Summary: | 碩士 === 淡江大學 === 日本研究所 === 87 === The last years of the E-do time in Japan was an unstable period. Meanwhile, China was attacked by several aggressive nations from west world. According to China's defeated experience in the Opium War(1840), Japanese patriots were worrying about that Japan would face the west power's threat some day. In 1853, Pelly, the US admiral, led the East India Fleet to break Japan's blockade policy. Under west power's intimidation, Japan was in a great panic, and the society became unstable. In addition to that situation, the vassal states were facing serious financial crisis. Farmers in these vassal states couldn't afford the heavy tax; hence many of them got involved in revolutionary activities. To rescue Japan from the outside intimidation and inside disorder, the patriots advocated the idea of honoring the emperor and repelling the barbarians.
At that chaotic age, those patriots who propagated the idea of honoring the emperor and repelling the barbarians were named as Sonjo party, and most of them were vassals. Originally, they supported the spirit of the former idea of honoring the emperor and repelling the barbarians, Nevertheless, ignoring Emperor's opinions on dealing the relations between Japan and the west nations, shogun arbitrarily contracted with the west nations.Shogun's conduct was obviously against the spirit of honoring the emperor, and this made the patriots of Sonjo party decide to express their will through honoring Emperor practically.
Yoshida Shoin was the forerunner of the Sonjo party and he was influential during the last period of the shogunate age. Although his lifetime is quite short, only 30 years, Yoshida Shoin's effort influenced the shogunate time a great deal. His thought played an important role in this unstable age, and most particular of all was his idea of "saving the throne"(honoring the emperor). This idea initiated the storm of "honoring the emperor and repelling the barbarians" in the shogunate time, The success of Meiji restoration in later time was influenced by Shoin both directly and indirectly, because some important figures of Meiji restoration were Shoin's disciples.
The topic of this thesis is Yoshida Shoin's idea of "saving the throne". First, it explains the theory of Shoin's idea of "saving the throne" and the former idea of "honoring the emperor and repelling the barbarians" . Then it expounds the relations between Shoin's idea of "saving the throne"and others' idea of "honoring the emperor and repelling the barbarians".Finally, it comes to discuss the "saving the throne" ideas influence on both members of Sonjo party and Meiji restoration. This thesis indudes 3 parts; introduction, main contention, and conclusion.
|