Reading History Notes - Tokushiyoron

This is a historical treatise written by Arai Hakuseki, and was a proposed lecture to Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu in 1712 (Shotoku 2). It is a political history from the regent's government to Tokugawa Ieyasu's acquisition of power (actually, it was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's business), and is notable for recognizing nine changes in court politics from the reign of Emperor Montoku to the Kenmu Restoration, and five changes in samurai politics from Minamoto no Yoritomo to Ieyasu, establishing the famous "nine changes and five changes view." He largely incorporated the theories of Kitabatake Chikafusa's Jinnō Shōtōki, Hayashi's Nihonō Daiichiran and Honchō Tsūgan, and his teacher Kinoshita Jun'an, and although he seems to have taken inspiration from Jien's Gukanshō and Nihonōdaiichiran regarding the "incident," he also displays original views in many places. When the Meiji era came, it was called an "unconventional" view of history and was highly praised as "the only political history before the Meiji era." His method of proving the inevitability of the emergence of samurai government and the legitimacy of the Tokugawa government is brilliant, but he also has the shortcoming of being biased towards the Tokugawa. He does not simply discuss the past, but also suggests ways to improve the shogunate government of the time, which sets him apart from Hayashi's historiography. It began to be widely read and published in the late Edo period, and by the Meiji period it had become something of a textbook. It is included in "The Complete Works of Arai Hakuseki, Volume 3" and "Japanese Thought Series 35: Arai Hakuseki."

[Michio Miyazaki]

"Yomi-ron (Excerpts from Reading History)" edited by Noritsugu Muraoka (Iwanami Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

新井白石(あらいはくせき)の著した史論書で、1712年（正徳2）における将軍徳川家宣(いえのぶ)への進講案。摂関(せっかん)政治から徳川家康の政権獲得に至る（実際は豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の事業）までの政治史で、文徳(もんとく)天皇の世から建武中興(けんむのちゅうこう)までの公家(くげ)政治に九つの変化を、源頼朝(よりとも)以後家康までの武家政治に五つの変化を認めて、有名な「九変五変観」をたてたのが特色。北畠親房(きたばたけちかふさ)の『神皇正統記(じんのうしょうとうき)』や林家(りんけ)の『日本王代一覧(にほんおうだいいちらん)』『本朝通鑑(ほんちょうつがん)』、師の木下順庵(きのしたじゅんあん)の説を大幅に取り入れ、「変」については慈円(じえん)の『愚管抄』や『日本王代一覧』などから示唆を得たようであるけれども、随所に独創的見解を示している。明治になるや「破天荒」の史観といわれ、「明治以前唯一の政治史」と絶賛された。武家政治出現の必然性と徳川政権の正当性とを論証した手際は鮮やかであるが、徳川びいきに陥った短所もある。単に過去を論ずるだけでなく、当時の幕府政治に対し改善の方途をも示唆的に述べている点で林家史学と一線を画する。江戸時代後期から広く一般に読まれるようになり刊行もされて、明治時代には教科書的存在にまでなった。『新井白石全集　第3巻』『日本思想大系 35　新井白石』などに所収。

［宮崎道生］

『村岡典嗣校訂『読史余論』（岩波文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例