Idealism, Protest, and The Tale of Genji: The Confucianism of Kumazawa Banzan (1619-91) (Oxford Oriental Monographs) [Hardcover]

James McMullen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198152515 | ISBN-13: 978-0198152514 | Publication Date: December 23, 1999

This book is a new study of the leading seventeenth-century samurai Confucian, Kumazawa Banzan (1619-91). It describes his stormy life as a samurai, his interpretation of Confucian philosophy, and his imaginative commentary on Japan's greatest literary monument, The Tale of Genji. More than warrior and philosopher, Banzan is presented as a critic of the Japanese society of his day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`This is an impressive volume in many respects: impeccably erudite, it not only provides a wealth of biographical detail about Banzan, an intriguing character in his own right, but also detailed information on the Confucian philosophies, their reception in Tokugawa Japan and Banzan's own contribution to the Edo intellectual scene. The analysis of Banzan's commentary on Genji is especially welcome, illuminating as it does a refreshingly original response to the work ... For anyone with an interest in Tokugawa intellectual history, the book will prove to be both a fascinating and informative read.' T.E. McAuley, Japan Forum 13 (1)

`This book is part of a new series, Oxford Oriental Monographs ... It has been produced to the highest standards, with notes at the foot of the page and Chinese and Japanese appearing in the body of the text, the footnotes and the bibliography, as well as a Glossary that defines the most frequently recurring specialized terminology encountered in the book. The full apparatus adds to the pleasure of reading this outstanding work of scholarship.' Ellis Tinios, EHR

`In the first part of the book ... McMullen draws on a vast array of scholarship on Chinese and Japanese political philosophy and on the intellectual history of the Tokugawa period to provide an acute distillation of the essential features of Confucianism as it developed in China and as it was received, understood and interpreted in seventeenth-century Japan. I have not read anywhere a more lucid introduction to the complex topics.' Ellis Tinios, EHR

`McMullen's elucidation of Banzan's wrestling with the Tale of Genji in order to reconcile it with his Confucian principles forms the most absorbing part of this book.' Ellis Tinios, EHR

`James McMullen has written a book of great breadth and depth of scholarship that is at the same time refreshingly accessible.' Ellis Tinios, EHR

`this is a major work on an important Confucian thinker ... It also offers readers an excellent and detailed survey of the tenets of Confucian thought as they were re-interpreted in seventeenth-century Japan ... the discussion of Banzan's literary analysis of The Tale of Genji is also important for our understanding of the Confucian view of the role and function of literature and art, particularly its practical role as transformative, both of the individual and of society toward more humane and civil ends.' Andrew Gerstle, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.II, Part I, April 2001

`James McMullen's study of Kumazawa Banzan ... will become a monument in this field ... There is much here of interest for those who want to understand the diversity and complexity of intellectual and cultural life of the entire Tokugawa era from 1600 to 1868.' Andrew Gerstle, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol.II, Part I, April 2001

About the Author

James McMullen is at Pembroke College, Oxford.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 568 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198152515
• ISBN-13: 978-0198152514
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,829,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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