Confucianism From China to Japan: The Unseen Impact of Transnational Movement of Ideas

This thesis explores the impact of Confucianism's intellectual transition and transformation from China to Tokugawa Japan. Confucianism, as a system of thoughts in continuous adjustments and growth, was deeply embedded into the socio-political environment in which it resided, forming a highly contagious and sophisticated nexus of ideas capable of generating influences on the societal level. In the case of Tokugawa Confucianism, however, intellectual influences were not monotonously imposed from China but also led to reactions from the society -- the unseen impact. Utilizing synthetically both the sociological insights and classic Confucian texts, this paper provides a narrative of the unseen impact of Tokugawa Confucianism, examining a gradual shift of social structure towards the Chinese model- from vertical and rigid hierarchy to a horizontal and flexible one. Derived from this leveling of social status was an unintentional emancipation of intellectual awareness.