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Conceptions of Nature and Feudal Hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868)

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Conceptions of Nature and Feudal Hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) Conceptions of nature and feudal hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) Conceptions of nature and feudal hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603- 1868) Christie Thomson Christ Church, Oxford Introduction This essay considers conceptions of nature in Tokugawa Japan and the way in which they were used to either justify or challenge feudalism. Neo-Confucianism was initially used to justify feudal hierarchy, but was then challenged by later Neo-Confucians and scholars from the Mitogaku and Kokugaku (National Learning) schools. These ideologies, which opposed traditional Neo-Confucianism, influenced popular thought to varying degrees, as seen in the 1855 earthquake, the Tengu Insurrection, and within peasant villages. However, scholars did not dispute the basis of Neo-Confucian thought. Despite differing interpretations, they continued to rely on ideas of nature to justify their theories. Thus, all scholars who opposed traditional Neo-Confucianism did not mount a thorough attack on its ideas and came to a similar conclusion of a natural hierarchy between the ruler and subjects. Scholars in Tokugawa Japan considered social and political organisation within the framework of nature. Nature was understood to be broader than the environment, instead encompassing an overarching set of rules which provided the basis for the order of society and government.1 Confucianism was the source of these ideas, which were expanded through Neo-Confucianism, the accepted political doctrine of the bakufu (military government). It had the backing of the first shogun (military leader) Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) and later shoguns funded schools to teach Neo-Confucianism.2 Neo- Confucian ideas were used to justify Japan’s feudal hierarchy as it created a natural division between mental and manual labour, and between rulers and subjects. The lower classes were deemed only capable of manual labour and the higher classes of using intellect; hence the latter were naturally suited to rule. Later Neo-Confucians scholars were the first to question this status quo. Using differing conceptions of nature, they challenged feudalism by arguing that all people had equal intellect. The proto-nationalist schools of Kokugaku and Mitogaku then put forward the idea of a natural, Japanese community under the emperor that transcended status distinctions. Although both lines of thought disputed the innate inferiority of commoners, they did not challenge the idea that there was a natural authority. Haruo Shirane, a modern professor of Japanese culture and literature, describes the particular conception of nature in Japan as “secondary nature”.3 As opposed to “primary 1 Thomas, Reconfiguring Modernity, pp.5-6. 2 McNally, Like No Other, pp.141-170. 3 Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons. 1 Conceptions of nature and feudal hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) nature”, which refers to the natural environment, secondary nature is the cultural construction of nature through poetry, the arts or philosophy which results in the attribution of normative values or characteristics to nature. Two forms have been identified: secondary nature constructed around the capital, and the secondary nature of the satoyama (provincial farming village) which was an agricultural settlement comprising a rice field by a river and a mountain.4 The secondary nature constructed around the capital was directly linked to the imperial court as it originated with poetry commissioned by the emperor in the Heian period (794-1185). Similarly, although the satoyama focuses on rural areas, it is not a natural landscape, as the woodland had been destroyed to use as farmland. In addition, it is still an idealised construction created by aristocrats in the Heian period, who had never been to the countryside but wrote tales about the connection of the satoyama to the spiritual world.5 Mitogaku and Kokugaku scholars referred to these early texts and drew on ancient conceptions of secondary nature based around the imperial court to conclude that instead of the bakufu, the emperor had natural authority. Although scholars reached out to urban and rural commoners by establishing schools and academic networks, these differing perceptions of nature and hierarchy did not influence the whole country equally. The 1855 earthquake saw an emergence of national identity and imperial ideology in popular thought. The later Tengu Insurrection (1864) then directly called for a return of political power to the emperor. In rural areas, village leaders utilised ideas of natural hierarchy to become independent of central government. However, rebellions by peasants of lower status were motivated not by ideology but by economic factors, which is likely due to conceptions of nature being urban constructions. Most peasants could not relate to this due to experiencing a different system of hierarchy