From Transculturation to Culture-Specific Ethics: The Implementation of Confucian Ritual Forms in 19th Century Japan

本研究的总体主题是近代早期日本官学对物质儒家符号的使用。江户晚期，巴库府直接控制了位于于岛遗址的Shoheizaka Gakumonjo学堂，鼓励领地学堂继续建立寺院-学堂的复杂形式，包括对孔子的斋祭和其他相关仪式，但随着巴库府对教育的要求和与外界的接触导致教育目标的实质性变化，这些象征性的表达方式也发生了变化。目前的研究项目通过对寺庙和仪式等可见文化展示的研究，来考察教育在这一时期的角色变化。在这个研究项目的第四年，主要的活动仍然是收集和分析来自领域学校的原始资料，这些资料揭示了孔庙，Sekiten仪式及其在教育系统中的作用。讨论的问题包括维持寺庙学校结构的传统设计的动机，学校的教育目标，关于培养人才和道德的想法，以及学校学生的社会背景。核心问题是，为什么在以儒家思想为基础的旧教育内容正在衰落的时候，如此多的努力和资源被投入到维持学校-寺庙制度的各种可见的标志上。这项工作的成果正通过学术会议发言和出版物积极传播。

The overall topic of this research is the use of material Confucian symbols in the official schools of early modern Japan. The Bakufu took direct control of the Shoheizaka Gakumonjo school at the Yushima site in the late Edo period, inspiring domain schools to continue the established temple-school complex form, including the Sekiten sacrifices to Confucius and other related rites, but these symbolic expressions underwent change as Bakufu demands on education and contact with the outside world led to substantial changes in educational goals. The current research project examines the changing role of education in this period through research on the visible cultural displays such as temples and rituals.In the fourth year of this research project, the main activity has remained the collection and analysis of primary source materials from domain schools that shed light on the Confucius temples, Sekiten rituals, and their role in the education system. Questions addressed include the motivations for maintaining the traditional design of the temple-school structure, the educational aims of the schools, ideas on inculcating talent and morality, and the social backgrounds of the students at the schools. The central question is why so much effort and resources were devoted to maintaining the various visible trappings of the school-temple system at a time when the older Confucian-based educational content was on the decline. The results from this work is being actively disseminated through academic conference presentations and publications.