In the fourth period, the leaders of Dutch studies that arose in the third period changed from doctors and agriculturalists to military strategists.
Japanese studies have also become politicized. Examples include Atsutane Hirata*1 and Yukoku Fujita*2's Mito studies. What is remarkable is the politicization of Confucianism, including Shozan Sakuma *3, Shonan Yokoi *4, and Shoin Yoshida *5. In terms of economics, there are Nobuhiro Sato, who envisioned an absolutist state, and Sontoku Ninomiya, an agricultural politician. The leaders of Dutch studies became those who accepted not only Western natural sciences but also social sciences , producing figures who would lead the Meiji period . Examples include Yukichi Fukuzawa*8, Amane Nishi*9, and Hiroyuki Kato*10. It can also be said that the politicization of Confucianism had an influence on the Imperial Rescript on Education and the Civil Code, and Kokugaku had an influence on the Constitution of Japan.
*1 Atsutane Hirata turned Kokugaku into a religion with a theory that was different from that of his master who valued positivism. The Hirata school spread among wealthy local farmers and priests, and had a great influence on the Sonno-movement at the end of the Edo period.
*2 Yukoku Fujita was the founder of the late Mito studies. He devoted himself to compiling the History of Great Japan, but in response to the external crisis, he advocated the Sonno-joi theory.
*3 Shozan Sakuma was an advocate of Eastern morality and Western artistic concepts.
*4 Shonan Yokoi had idea of equality of all human beings. He evaluated Western democracy from the perspective of Confucian royalism.
*5 Shoin Yoshida trained many people who contributed to the Meiji Restoration at Shokason School .
*6 Nobuhiro Sato anticipated the Meiji state by presenting a vision of a nation based on overseas invasion, state control of industry, and strong popular control.
*7 Sontoku Ninomiya was an agricultural politician and leader of rural reconstruction.
*8 Yukichi Fukuzawa was a Western scholar and enlightener during the Meiji period. He tried to understand capitalist civilization from the spirit that created it, rather than a Japanese-style, Western-style understanding. He advocated the need for practical studies to replace Confucianism.
*9 Amane Nishi was a philosopher during the Meiji Enlightenment. Introduced Western philosophy to Japan.
*10 Hiroyuki Kato was a scholar of national law at the end of the Edo period and in the Meiji period. Studied military tactics and Western studies under Sakuma Shozan. In the Meiji period, he advocated the theory of innate human rights, but took a stand against the rise of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. .
As an example, I have considered the Edo period in terms of four periods based on the theory of social order, and although the period in which a character appears is roughly speaking, it is considered to be the year half of the character's life *1.
*1 Measured in years that are half of the person's life.
The era to which a person belongs may be related to that person's accomplishments, and may have nothing to do with age. Some people's achievements appear in the second half of their lives, while others appear in the first half of their lives. However, what would happen if we consider that there is a social background to the appearance of that person in history? Setting the principle of capturing characteristics at half the age of a historical figure is more convenient for capturing the appearance of other figures. Spengler believed that politics, economics, society, and culture, especially art and mathematics, have mental images that characterize an era. In other words, this is probably the least arbitrary and natural way to grasp the background or deep common mental images of all genres.
