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was a Japanese philosopher and strategist during the Tokugawa shogunate. He was a Confucian scholar, and applied Confucius' idea of the "superior man" to the samurai class of Japan. This became an important part of the samurai way of life and code of conduct known as ''bushido''. ==Biography== Yamaga Sokō had been studying the Chinese classics since the age of six and at nine years old became a student of Hayashi Razan, a follower of Neo-Confucianism who was responsible for its development as the official doctrine of the Tokugawa shogunate.〔Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al.'' (2005). "Yamaga Sokō" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'' (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File ).〕 At the age of forty, he broke away from the official doctrine and decided to change his conception of Confucianism, burning all of the books he had written while still under its influence. This, along with the publishing of a philosophical work entitled Seikyo Yoroku, caused him to be removed from the bureaucracy and exiled outside of Yedo (modern day Tokyo). Soon after being exiled, he moved to the Ako Domain, befriending Asano Nagatomo and becoming an important teacher of Confucianism & military science in the region. Yamaga's influence would later be expressed in the Genroku Akō incident, since the leader, Ōishi Yoshio, had been a devoted pupil under him. Yamaga wrote a series of works dealing with "the warrior’s creed" (''bukyō'') and "the way of the gentleman" (''shidō''). In this way he described the lofty mission of the warrior class and its attendant obligations, which had become known as the "Way of the Samurai" (''bushidō''). According to William Scott Wilson, in his text "Ideals of the Samurai": "In his theory of Shido (a less radical theory than bushido), Sokō defined the warrior as an example of Confucian purity to the other classes of society, and as punisher of those who would stray from its path." Wilson wrote that Sokō thought of the samurai as a "sort of Warrior-Sage" and focused his writings on the perfection of this "transcendent ideal". Wilson also states that "This direction of thinking, however, which was typical of the scholars of the Edo Period in its tendency toward speculation." He remphasized that the peaceful arts, letters, and history were essential to the intellectual discipline of the samurai. Yamaga thus symbolizes the historical transformation of the samurai class from a purely military aristocracy to one of increasing political and intellectual leadership.〔De Bary, William et al. (2001). ''Sources Of Japanese Tradition: Volume 2, 1600 to 2000'', p. 186.〕 One of his pupils was Daidōji Yūzan, a samurai from the Daidōji family, who would become the author of an important bushidō text, ''Budō shoshin shu''. He also drew attention to the need to study and adopt Western weapons and tactics, as introduced by the Dutch. In 1665, Yamaga publicly avowed his antipathy for Neo-Confucianism in the ''Essence of Confucianism'' and was arrested the following year at the instigation of Hoshina Masayuki, Lord of Aizu. Yamaga proclaimed his belief that the unadulterated truth could only be found in the ethical teachings of Confucius, and that subsequent developments within the Confucian tradition represented perversions of the original doctrine. Hoshina, however, saw this attack as a potential challenge to Tokugawa authority itself, and Yamaga was subsequently exiled to stay with the Asano daimyo in the Akō domain (''han''), where his life intersects with the tale of the forty-seven ronin, which is later retold in the classic of Japanese literature Chūshingura.〔Trumbull, Stephen. (1996). ''The Samurai: A Military History.'' p. 265; Tucker, John. (2002). "Tokugawa Intellectual History and Prewar Ideology: The Case of Inoue Tetsujirō, Yamaga Sokō, and the Forty-Seven Rōnin," in ''Sino-Japanese Studies.'' Vo. 14 , pp. 35-70.〕 The life of his near contemporary Matsudaira Sadanobu presents a plausibly useful context for more fully understanding and appreciating Yamaga's life. Both men believed entirely in the civic and personal values of Confucianism, but both construed those precepts a little differently because of their places in Edo period society.〔Shuzo Uenaka. (1977). "Last Testament in Exile. Yamaga Sokō's ''Haisho Zampitsu''", ''Monumenta Nipponica,'' 32:2, No. 2, pp. 125-152.〕 In his own time, this conception of Confucian values was amongst the factors which led him to draw attention to the need to study and adopt Western weapons and tactics, as introduced by the Dutch. Yamaga’s conception of bushidō restated and codified the writings of past centuries and pointed to the emperor as the focus of all loyalties. His teachings therefore had direct application for everyone in the existing feudal structure, and he was not calling for a change in the status of the emperor. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Yamaga Sokō」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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