Ethical Thought in Yamazaki Ansai’s(山崎闇斎) Hekii(『闢異』)

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  • 山崎闇斎『闢異』に見る倫理思想について
  • ヤマザキヤミサイ 『 ヘキイ 』 ニ ミル リンリ シソウ ニ ツイテ

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Abstract

Yamazaki Ansai’s(山崎闇斎) shift to Confucianism occurred in the latter half of his twenties. He wrote Hekii(『闢異』) in 1647 when Ansai(闇斎) was 30. In Hekii(『闢異』), Ansai(闇斎) believes that the relationship between lord and vassal and the relationship between father and child are the basis of the human relationships from which society is constructed, and Ansai(闇斎) compares his own thoughts with the words of the texts quoted in Hekii(『闢異』), especially those of Zhu Xhi(朱熹). What the sages studied was not scholarship for scholarship’s sake, but rather a question of to what extent one could master oneself through the study of social obligation, and further, whether one would teach this to others. Neo-Confucianism has a logical academic framework and by quoting the philosophy underpinning that system, Ansai(闇斎) made the scholarship of the sages known to the world. In Buddhism, one must sever all ties in order to achieve enlightenment. Ansai(闇斎) was unable to accept such a doctrine that rejected human relationships; he felt this was unsuitable for reality and so came to believe in Confucianism. When he compared Buddhism to the society that existed before him, he found it to be unrealistic. Armed with the idea that reality exists only between people and Zhu Xhi’s(朱熹) practical theories and ethics, Ansai(闇斎) pursued his own scholarship in order to harmoniously advance those human relationships.

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