Yoshikawa Shinto

Yoshikawa Shinto (吉川神道, Yoshikawa Shintō) is a doctrine of Shinto proclaimed in the early Edo period by Yoshikawa Koretari.

Hanitsu Shrine (Inawashiro, Yama District, Fukushima Prefecture). It enshrines Masayuki Hoshina, the lord of the Aizu Domain, who was granted the spiritual title "Tsuchi no Tsunogami" by Yoshikawa Koretari for mastering the esoteric teachings of Yoshikawa Shinto.

Overview

While inheriting Yoshida Shinto from his teacher Hagiwara Kaneyori, Yoshikawa further developed it and advocated a more moralistic form of Shinto known as "Yoshikawa Shinto."^[1]

Based on Yoshida Shinto but removing its Buddhist elements, Yoshikawa incorporated Neo-Confucian (Zhūzǐ) thought and used "Rikaku Shinto" (Rational-Principle Shinto) to expound a way of governing the nation. He emphasized morality and was critical of the hereditary shrine families (shake).^[2] Yoshikawa also incorporated official Confucian doctrines, uniting Shinto and Confucianism, and interpreted Shinto as the Way of ruler and subject. By stressing loyalty to the imperial family, he created a new current in early-modern Shinto that strongly influenced later movements such as Suika Shinto and pro-imperial thought.^[3]

Within Yoshikawa Shinto, Shinto was divided into "Gyōhō Shinto" (ritual-practice Shinto) centered on rites, and "Rikaku Shinto" (rational-principle Shinto) as a theory for governing the realm, holding the latter to be the true essence. He further taught that Shinto is the fundamental principle of the universe, and that deities such as Kuni-no-Tokotachi (国之常立神) inherently dwell in the hearts of all humans, a doctrine of the unity of kami and people.

Many lords, including Masayuki Hoshina of the Aizu Domain, sympathized with Yoshikawa Shinto, and the Yoshikawa family was appointed Shinto administrators (shintō-kata) under the Jisha-bugyō. Among Yoshikawa's disciples, Yamazaki Ansai later founded Suika Shinto.