Tsuda Sōkichi

Tsuda Sōkichi

Tsuda Sōkichi ( Japanese 津 田 左右 吉 ; born October 3, 1873 in Gifu Prefecture ; died December 4, 1961 ) was a Japanese historian during the Taishō and Shōwa periods .

life and work

Tsuda Sōkichi graduated from the "Tōkyō Semmon gakkō" (東京 専 門 学校), the forerunner of Waseda University . He then conducted research on the history and geography of Korea and Manchuria on behalf of the South Manchurian Railway Company . As a professor at Waseda University, he became an authority on ancient Japanese and Chinese thought.

Tsuda made his greatest contribution with his publication in 1919 with the title “Kojiki oyobi Nihon shoki no shinkenkyū” (古 事 記 及 び 日本 書記 の 新 研究), for example “New Research on Kojiki and Nihon Shoki ”. In it he proved that the content of these ancient writings from the 8th century did not represent an objective truth, but that the editors at court wanted to use it to justify the imperial power. For this result, Tsuda was attacked from the right and he was briefly jailed.

Tsuda's "Bungaku ni arawaretaru waga kokumin shisō no kenkyū" (文学 に 現 れ た る 我 が 国民 思想 の 研究) - "Studies on the thoughts of our people as it appears in literature." -, which he wrote from 1916 to 1921 the life of the Japanese as portrayed in literature from the time of Empress Suiko (554–628) to the end of the 19th century. In 1940 he was attacked again from the right wing and four of his books were banned. In 1942 he was charged with lese majesty. - After the Pacific War he continued his journalistic activities.

Tsuda's complete works in 33 volumes (津 田 左右 吉 全集, Tsuda Sōkichi zenshū) were published from 1963 to 1965. His work on Chinese culture includes "Rongo no Kōshi no shisō" (論語 の 孔子 の 思想) - "The Analects and Confucian Thoughts" from 1946.

Tsuda was awarded the Order of Culture in 1949, and in 1960 he received the Asahi Prize .

Remarks

1. ↑ In 1951 he was - like the other still living order bearers - subsequently awarded as a " person with special cultural merits ". This award was created in 1951 because, unlike the imperial order, it could be combined with a pension.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Tsuda Sōkichi . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X
• Hunter, Janet: Tsuda Sōkichi . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .

Web links

Commons : Tsuda Sōkichi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

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