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::''For other meanings of the word Kokugaku, see [[国学]].''
*''Japanese'': 国学 ''(kokugaku)''
''Kokugaku'', commonly referred to in English as "national learning" or "nativism," was a prominent school of thought in the [[Edo period]] which looked to classical Japanese culture in efforts to discover a purer version of Japanese culture and identity, less marred by elements of Chinese culture. During the Edo period, much ''kokugaku'' writing was concerned chiefly with aesthetics, cultural identity, philosophy, and linguistics. They saw the essence of the Japanese spirit as "free, spontaneous, pure, lofty, and honest,"<ref>Craig, 89.</ref> in contrast to Chinese culture, which they saw as stiff, rigid, cramped, and artificial.
However, ''kokugaku'' thought was later employed by pro-Imperial (''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'') factions during the [[Bakumatsu period]], and by Japanese militarists & ultranationalists in the early 20th century, in formulating and justifying their ideologies.
==History and Development==
''Kokugaku'' began in the philological examination of classical Japanese texts, including the ''[[Kojiki]]'' ([[712]]), ''[[Manyoshu|Man'yôshû]]'' (c. 760s), and ''[[Tale of Genji]]'' (c. 1000). The ''Kojiki'' was taken as a particularly appropriate text, since it is the earliest known written history of Japan, and was written in ''[[kana]]'', in a form more closely resembling the recording of earlier oral traditions, in contrast to the ''[[Nihon shoki]]'' of [[720]], which was written in ''[[kanji]]'' (Chinese characters), in a format emulating the official dynastic histories of China.
The school drew particularly upon [[Shinto]], [[Taoism]], and the ideas of China's school of Ancient Learning which sought to uncover the earlier, "truer" meanings of the Chinese classics prior to their supposed corruption by Neo-Confucian reinterpretations.
''Kokugaku'' scholars also revived and emphasized ideologies relating to the divine origins of the [[Emperor]], and to Japan as the "land of the gods" (''shinkoku'', 神国). The school of thought known as [[Mitogaku]], based in [[Mito han]], drew upon this approach or attitude in its production of the ''[[Dai Nihon Shi]]'', an ambitious history of Japan which centered on the succession of emperors.
{{stub}}
==Selected Kokugaku Scholars & Texts==
*[[Kamo no Mabuchi]] ([[1697]]-[[1769]]), who ran a private ''kokugaku'' academy
*[[Motoori Norinaga]] ([[1730]]-[[1801]])
*[[Hanawa Hokinoichi]] ([[1746]]-[[1821]]), compiler of ''[[Gunshoruiju|Gunshoruijû]]''
*[[Arakida Hisaoyu]] (1746-[[1804]]), known for his study of the ''Man'yôshû''
*[[Konakamura Kiyonori]] ([[1821]]-[[1895]])
*[[Nanma Uho|Nanma Uhô]] ([[1822]]-[[1909]])
*[[Sasaki Nobutsuna]] ([[1872]]-1963), poet
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Culture]]
*''Japanese'': 国学 ''(kokugaku)''
''Kokugaku'', commonly referred to in English as "national learning" or "nativism," was a prominent school of thought in the [[Edo period]] which looked to classical Japanese culture in efforts to discover a purer version of Japanese culture and identity, less marred by elements of Chinese culture. During the Edo period, much ''kokugaku'' writing was concerned chiefly with aesthetics, cultural identity, philosophy, and linguistics. They saw the essence of the Japanese spirit as "free, spontaneous, pure, lofty, and honest,"<ref>Craig, 89.</ref> in contrast to Chinese culture, which they saw as stiff, rigid, cramped, and artificial.
However, ''kokugaku'' thought was later employed by pro-Imperial (''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'') factions during the [[Bakumatsu period]], and by Japanese militarists & ultranationalists in the early 20th century, in formulating and justifying their ideologies.
==History and Development==
''Kokugaku'' began in the philological examination of classical Japanese texts, including the ''[[Kojiki]]'' ([[712]]), ''[[Manyoshu|Man'yôshû]]'' (c. 760s), and ''[[Tale of Genji]]'' (c. 1000). The ''Kojiki'' was taken as a particularly appropriate text, since it is the earliest known written history of Japan, and was written in ''[[kana]]'', in a form more closely resembling the recording of earlier oral traditions, in contrast to the ''[[Nihon shoki]]'' of [[720]], which was written in ''[[kanji]]'' (Chinese characters), in a format emulating the official dynastic histories of China.
The school drew particularly upon [[Shinto]], [[Taoism]], and the ideas of China's school of Ancient Learning which sought to uncover the earlier, "truer" meanings of the Chinese classics prior to their supposed corruption by Neo-Confucian reinterpretations.
''Kokugaku'' scholars also revived and emphasized ideologies relating to the divine origins of the [[Emperor]], and to Japan as the "land of the gods" (''shinkoku'', 神国). The school of thought known as [[Mitogaku]], based in [[Mito han]], drew upon this approach or attitude in its production of the ''[[Dai Nihon Shi]]'', an ambitious history of Japan which centered on the succession of emperors.
{{stub}}
==Selected Kokugaku Scholars & Texts==
*[[Kamo no Mabuchi]] ([[1697]]-[[1769]]), who ran a private ''kokugaku'' academy
*[[Motoori Norinaga]] ([[1730]]-[[1801]])
*[[Hanawa Hokinoichi]] ([[1746]]-[[1821]]), compiler of ''[[Gunshoruiju|Gunshoruijû]]''
*[[Arakida Hisaoyu]] (1746-[[1804]]), known for his study of the ''Man'yôshû''
*[[Konakamura Kiyonori]] ([[1821]]-[[1895]])
*[[Nanma Uho|Nanma Uhô]] ([[1822]]-[[1909]])
*[[Sasaki Nobutsuna]] ([[1872]]-1963), poet
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Culture]]
