The Shundai Zatsuwa (A Japanese Philosopher‪)‬

The Shundai Zatsuwa (A Japanese Philosopher)

by Kyusō (Murō Naokiyo)


"This book is an exposition of orthodox neo-Confucian thought from Tokugawa Japan. Kyuso lived from 1658-1734, and the Shundai Zatsuwa was compiled and published posthumously by his grandson in 1750. According to Knox, the work is not considered to be a classic, but it was well respected and "[i]n the Shundai Zatsuwa of Kyuso Muro we have the ruling ideas of the Japan that has forever passed away."


In addition to philosophy, the book has many anecdotal stories from Chinese and Japanese history illustrating the results of the virtuous conduct of the Confucian sage and the honorable samurai. This translation was originally published in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, volume 20, part 1 [1892] under the title A Japanese Philosopher. The remainder of that issue (60 more pages) was also taken up with discussions relating to this article, which are not presented in this iteration."