Nishi Amane and the Introduction of Western Philosophy to Japan
The Fusion of Song Confucianism and Western Thought in Nishi Amane’s Philosophy
Today, let us explore the introduction of Western philosophy into Japan. The pioneer of this intellectual movement was Nishi Amane (1829–1897), who lived during the transitional period from the late Edo era to the early Meiji era.
Born into a family of physicians serving the Tsuwano domain, Nishi developed an interest in Confucianism early on. At the age of 20, he was assigned by his domain to lead research on Confucian studies, focusing primarily on Song Confucianism (a school of Confucianism from the Song dynasty / 宋学). Later, his first exposure to Dutch texts in Edo inspired him to pursue Rangaku (蘭学), or “Dutch Studies”, prompting him to leave his domain in pursuit of broader intellectual horizons.
Driven by his own ambition, he taught himself Dutch and English, eventually becoming a researcher for the Tokugawa shogunate. It was during this time that he encountered Western philosophical texts. Recognized for his exceptional abilities, he joined the first group of Japanese students sent to study abroad in 1862. Traveling to the Netherlands, he studied law, economics, and Western philosophy under the guidance of professors at Leiden University, becoming particularly influenced by the philosophies of Comte and Kant.
When Nishi returned to Japan in 1865, he brought back with him something transformative: philosophy.
Thus, the acceptance of Western philosophy in Japan, in a modern context, can be traced back to Nishi. However, it’s important to note that this process of acceptance was not a pure importation of Western ideas. Rather, the unique nature of Japanese philosophy lies in its synthesis of Western thought with Song Confucianism.
To understand this, we must revisit the Edo period, a time when Confucianism first flourished in Japan. After unifying the warring states of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) adopted a state philosophy to consolidate governance. That philosophy was the Confucianism of Zhu Xi (1130–1200) from the Southern Song dynasty.He chose the Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism (朱子学) from the Southern Song dynasty, appointing Hayashi Razan (1583–1657), a young scholar of 23, to establish its foundation.
Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism flourished throughout the Edo period, earning it the title of the “Age of Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism” in Japan. However, as a reaction to this dominance, alternative schools such as Yangmingism (the philosophy of Wang Yangming, 1472–1529 / 陽明学) and Japan’s indigenous Kogaku (a return to Confucian fundamentalism / 古学) emerged. Nevertheless, Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism, as mediated through figures like Hayashi Razan, remained the dominant intellectual framework of the Edo period.
By the late Edo period, this matured Confucian tradition heavily influenced Nishi, who sought to interpret Western philosophy through the lens of Japan’s refined understanding of Song Confucianism. Thus, the integration of philosophy in Japan cannot be viewed as a mere encounter between the West and Japan. Rather, it represents the intersection of Western thought with a distinctively Japanese evolution of Chinese Confucianism. This unique synthesis accounts for the complexity of understanding Japanese philosophy as a whole.
One of Nishi’s most significant contributions following his return from the Netherlands was the introduction of numerous philosophical terms into the Japanese language. These translations laid the groundwork for modern Japanese philosophical vocabulary—a feat largely attributable to his efforts.
Initially, he translated “philosophy” as 希哲学 (interpreting “philo” as 希 and “sophy” as 哲). However, he later refined this to the term we use today: 哲学. This shift in translation is significant, as it omits the original Greek concept of “philo,” reflecting a departure in meaning that deserves attention.
A key question arises here: What was Nishi’s intention in understanding Western philosophy? The answer lies in the concept of 理.
The idea of 理—the principle or order underlying all things—was barely mentioned in ancient Chinese texts such as the I Ching or Mencius. It wasn’t until the scholars of the Song dynasty that 理 became a central issue in Confucianism.
Nishi was particularly influenced by the work of Rai Sanyo (1781–1832), who argued that the concept of 理 as understood in Song Confucianism was absent in the West. Nishi, however, questioned this assertion, discovering that Western thought had, in fact, divided 理 into distinct categories. He saw this as an opportunity to overcome the ambiguity often associated with Japanese concepts.
It’s worth noting here that I do not consider Japanese or Chinese concepts inherently vague. Rather, their logic is so advanced that they can be difficult to comprehend within the more compartmentalized frameworks of Western thought. In this sense, Nishi initiated a critical shift: He was the first Japanese thinker to view Japan through the lens of Western philosophy—a perspective that has had profound consequences since the Meiji era.
For Nishi, every relationship between things was governed by 理. However, he argued that the West was not ignorant of 理 but rather divided it into two primary categories: reason (理性) and natural law (理法). Both terms incorporate the kanji 理, reflecting its foundational role in Japanese thought. In fact, 理 is so integral to the Japanese language that it appears in countless conceptual terms, underscoring its significance.
Ultimately, Nishi demonstrated that 理 is not an ambiguous essence as it may appear in Chinese or Japanese contexts. Instead, he argued that Western thought excels in distinguishing and analyzing its various forms—a perspective that shaped Japan’s modern intellectual landscape.
This leads to a critical observation: The modernization of Japan was not driven by Westerners. Despite widespread misconceptions, it was initiated by Japanese thinkers themselves, many of whom dismissed the Edo period as “feudalistic” and idealized the West as “enlightened.” These individuals, positioning themselves as agents of progress, began discarding traditional Japanese culture and practices as outdated.
The Meiji Restoration of 1868 accelerated this process, ushering in a wave of Westernization that transformed Japanese society almost overnight. Those who had studied Western disciplines rose to positions of privilege, often labeling Japan’s own traditions as “old-fashioned” and casting them aside. It was during this period that the Meiji government’s reformers initiated Japan’s first acts of environmental destruction—a topic I will explore further in a future post.
The writer and screenwriter Ishido Shikoro, who collaborated with Nagisa Oshima to lay the foundations of Japanese cinema in the 1960s, once wrote, “The enemy of the Japanese is the Japanese.” Indeed, Japanese history is a recurring story of internal division against the backdrop of foreign influences.
At the heart of this transformation stands Nishi Amane, whose contributions to translation were not merely tools for understanding other cultures. They also had the power to reshape Japan’s intellectual framework, demonstrating the transformative potential of translation itself.