著者

榎本 恵理

出版者

教育史学会

雑誌

日本の教育史学 : 教育史学会紀要 (ISSN:03868982)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.49, pp.6-18, 2006-10-01

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Historically, the Japanese child grew up enveloped by close human relationships. Those relationships, however, have become looser over time, and they continue to grow less intense. How can people restore the type of relationship that enables them to sympathize and connect with others? The present study explores this question from the standpoint of the history of educational thought, seeking an answer in the thought of the kokugakusha (national scholar) Motoori Norinaga (1730〜1801), especially in his emotionalist view of humanity. That human beings sympathize with others on the level of sensibility was Norinaga's basic premise. This study's particular topic is Motoori Norinaga's cultural formation in the context of his stay in Kyoto. In his twenties, he spent five and a half years in Kyoto for the purpose of studying medicine. Actually, he not only engaged in medical studies but took full opportunity to explore Kyoto's cultural scene, including the kabuki theatre and a variety of other diversions. During his stay in Kyoto, Norinaga kept a diary. At first, he wrote the entries in kanbun (classical Chinese). Eventually, however, he changed to a pure Japanese style. This paper pays particular attention to this change of writing style. The main conclusions made in this essay are as follows: 1. Norinaga's emotionalist view of humanity was not peculiar to him but derived from popular culture, including such entertainments as the joruri and kabuki theatres. In other words, he reflected what those popular entertainments had projected since the Genroku period as the "true" feelings of ordinary people. 2. During his time in Kyoto, Norinaga constructed an intellectual platform for his rejection of the Confucian view of humanity by a sublimation of the everyday feelings of urban people, emplacing their view of humanity within the classical tradition of court culture. 3. Norinaga attributed an especially great meaning to Waka poetry. Indeed, he was able to formulate his own ideology based on views of humanity that were founded on Waka criticism.