Sekimon Shingaku - Sekimon Shingaku

A practical philosophy founded by Ishida Baigan in the mid-Edo period, Shingaku is a philosophy of life that seeks to explore the true nature of human beings, incorporating the three religions of Shinto, Confucianism, and Buddhism, as well as Taoism and Zhuangzi, based on the everyday life experiences of early modern townspeople, and is a study of ethical self-awareness created by the common people of the early modern period. After Ishida Baigan began lecturing on Shingaku in Kyoto in 1729 (Kyoho 14), it gradually became popular thanks to the efforts of his disciple Tejima Toan, and Toan's disciples Tejima Waan and Uekawa Kisui began missionary work in the Kansai region, while Nakazawa Douji began missionary work mainly in Edo, and Shingaku lecture halls were established in various places. Shingaku spread not only among the common people, but also among feudal lords and upper-class samurai, and with the protection of the shogunate, it spread nationwide. In the later period, Tomioka Ichō, Fuse Shōō, Kamata Issō and his adopted son Kamata Ryūō, and Shibata Kyuō and other Shingaku scholars were active, and Sekimon Shingaku formed a major trend in the world of early modern thought.

The distinctive features of Sekimon Shingaku thought are, first, its assertion of humanism, which preached that common people, who were morally looked down upon in the early modern period, were equal to samurai in the practice of Tao. Secondly, it concretely clarified the social roles and significance of the four classes (samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants), and in particular rejected the socially accepted notion that townspeople were lowly merchants, while emphasizing awareness of commercial morality based on harmony between oneself and others. Thirdly, as a method of indoctrination to spread Shingaku thought, Shingaku scholars adopted methods such as lectures in a simple and light-hearted manner called Douwa and posters called Seiin, introducing the learning of the saints as something familiar and easy to understand, which had a great impact on the social indoctrination of the general public. They also actively participated in child education, such as creating textbooks for Terakoya education and holding special lectures for school-age children, and produced educational results. Fourthly, the Shingaku scholars did not simply spread their teachings; they also engaged in practical activities that responded to social realities, such as traveling to local teachers' offices and the Ninsokuyoseba labor camp in Tsukudajima, Edo, to teach, carrying out relief activities such as donating rice through their lecture halls during famines, and raising awareness against superstitions such as the belief in the year of the Horse.

Over the course of the diverse Sekimon Shingaku movement described above, the early Ishida Baigan's philosophical exploration of human nature and his active advocacy of the merchant's position, centered on the virtues of "honesty" and "thrift," transformed into a "study" of the "mind" that focuses on the peaceful state of one's "true heart." As such, there has been a shift in the concerns of the scholars of Shingaku due to changes in the times and the personalities of the scholars of Shingaku. However, the importance of the role that Sekimon Shingaku played in the world of early modern thought must be fully appreciated.

[Jun Imai]

"Japanese Thought Series 42: Sekimon Shingaku," edited by Shibata Makoto (1971, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "A Study of the History of Sekimon Shingaku, written by Ishikawa Ken (1938, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "The Economic Thought of Sekimon Shingaku, written by Takenaka Yasukazu (1962, Minerva Shobo)" ▽ "Baigan and His Disciples," written by Shibata Makoto (1977, Minerva Shobo)" ▽ "The Thought of Ishida Baigan, edited by Furuta Shokin and Imai Jun (1979, Pelican Publishing)" ▽ "Shingaku - The Philosophy of the Common People in Edo," written by Ishikawa Ken (Nikkei Shinsho)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の石田梅岩(ばいがん)を開祖とする実践哲学で、近世町人の日常の生活体験を基礎にして神道(しんとう)・儒教(じゅきょう)・仏教の三教や老荘(ろうそう)思想をも取り入れて、人間の本性を探究しようとする人生哲学、近世庶民の生み出した倫理的自覚の学である。石田梅岩が1729年（享保14）に京都で心学の講義を開講してから、その門下の手島堵庵(てじまとあん)の活躍でしだいに普及し、堵庵門下の手島和庵(わあん)、上河淇水(うえかわきすい)が関西で、中沢道二(どうに)が江戸を中心に布教活動に乗り出し、各地に心学講舎(こうしゃ)が設立された。心学は庶民のみならず、やがて大名や上層武士にも浸透し、幕府の保護もあって全国的に広まった。後期には富岡以直(いちょく)、布施松翁(ふせしょうおう)や鎌田一窓(いっそう)とその養子鎌田柳泓(りゅうおう)、さらに柴田鳩翁(きゅうおう)らが心学者として活躍し、石門心学は近世思想界の一大潮流を形成した。

　石門心学思想の特色は、第一に、近世において道徳的に卑しめられていた庶民に対し、道の実践では武士と対等の存在と説いたヒューマニズムの主張である。第二に、四民（士農工商）の社会的役割と存在意義を具体的に明確にし、とくに町人についての社会通念であった賤商(せんしょう)観を否定するとともに、自他の和合を基本にした商業道徳の自覚を強調したことである。第三に、心学者たちは、心学思想普及のための教化方法として、道話(どうわ)という平易軽妙な語り口による講義や施印(せいん)というポスター形式などの方法を採用し、聖人の学問を身近なわかりやすいものとして紹介し、一般庶民の社会教化に大きな影響を与えた。また、寺子屋教育などのテキスト作成や就学児童に対する特別講義の実施など、児童教育にも積極的に関与し、教育の実をあげた。第四に、心学者たちは単なる教説の普及だけではなく、各地の教諭所や江戸佃島(つくだじま)の人足寄場(にんそくよせば)に教導のために出張したり、飢饉(ききん)に際して各講舎を中心に施米(せまい)などの救済活動を行ったり、あるいは丙午(ひのえうま)などの迷信に対する啓蒙(けいもう)運動など、社会の現実に対応した実践活動を展開した意義も重要である。

　前記のような多様な石門心学運動の過程で、初期の石田梅岩にみられた人間の本性に関する哲学的探究と「正直」と「倹約」の徳を中心に商人の立場を積極的に主張した姿勢から、心学は「本心」の平安なあり方を主題とする「心」の「学」に転化するなど、時代の変化と心学者たちの個性による問題関心の変化がみられるが、石門心学が近世思想界に果たした役割の重要性は十分に評価しなければならない。

［今井　淳］

『柴田実編『日本思想大系42　石門心学』（1971・岩波書店）』▽『石川謙著『石門心学史の研究』（1938・岩波書店）』▽『竹中靖一著『石門心学の経済思想』（1962・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『柴田実著『梅岩とその門流』（1977・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『古田紹欽・今井淳編『石田梅岩の思想』（1979・ぺりかん社）』▽『石川謙著『心学――江戸の庶民哲学』（日経新書）』

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