The Transformation of Bushido and the Way of the Merchant from Pre-modern to Modern Times

Title

The Transformation of Bushido and the Way of the Merchant from Pre-modern to Modern Times

Author

Kun-Chiang CHANG

Page

149-198

DOI

Abstract

This article is intended to explore the transformation of bushido and the way of the merchant. It especially contrasts the discourses on the relationship between bushido and the way of the merchant in the Tokugawa period and the early Meiji Restoration, having an insight into the features of the transformation by analyzing the types of the discourses. Concerning the Tokugawa period, I choose several exemplary characters, namely, the samurai-Zen monk of the early Tokugawa period, Suzuki Shōsan (鈴木正三, 1579-1655), and Nishikawa Zyoken (西川如見, 1648-1724), who had contributed significantly to the common people's education; besides, this article also analyzes the discourses on the way of the merchant and bushido by the scholar of the mid-late Tokugawa period, Ishida Baigan (石田梅岩, 1685-1744), the Kaitokudo's Neo-Confucianist from Osaka, Nakai Riken (中井履軒, 1732-1817), and the scholar keenly dedicated to commerce, Kaiho Seiryō (海保青陵, 1755-1817). Regarding the Meiji Restoration, this article explores the discourses on the relationship between bushido and the way of the merchant by two samurai-merchants, Shibusawa Eiiti (澀澤榮一, 1840-1931), Iwasaki Yatarou (岩崎彌太郎, 1834-1885), and the Christian Nitobe Inazo (1862-1933). This article, in the end, has an insight into the features of the transformation through the contrast between the pre-modern and the modern times based on the afore-mentioned works on the relationship between bushido and the way of the merchant.

Keyword

Bushido, Way of Merchant, Suzuki Shōsan, Ishida Baigan, Shibusawa Eiiti, Kaiho Seiryō, Nitobe Inazo

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