellectual currents was Kokugaku--National Learning. With an emphasis on ancient Japanese history and literature, it eventually helped lay the foundations of the Sonno Joi movement and the Meiji Restoration.
SOURCES:
The Mito Ideology, Koschmann
Visions of Virtue, Najita
Before the Nation, Burns
Things Seen & Unseen, Harootunian
