Motoori Norinaga

Motoori Norinaga

Self-portrait by Motoori

Motoori Norinaga ( Japanese 本 居 宣 長 ; * June 21, 1730 ; † November 5, 1801 ) was a Japanese scholar at the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate .

Motoori Norinaga excelled above all as a philologist (text researcher) of the oldest indigenous literature, which was hardly understood by anyone at that time. He is considered the most important representative of the so-called National School ( Kokugaku ), which was aimed at a reconstruction of the ancient Japanese culture free of all foreign (ie Indian and Chinese) influences. His central research topic was the Kojiki , the oldest imperial chronicle in Japan. In his work Kojiki-den he discusses the meaning and pronunciation of old phrases and words and thus became a pioneer of today's ancient Japanese language research. The National School is also regarded as a pioneer of the Meiji Restoration , the political reform movement of 1868. Motoori himself, however, did not emerge as a political activist. It was only under his student Hirata Atsutane that the Kokugaku acquired an explicitly political orientation.

biography

Motoori Norinaga was born in 1730 as the first son of the family. At the age of seven he can already write and read, which is extremely early for Japanese writing . With eleven he performs Nō plays and Confucian classics. Two years later he visits the Yoshino Temple. Motoori Norinaga learned archery at the age of 16 . At 18 he mastered the Japanese tea ceremony and was adopted by the Imaida family. He did advanced Confucian training when he was 19 .

The Imaida family's adoption was revoked in 1750. Motoori Norinaga studied medicine in Kyoto in 1752 . Some scientists there recognize its efficiency. Motoori created 2000 waka (poems), 40 books and copied 15 others. In 1757 he reads his first book by Kamo no Mabuchi ( Kanji ko ). Because he ran out of money, he returned to his hometown and opened a practice.

In 1762 the arranged marriage to Kusabuka Tami ( 草 深 た み ) takes place. After 3 months, the two separate. In 1763 he met Kamo no Mabuchi , who advised him to read the Nihonshoki and the Man'yōshū . From 1764 to 1771 Motoori Norinaga studied Kojiki , where he began to spread his teachings. He dies in 1801.

Web links

• Literature by and about Motoori Norinaga in the catalog of the German National Library
• Mori Mizue:  "Motoori Norinaga" . In: Encyclopedia of Shinto. Kokugaku-in , April 13, 2006 (English)

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Motoori is the family name, Norinaga the first name.