Abstract
Although Hirata Atsutane 平田篤胤 (1776–1843) is known as a scholar of Kokugaku (“national studies”), his scholarship is also a form of “ancient learning.” Its main contents and methods were developed based on the works of Motoori Norinaga 本居宣長 (1730–1801), but Atsutane later developed a theology different from that of Norinaga. This was primarily because Atsutane not only read numerous Confucian and Taoist texts, but also incorporated books on the classics of Chinese historiography, Taoism, Taoist-related knowledge including the Hundred Schools of Thought and weishu 緯書 (weft texts), Chinese medicine, Christianity, Buddhism, and Dutch learning into his knowledge system to argue for a world constructed by the Japanese gods. Of these, the present article specifically examines the connections between Hirata Atsutane’s thought and Taoism, as well as the ancient Chinese historical and geographical imagery and cosmological theories found in the Hundred Schools of Thought and weishu that constitute the intellectual resources of Taoism. This article first analyzes Atsutane’s early and mid-career works, such as Tamanomihashira 靈能真柱 (The True Pillar of Spirit), to examine issues related to his cosmology and understanding of ancient history in relation to Norinaga’s Kokugaku. Then, within the historical and intellectual contexts of East Asia, it explores Taoist cosmological theories, primarily focusing on texts such as Laozi 老子 (Dao de jing 道德經), Zhenzhong shu 枕中書 (The Pillow Book), and Laozi zhongjing 老子中經 (Central Scripture of Laozi), which present two theories of cosmic generation: one led by “Taiyi” 太一 (“the one”) and the other by “Pangu” 盤古. Subsequently, this article focuses on later works, including Sekikentaikoden 赤縣太古傳 (The Ancient Legend of China), and explores how Atsutane used Taoist-related Chinese texts as a medium to introduce Taoist cosmological theories into his writings and imaginations of the cosmos and ancient history, thereby allowing him to construct a cosmology and historical narrative distinct from both Taoism and Norinaga’s Kokugaku. Additionally, because the birth and activities of Taoist gods are closely tied to China’s geographical structure, it analyzes how Atsutane reinterpreted the inherent geographical imagination and spatial thinking found in Taoist-related texts, constructing a Japan-centered world geography. This article thus offers an explanation for why Atsutane was attracted to Taoist knowledge and how Taoism and related texts contributed to the construction of his thought, while also arguing for the necessity of studying his thought from the perspective of East Asian intellectual history.
Keywords
Hirata Atsutane; ancient history; Hundred Schools of Thought; weishu (weft texts); Taoism
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