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

“The Pen is Mightier than the Sword”: Popular Ethics in Edo Period Japan Ralph J. Korner Keywords: edo, tokugawa, ancient learning, national learning, hirata shinto, kyoto, meiji. I. I ntroduction y the end of the Edo period of Japan (1603– 1868), the three major religious traditions of Japan each appear to have found formally defined roles within Japanese culture and politics. In the mid-19 th century, N. Sontoku (1787–1858) succinctly summarized his understanding of their more formalized roles as follows: “Shinto is the way, which provides the foundation of the country; Confucianism is the way which provides for governing the country; and Buddhism is the way which provides for governing one’s mind.” 1 The Edo period, however, does not just evidence a formalization of societal roles for religious traditions. It also includes a strong move back to the ancient ways of “primordial” Japanese society that existed before the politicization of Shinto, and the importation, first, of Buddhism, and then, of Confucianism. This religious move “back to the future,” so to speak, is first evident in a return to Confucian “ancient learning” and then to Japano-centric “native”/ National Learning. Both of these moves fostered the 1 Michiko Yusa, Japanese Religious Traditions (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Inc., 2002), 85. Governance of the mind through Buddhism is focused on deliverance from desires, which is the third of the fourfold truths. B © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 25 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 D Author: Professor of Biblical Studies, Taylor Seminary of Kairos University, 11525 23 Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. e-mail: ralph.korner@taylor-edu.ca 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. II. R oots: T he 17 th C entury S ociological C ontext The roots of the popular ethics movement are already found in the first century (1600’s) of the Edo period, a period which saw dramatic political, religious, cultural, philosophical, and economic developments. In 1603, Ieyasu, the first Tokugawan shogun, centralized political control in Japan away from the imperial city of Kyoto to his new capital of Edo (modern day Tokyo). In a fitting twist of fate, one might say that Kyoto, in turn, got its “revenge” when it became the “capital” of ideological change in its role as host city for many of the key scholars behind the rise of popular, rather than Neo- Confucian, ethics. One might even be able to go so far as to say that “the pen of Kyoto ended up being mightier than the sword of Edo.” How did the penmanship of Kyoto’s ideologues blunt the tip of the Tokugawan sword in Japan’s new Edo period? To answer that question, it is helpful first to understand the key strategy used by the Tokugawan regime in the wielding of its politico-military sword. A key Tokugawan strategy f or the establishment, and then maintenance, of power involved the leveraging of religious traditions for socio-political ends. Thus, this strategy not only lent ideological legitimacy to the new centralized military/political regime, but it also facilitated a fusion of Japanese religious, cultural, and even economic elements in development of popular ethics among commoners, which ultimately undermined the strong centralization of socio-political power in the hands of the Tokugawa elite. Popular ethics/culture entailed the ability of commoners to participate in, and create, cultural activities such as books, paintings and woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), the theater (kabuki, bunraku), and the “pleasure quarters” (tea houses, brothels). It is my purpose in this essay to trace the rise of, and motivation behind, this popular ethics movement, specifically within the context of the religio-political agenda of the Tokugawa shogunate. In attempting to chronicle the rise of popular ethics, I will first investigate the roots of these religious developments in the first century of the Edo period (1600’s) and then, second, to explore their fruits, which challenged the formalization of Japanese society under Tokugawan rule.