Nakamoto Tominaga

A Confucian scholar of the mid-Edo period. Born in Osaka. Commonly known as Kichibei, his pen name was Kochu or Nakashi. His pen name was Kensai. His father was Domyojiya Kichizaemon (Yoshiharu, 1684-1740), one of the five founders of Kaitokudo. From an early age, he studied Confucianism under Miyake Sekian (1665-1730) at Kaitokudo, but at the age of 15 or 16, he wrote "Setsuhei," criticizing Confucianism, which is said to have displeased his teacher Sekian. He later studied under Tanaka Toko (1668-1742), who was also a close friend of Ogyu Sorai, and became a member of his association, the Gokosha. At the age of 20, he left home and studied at Obakusan, collating the Issaikyo sutra, cultivating his ability to criticize Buddhism. The results of his work were published in Shutsujo Kogo, in which he advocated the theory of "Kajo" (addition) that adds historical criticism to various Buddhist ideas. Furthermore, in Okina no Fumi (1746), written in simple Japanese, he advocated the abolition of the three religions of Shinto, Confucianism, and Buddhism, and the search for a "path of sincerity" instead. On the one hand, his theory was criticized by Buddhists, but on the other hand, it had a great influence on Motoori Norinaga, Hirata Atsutane, and others. He died on August 20, 1770, at the age of 32.

[Yoshi Ueda June 20, 2016]

"Tominaga Nakamoto" by Juntaro Ishihama (1940, Sogensha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の儒学者。大坂に生まれる。通称は吉兵衛。字(あざな)は子仲または仲子。号は謙斎。父は懐徳(かいとく)堂創建の五同志の一人道明寺(どうみょうじ)屋吉左衛門（芳春、1684―1740）。幼時から懐徳堂で三宅石庵(みやけせきあん)（1665―1730）に儒学を学んだが、15、6歳のころには儒教を批判して『説蔽(せつへい)』を著し、師石庵の不興を買ったともいわれる。その後、荻生徂徠(おぎゅうそらい)の親友でもあった田中桐江(たなかとうこう)（1668―1742）に師事し、その結社呉江社の一員となった。20歳のころには家を出て黄檗山(おうばくさん)で『一切(いっさい)経』の校合に従事し、仏教に対する批判力を培った。その成果は『出定後語(しゅつじょうこうご)』に著され、仏教の諸思想に歴史的批判を加える「加上(かじょう)」説が唱えられている。さらに、平易な和文で書いた『翁(おきな)の文(ふみ)』（1746）では、神儒仏三教を廃棄し、これにかわる「誠の道」を求めることを唱えた。その説は、一方では諸仏家などから非難されたが、他方、本居宣長(もとおりのりなが)、平田篤胤(ひらたあつたね)らに大きな影響を及ぼした。延享(えんきょう)3年8月20日、32歳で死去した。

［上田　穣　2016年6月20日］

『石浜純太郎著『富永仲基』（1940・創元社）』

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