School · 1627 CE–1728 CE
Japanese philosophy
Japanese philosophy is philosophical work in Japan shaped by Buddhist, Confucian, Shinto, and modern global intellectual exchanges.
Shared questions
- How should Japanese intellectual traditions negotiate inherited practices and modern philosophical categories?
Internal disagreements
- Whether modern philosophy should universalize imported methods or transform them through local religious, linguistic, and historical resources.
Key texts
- Gomō jigi — Itō Jinsai's study of the meaning of words in the Analects and Mencius, the founding work of Ancient Learning.
- Benmei — Ogyū Sorai's analysis of philosophical terminology, which pressed the philological method further than Jinsai had.