Introduction

This essay evaluates the position of the Imperial Way (皇道 Kōdō ) in the history of Japanese philosophy by examining the thinking of Takada Shinji (1893–1975). We begin by considering previous Korean research. Opinions concerning the Imperial Way have been expressed primarily in the context of research on Korean history, in particular on the history of “Imperial Way Confucianism” (皇道儒学 Kōdō jugaku). The leading research in this field was conducted by Jung Ukjaee1 and Kwon Inho and focused on Takahashi Tōru (1878–1967). Jung’s research is primarily conducted from a policy perspective and explores the propagation of Imperial Way Confucianism in Korea and the implementation of policies based on it. Kwon’s research sorts through Takahashi’s advocacy of the Imperial Way, but jumbles together the concepts of Imperial Way and Imperial Way Confucianism. Since, moreover, Kwon’s research is focused on Takahashi’s activities in Korea, it does not take full account of research on the Imperial Way conducted in Japan.

For the reasons sketched above, the interpretations provided by previous research lack the type of philosophical analysis of the Imperial Way and Imperial Way Confucianism required to fully grasp the basic elements of their origins, significance, changes and implications in Japan. Jung’s and Kwon’s earlier research has been concerned primarily with the discussion of the Imperial Way or Imperial Way Confucianism in the context of Korean history and, therefore, lacked sufficient discussion of the Imperial Way concept.

The purpose of this essay is to conduct a philosophical analysis of Imperial Way discourse and to locate this discourse in the history of philosophy in Japan. It investigates primarily the works of Takada Shinji, a sinologist, philosopher and leading member of the Confucian and Chinese studies organization the Shibunkai (斯文会) during the 1930s and 40s. It was Takada who, in the late 1930s, first systematized the Imperial Way concept. It is true that the antecedents for Imperial Way thought can be found in 17th-century Edo-period scholars such as Hayashi Razan. It is also true that other members of the Shibunkai such as Shionoya On and Inoue Tetsujirō had been writing on the Imperial Way concept in the mid-1930s, and the Confucian scholar Yasuoka Masahiro had started writing about this same concept as early as 1932.