The I Ching in Tokugawa Thought and Culture: Asian Interactions and Comparisons

This pioneering study uses the I Ching (Book of Changes) to investigate the role of Chinese learning in the development of thought and culture in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868). I Ching scholarship reached its apex during the Tokugawa, becoming one of the most popular and influential texts among Japanese intellectuals. It penetrated into many areas of Tokugawa life: politics, economics, religion, natural science, medicine, military studies, and popular culture. The I Ching in Tokugawa Thought and Culture represents a scholarly attempt to expose uncharted research territory, offering new analysis and materials. Many of the primary sources discussed here have never before been used in research or translated into English.