A study of Inoue Tetsujiro’s bushido ideology: Focus on the continuity from before the popularity of modern bushido

Abstract

Many recent studies of bushido, such as Suzuki and Oleg, have stated that the bushido that flourished after the Meiji period was an “invented” tradition that is different from samurai ideology from before the Edo period. However, in order to re-examine the traditional nature of the martial arts and Japanese thought, it is necessary to investigate the continuity of samurai ideology, such as what bushido ideologies in the post-Meiji era were inherited from the pre-Meiji period, as well as the renewed samurai ideology and the ideological changes that occurred which were observed from the collapse of samurai society due to the Meiji Restoration.

The aim of this paper was to discover from the bushido ideology of Inoue Tetsujiro, a leader in bushido theory from the Meiji period onwards, what kind of pre-Edo period ideology he tried to inherit, and what kind of ideological transition his ideas went through before he wrote his theory of bushido in 1901.

First, with regard to what ideas were inherited from the pre-Edo period, Inoue, as pointed out in previous studies, traced the origin of bushido to a link with the Emperor. In that, he divided bushido into two parts: “form” and “spirit”. He stated that “spirit”, that had continued from long ago, should be passed on in the future through moral education.

Furthermore, while previous studies have suggested that Inoue established bushido as an academic discipline and led it in a different direction from practical morality, he states that the “determination” to practically carry out bushido should be passed on in post-Meiji morality. This was confirmed as a different aspect of his work from what has been previously identified.

Next, regarding the ideological changes that occurred up to the writing of Inoue’s bushido theories, there was a focus on related historical accounts. Previous studies have shown that, with regards to his views on history, Inoue’s position was critical of historical investigation and that history should be used in ethics and moral education. However, these views were not seen at all from 1891 to 1892, but from 1893 they gradually started to be seen in opposition to historical investigation and Christian teachings. From 1899 they were clearly seen to be discussed.

Inoue said that bushido should be passed on in morality from the Meiji period onwards. This was thought to have been supported by the gradual formation of ideas on trying to apply history to ethical and moral education by 1901.