Kamo no Mabuchi

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KAMO NO MABUCHI

KAMO NO MABUCHI (1697–1769), Japanese scholar of classical studies in the Tokugawa period (1600–1868); he wrote classical poetry under the pen names Shōjyō, Moryō, Iyō, and Agatai.

Mabuchi was born on March 4, 1697, into the Okabe family, descendants of the overseers of Kamo Shrine in Kyoto, at Iba, Ōmi province (modern Shizuoka Prefecture). Mabuchi's father was a Shintō priest and part-time farmer who encouraged his son to write poetry. At the age of ten (eleven by Japanese count) Mabuchi, who received initial instruction from the poet Kada Masako and then from her renowned husband, Sugiura Kuniakira, began taking active part in poetry tournaments.

At the age of twenty-five, Mabuchi made the acquaintance of Kada Azumamaro (1668–1736), scholar of classical studies and headmaster of the school of National Learning (Kokugaku) in Kyoto. Through his association with Watanabe Myōan, a scholar of Ogyū Sorai's school of Ancient Rhetoric (Kobunjigaku), Mabuchi met the Confucian Dazai Shundai, who introduced him to the study of classics in the manner developed by Sorai. Later, as he turned away from Chinese influences to embrace things Japanese, Mabuchi repudiated the scholarship of the members of the Sorai school as the work of eccentrics.

In 1734, after enrolling in Kada Azumamaro's school, Mabuchi began work on the eighth-century collection of poetry known as the Man'yōshū. Following Kada's death in 1736, Mabuchi moved to the capital at Edo (modern Tokyo), but returned frequently to Iba, for he believed it was possible to see the reality of human existence in the naiveté of the rural people. Thus he developed his concept of society based on an agricultural economic model combined with the Daoist principle of natural life. At the same time, he composed poetry and participated in poetry competitions. In 1742, he joined the service of Lord Tayasu, a member of the Tokugawa family, as a teacher of classical studies.

Opposing the tradition that saw the right of succession in schools of scholarship passed down through families, Mabuchi considered himself the successor to the Kada school. The number of his followers increased to almost 350, and three subschools emerged. In 1763, when Mabuchi was returning from a trip to the Yamato area (modern Nara), he met Motoori Norinaga (1730–1801), his future successor and a leading figure in the National Learning school.

It was Mabuchi's aim to understand the terminology and ideology of ancient (pre-Nara) times. He advocated adherence to Shintō doctrine and a return to the "natural" concepts of the ancient period as a means of discovering the supreme and correct kokoro ("soul, spirit") of the Japanese people. Influences from China and Confucian ideology were, in his interpretation, unnatural. In opposition to the principles set down by Confucians and Buddhists, Mabuchi stressed the philosophy of nonaction, or naturalness, by which it would be possible to unite one's kokoro with the spirit of the universe. He maintained that "artificial" knowledge, such as that propounded by Confucians and Buddhists, would only harm the spirit of the people. Therefore, since Japan's ancient period was based on what was pure and natural, it was essential that there be a return to the things of the past. In adoration of such an ideal concept, he attempted to revive the spirit of the classical times not only through the doctrines he propounded, but also in his style of clothing and the furnishings of his home. He studied ancient poetry and literature as a means of practicing the principles of old, thereby setting a high value on the myths of Japan's ancestral gods, the emperor, and the elements of nature.

Mabuchi pointed to the virtuous character of a bright, naive, and pure kokoro, a soul that was brave, honest, and gentle. This type of spirit would only manifest itself in a subject who was courageous and loyal to the emperor. Yet he did not regard the Tokugawa regime as suppressive of the interests of the emperor but rather praised its founding ruler, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), for establishing a government with Shintō as its base.

Bibliography

One may find useful the details concerning the poetry of Kamo no Mabuchi in the book by Tamura Yoshinobu entitled Kamo no Mabuchi wakashū no kenkyū (Tokyo, 1966). The following biographical accounts are recommended for their detail: Koyama Tadashi's Kamo no Mabuchi den (Tokyo, 1938), and Terada Yasumasa's Kamo no Mabuchi shōgai to gyōseki (Hamamatsu, 1979). Descriptions of Mabuchi's religious philosophy can be found in Ōishi Arata's Kamo Mabuchi (Tokyo, 1942) and in Araki Yoshio's Kamo no Mabuchi no hito to shisō (Tokyo, 1943). On the scholarship of Mabuchi, see Inoue Minoru's Kamo no Mabuchi no gakumon (Tokyo, 1943). For Inoue's evaluation of the accomplishments of Mabuchi and his successors, see his Kamo no Mabuchi no gyōseki to monryū (Tokyo, 1966). The part that the interest in agriculture played in forming his philosophy is taken up by Saegusa Yasutaka in Kamo no Mabuchi, jimbutsu sōsho (Tokyo, 1962).