Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook

Itō Jinsai

347 Itō Jinsai 伊藤仁斎 (1627–1705) Itō Jinsai’s family moved to Kyoto, the ancient imperial capital, towards the end of the sixteenth century, just before Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) was to consolidate the samurai rule of Japan as the new shōgun, and inaugurate the Tokugawa period (1600–1868). Ieyasu based his samurai regime in Edo (later Tokyo), the capital of his shogunatež. Within a century Edo had become the cultural center of Japan, increasingly eclipsing Kyoto in the intellectual, artistic, and cultural arenas. During Jinsai’s life, however, Kyoto retained its status as the center of traditional culture, if not political power. Although Jinsai’s family was not part of “old” Kyoto, it had established itself in the vicinity of the imperial palace, which made it possible to secure connections with important elements of the aristocracy. It is not entirely clear what profession the Itō family had been a part of, but they have often been described as involved in the lumber industry because they lived in a part of Kyoto where lumber merchants were numerous. In any event, the Itō were apparently of fairly comfortable circumstances by the time of Jinsai’s birth, making it possible for him to pursue the study of Confucian philosophy, despite his family’s wish that he undertake a career as a physician. In an age when most who studied Confucian philosophy were either Buddhists or of samurai birth, Jinsai’s background as a townsperson set him apart. Like many educated Japanese of his day, Jinsai began his studies with neo-Confucian texts, most specifically primers aimed at instilling the ideas of the Song philosopher Zhu Xi (1130–1200). Later Jinsai would explore Daoism and Buddhism, only to become frustrated with what he saw as their lack of practicality. Ultimately he developed his own vision of Confucian thought, one that emphasized the primacy of two classical Confucian texts, the Analects and Mencius, over the writings of Zhu Xi. Although the resulting system of philosophical thought was more the product of Jinsai’s own original reformulation of Confucian and neo-Confucian thinking, he never claimed to be doing anything other than returning to the ideas of Confucius and Mencius. Nevertheless, what we may well characterize as Jinsai’s conceptually ordered revision of neo-Confucian philosophy stands as one of the most systematic and original expressions of philosophical thought to emerge from the Tokugawa period. Insofar as his philosophical masterwork, The Meanings of Terms in the Analects and Mencius, sought to systematize the meanings of philosophical terms, it can be viewed as an expression of Confucian political philosophy grounded in right language. After all, Confucius had affirmed that if given the administrative authority over a state, that his first initiative would be the “rectification of terms,” reasoning 348 | c o n f u c ia n t r a d i t i o n s that if language is not correctly defined and used, social and political chaos will result. Jinsai’s philosophy is based, ontologically, on an affirmation of a monistic metaphysics of generative force (źkiŻ), as many of the following extracts reveal. [jat] A lexicon of philosophical terms Itō Jinsai 1705, 14–19, 22, 24–32, 39–40, 42–3, 45–9, 53, 56, 58, 63–7, 69–70, 73–5, 80–1, 83–5, 111–12 (71–9, 85–6, 88, 91, 95–6, 98–103, 117, 122, 127, 129–35, 141, 147, 149–50, 163–5, 167–9, 173–5, 182–5, 194, 203–5, 253) The Way of Heaven The Wayž refers to a road or pathway: something that people follow in coming and going.… Kiž pervades heaven and earth, sometimes as yin, sometimes as yang. These two aspects of ki fill things and empty them, promoting both growth and decay; they actively come and go, responding ceaselessly to all things. As the whole substance of heaven’s Way and the activating force of nature, yin and yang produce myriad transformations and countless beings. …… The reality of heaven’s Way is unitary. The fluid activities refer to the ceaseless alternation of yin with yang; its complementary activities refer to everything from heaven to earth: sun and moon, mountains and rivers, water and fire, brightness and darkness of day and night, the succession of hot and cold—all of which complement one another. The Way of heaven is thus called complementary , but always within the context of the active aspect, never apart from it. …… Someone asked: “What justifies the claim...