based on traditional relationships of mutual economic benefit. Feudalism Feudalism began as a system in Japan in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when the shogun displaced the emperor as the political leader, reducing the latter to a figurehead. The shogun distributed land to daimyo (regional lords) in return for military service. In the Sengoku period (1467-1568), a hierarchy was developed for the rest of society, who were divided into four hereditary classes: samurai (warriors), peasants, artisans and merchants. However, the most significant distinction was between samurai and the three commoner classes. The samurai were the ruling class, demanded respect from the commoners, and had certain privileges, such as being allowed to bear swords. After centuries of civil war between the daimyo, the first shogun of the Tokugawa period, Tokugawa Ieyasu, brought in a period of stability which led to increased agricultural output, population increase and urbanisation. Peace meant that samurai were no longer fulfilling their role in the feudal system as warriors yet peasants were expected to work the land for them, and a justification was needed for their continued higher status.6 4 Ibid, pp.13-18. 5 Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons, p. 205. 6 Masao Maruyama, Studies in the Intellectual history of Tokugawa Japan, trans. by Mikiso Hane, pp. 8-9. 2 Conceptions of nature and feudal hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) Neo-Confucianism Using nature as the starting point for political organisation is not unique to Japanese political philosophy, or to the Tokugawa period. Social contract theorists such as Hobbes and Locke began by considering the state of nature and concluded that there were natural laws which existed prior to, and transcended, the laws in civil society. In the same way, Confucianism considered that there were natural laws which provide the basis for political organisation. Confucianism originated in China and was brought to Japan in the Kamakura period. Neo-Confucianism, based on the writings of the Chinese scholar Zhu Xi (1130-1200), diverged from traditional Confucianism in that it considered nature in terms of the metaphysical concepts of li (“principle” or “pattern”) and qi (“generative force”) and emphasised the importance of the “Way”. Li is the nature of all things and qi is the form. Li is the natural laws which order heaven, earth, and the nature of man. Qi is the unique spirit of each being and object. While li is rational, good and unchanging, qi can be influenced by the surroundings. Hence man is born naturally good due to li and evil arises from his unique qi being corrupted. Li is therefore not only a natural law but also a moral law towards which all should strive. The purpose of the Way was to show how one could align their qi with the original, pure li, as had been done by ancient Chinese philosophers.7 Neo-Confucian emphasis on hierarchy based on natural principles provided ideological justification for feudal society. One of the main Japanese Neo-Confucians was Hayashi Razan (1583-1687), who closely followed the arguments of Zhu Xi and worked as an advisor to four shoguns. He used the Confucian principle of the “Five Relationships” to explain feudal hierarchy. The Five Relationships encompassed all social relations and was between: ruler and subject, man and wife, man and son, man and friend and older and younger brother. The existence of these relationships and the hierarchy within each of them are natural laws grounded in li; they exist in parallel with other natural laws, such as how the “sun rises in the east and sets in the west”8 and heaven being superior to the earth. Thus the ruler, in this case the shogun, daimyo and samurai, is superior to the ruled, the commoner classes. Adherence to the Five Relationships is in line with li, so will bring the proper familial, social and political stability. 9 This encompassed the view that the superiority of the ruling party is justified by their greater intelligence and understanding of natural laws, as articulated by the scholar and foreign diplomat Amenomori Hōshū (1668-1755): “the samurai use their minds, the peasants and those below them use their muscles. Those who use their minds are superior; those who use their muscles are inferior.”10 Mind and muscle There was a diversion in thought throughout the 18th century in response to economic and social changes. Population increase, urbanisation and greater literacy led to an increase in the wealth and cultural influence of merchants and peasants.11 Previously elite 7 Ibid, pp.19-31. 8 Ibid, p.98. 9 Ibid, p.202. 10 Ibid, p.9. 11 Totman, Japan before Perry: A Short History, pp. 174-176. 3 Conceptions of nature and feudal hierarchy in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) pastimes, such as poetry, were taken up by many and new art forms were created, such as kabuki theatre and woodblock printing. In particular, haikai (linked haiku verses) became a popular form to express the lifestyle and vernacular of commoners. Philosophers therefore began to use conceptions of nature to break down the mind- muscle division.
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