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Ogyū Sorai

Ogyū Sorai was a Japanese Confucian scholar of the Tokugawa period who taught in Edo and advised the shogunate. Rejecting the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu…

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荻生徂徠

Also known as Ogyu Sorai

1666 – 1728 · Edo (present-day Tokyo), Japan

Traditions: Japanese & Korean

Schools: Confucianism

Ogyū Sorai was a Japanese Confucian scholar of the Tokugawa period who taught in Edo and advised the shogunate. Rejecting the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi, he insisted on reading the ancient Chinese classics in their original language and context. He argued that the Way is not a natural or cosmic order but a set of historical institutions, rites, music and laws created by the ancient sage-kings to order society.

Key ideas

  • The Way of the former kings is a human creation, a set of institutions devised by the sages, not a principle inherent in nature.
  • Confucian learning is above all political: its point is ordering the realm and securing the people's welfare.
  • The ancient texts must be read through the language of their own time, not through later metaphysical commentary.
  • Rites and music shape people's conduct more effectively than moral exhortation or inner cultivation.

Major works

  • Bendō (Distinguishing the Way, c. 1717)
  • Benmei (Distinguishing Names, c. 1717)
  • Seidan (Discourse on Government)

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