2014 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
The Reproduction of Visible Confucian Forms in 17th Century Japan as a Case of Transculturation
| Project/Area Number |
25370747
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
CHARD Robert 東京大学, 東洋文化研究所, 客員教授 (30571492)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | Confucianism / Ritual |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the second year of this research project, the work has concentrated on tracing instances of the actual transmission (or attempted transmission) of Confucian ritual forms in Japan during the 17th century, primarily through the activities of the Chinese emigre Zhu Shunshui during two periods: 1. 1660-1665, when he lived in Nagasaki and worked with the Japanese Confucian Ando Seian, domain scholar in Yanagawa; and 2. 1665-1682, when Zhu took service under Tokugawa Mitsukuni in Edo and Mito. Japanese manuscript documents uncovered in Kyushu archives have revealed that Seian actively sought details on ritual forms from Zhu during the first period; descriptions and drawings he left are very similar to materials Zhu later provided to the Mito Confucians, and published by them. Seian's requests to Zhu reflect the same concern with the correct implementation of visible forms (such as sacrificial rituals, Confucian dress, funeral ritual, graves, and mourning garments). The results of the research continue to show that, despite the careful efforts of Japanese Confucians to collect and preserve detailed technicalities of ritual forms at the behest of some domain lords, who ostensibly maintained an interest in integrating Confucianism into governance, Zhu's material was either not implemented at all, or implemented in only a partial and selective way. The results from the current project have during the current year been publicly disseminated in the form of one published article and four conference papers.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The research project has continued to go according to plan, particularly in uncovering relevant materials from the Japanese side (particularly manuscripts from archives in Saga, Taku, and Yanagawa). This has revealed that the extent of the material transmitted by Zhu while he was in Nagasaki was considerably greater than previously recognized, and some has been preserved in manuscript texts compiled by Ando Seian. The function of the ritual forms, were quite different in China and Japan, which is a significant marker highlighting the very different cultural nature of Confucianism overall in Japan and China, and explains why it is misleading to think in terms of transmission, and more meaningful to use the concept of transculturation.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The project will continue along the lines established in the first two years, concentrating on documentary sources from local Japanese archives from domains which promoted Confucianism, studied in conjunction with the writings of Zhu Shunshui. More work is needed to throw into sharper focus the different ways Confucian ritual was taught and formulated in Japan and China, and hopefully to uncover more details of specific instances when textual instructions for ritual were implemented, partially implemented, or deliberately not implemented. This will clarify further the dynamics which drove the formulation of Confucian ritual forms in Japan, and enhance the understanding of Confucianism from a cultural perspective both in Japan and in China.
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| Causes of Carryover |
An unspent balance in the funds allocated for the year has been held over to the current year. This balance was originally intended for the purchase of computer equipment, but the desired model will not become available until later this year, when it will be purchased in accordance with the original plan.
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| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
In addition, the research plan for the third year includes further visits to collect historical materials from regions in Japan where Confucian ritual forms were implemented during the early Edo period, which will be used to advance the understanding of Confucian culture in 17th-century Japan; the research results arising from this will continue to be disseminated publicly as they develop.
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