Bushido philosophy and Neo-Confucianism were closely intertwined, especially during the Edo (江戸) period (1603–1867), which was an absolutely stable and peaceful time for over 260 years.
Neo-Confucianism played a decisive role in the transformation of Samurai from warriors to rulers and moral role models.
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| Nagoya Castle 名古屋城 |
The Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism (朱子学) can be called conservative intellectualism due to its core philosophy.
In the early modern history of Japan, the Edo (江戸) period (1603–1867) boasted absolute peace, stability, and unique cultural flourishing for over 260 years as Pax Tokugawana.
During the World's longest peaceful time, the Tokugawa (徳川) shogunate incorporated Neo-Confucianism, specifically Cheng-Zhuism (朱子学), as the official ideology not only for governance, but also for the foundation of moral codes.
Why, and how then did the philosophy of the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism (朱子学) help maintain the hierarchical social order, and allow for significant artistic, intellectual, and economic growth in the case of Japan?
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| Fusuma Painting in Ninomaru Palace, Nijo Castle, by Kano Sanraku 狩野 山楽 (1626) |
Culture makes us happy. Civilization makes our lives worthy and valuable. At least, a creator aims to create more joy for life all the time.
However, Georg Simmel (1858–1918) points out the tension between “objective culture” and “subjective culture” in modern society.
The vast accumulation of products, technology, and knowledge produced by society grows too large and too complex, and overwhelms the ability of individuals to internalize and utilize these developments for our own self-development.
The BEST and ONLY mathematical romance ever. But also a comical and poignantly cynical critique of Victorian society. “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions” (1884) by Edwin Abbott also challenges our narrow fixed ideas and prejudices through various dimensions.
Georg Simmel (1858–1918) defines ‘fashion’ as a social form balancing the tension between individual differentiation and social imitation. It acts as a non-cumulative change mechanism, allowing individuals to conform to a group while distinguishing themselves from others.
Through fashion, you can belong to a society, and at the same time, express your unique personality.
As a Russian speaker, I have maintained friendships and relationships with people from the former Soviet Union (the USSR) for decades. Actually, I’m NOW writing this post in Kyiv, Ukraine, in the middle of the ongoing war.
Of course, there exist millions of people with millions of personalities in each nation ALL over the World. So I should refrain from concluding a specific nation’s personality as the one. Having said that, no one can deny the fact that there are specific archetypal inclinations of the personality in a specific country, even in a region, a state, a city, or a community, reflecting their unique history and traditions.
I loved and enjoyed Twitter for over a decade. But it's a shame the X (formerly Twitter) is NO longer Twitter in fact. The X algorithm is a malicious Big Brother to watch and control public opinion as they like.
BRAINWASHED - Bushido 02 Bushido Philosophy of Action – Yangmingism 陽明学 [Related Post] Bushido philosophy and Neo-Confucianism wer...
