Inoue Tetsujirō on National Morality and the Kingly Way in China

Lecture title: Inoue Tetsujirō on National Morality and the Kingly Way in China

Shaun O’Dwyer has kindly agreed to give a talk on his recent research on Confucianism and statism in early twentieth-century Japanese philosophy, with particular reference to the work of Inoue Tetsujirō (see below for further details).

Venue: 教育学部会議室 1st Floor (Hakozaki Campus)

Time: 12:00-13:30 (Tuesday, May 8)

Abstract:

In much post-1945 scholarship, Japan’s dominant pre-1945 nationalist and imperialist ideologies have been loosely categorized together as “State Shinto” (国家神道 kokka shintō). In recent years more scholars have highlighted one neglected component in scholarly analysis of these ideologies: Confucianism. This presentation will discuss some contributions a prominent early 20th century Japanese philosopher, Inoue Tetsujirō made to the Confucianized aspects of a national morality for Japan’s early statist nationalism, and ultimately to an imperial vision for a rejuvenated Confucian national morality in China, under Japanese tutelage, during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930’s.

Personal Bio:

Shaun O’Dwyer is an associate professor in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures at Kyushu University, Japan. He has published papers on a range of philosophical topics including modern Confucian philosophy in journals such as Philosophy East and West, Dao and Hypatia. His book Confucianism’s Prospects is forthcoming with State University of New York Press.