Today there is a rather broad agreement on the field of Japanese studies regarding the fact that the main political, economic, social and cultural changesthat characterise the Meiji 明治 era have their roots in the Tokugawa 徳川period. This does not mean that changes following kaikoku 開国, the 218 Abstracts“opening of the country”, would have been consciously prepared during theshogunal reign. It means rather that those who reshaped the ideal and materialframework of Meiji period changes, had never torn themselves away fromTokugawa traditions as much as it would seem at first sight, and as much asmany of them suggested they had. In this study I examine the duality of(seemingly) radical novelty and strong attachment to traditions in the age ofbunmei kaika 文明開化 (“civilisation and enlightenment”) as reflected inthe translations of Western social philosophical works and in related theoretical writings of the central figures of the period.
Fordítva: Nyugati társadalomfilozófiai koncepciók és terminusok „japanizációja” a korai Meiji érában
