Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 3

© 2023. Ralph J. Korner. This research/review article is distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). You must give appropriate credit to authors and reference this article if parts of the article are reproduced in any manner. Applicable licensing terms are at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ 4.0/. “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword”: Popular Ethics in Edo Period Japan By Ralph J. Korner Taylor Seminary of Kairos University Abstract- “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword”: Popular Ethics in Edo Period Japan. In this essay I trace the rise of, and motivation behind, the popular ethics movement in Edo Period Japan, specifically within the context of the religio-political agenda of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603– 1868). The subversive philosophical root of “ancient learning” (Confucian and non- Confucian) led in many respects to the ideological fruit of National Learning, and Hirata Shinto, and to a cultural “revolution,” especially among the merchants. In an ironic twist of fate, the merchant city of Kyoto, which was “defrocked” of its political preeminence, gained its “revenge,” so to speak, by becoming the philosophical centre for the popular ethics movement that eventually would undermine the ideological foundations of Tokugawan power in the Edo era. This ideologically driven social movement would ultimately give birth to the Meiji era when Japan re-emerged onto the world stage, but this time as a lasting political force. Keywords: edo, tokugawa, ancient learning, national learning, hirata shinto, kyoto, meiji. GJHSS-D Classification: FOR Code: 220499 ThePenisMightierthantheSwordPopularEthicsinEdoPeriodJapan Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: D History, Archaeology & Anthropology Volume 23 Issue 3 Version 1.0 Year 2023 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: