Who was this person?
An Edo-period scholar of National Learning (kokugaku). Born to a merchant family in Matsusaka, Ise, he studied medicine in Kyoto and then practised as a doctor in Matsusaka while researching the Japanese classics. Guided by Kamo no Mabuchi, he spent about 35 years completing the Kojiki-den, a commentary on the Kojiki, and described the essence of The Tale of Genji as mono no aware.
| Name | Motoori Norinaga (本居宣長) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1730 – 1801 |
| Period | Edo period |
| Birthplace | Matsusaka, Ise Province (now Mie) |
| Also known as | Suzunoya |
| Main achievements |
|
Born into the Ozu family, cotton merchants of Matsusaka in Ise (Mie).
At his mother's urging, since he seemed unsuited to trade, he went to Kyoto to study medicine. Studying under the Confucian Hori Keizan, he also grew interested in the classics.
He returned to Matsusaka and opened a medical practice, working as a doctor by day and studying the classics by night.
He met the National Learning scholar Kamo no Mabuchi just once, at an inn in Matsusaka where Mabuchi stopped on a journey, and was urged to study the Kojiki. The meeting set the course of his life.
Around this time he studied The Tale of Genji and argued that its heart lay in mono no aware, a deep sensitivity to things.
He began the Kojiki-den, a commentary on the Kojiki, seeking to reveal the ancient Japanese spirit free of foreign ideas.
He was invited to serve the Kii domain as a scholar. Many pupils from across Japan gathered at his home, the Suzunoya.
After thirty-five years he finished all forty-four volumes of the Kojiki-den, regarded as the crowning achievement of National Learning.
He died in Matsusaka, leaving a will that detailed even the shape of his grave and how his funeral should be held.
A. An Edo-period scholar of National Learning (kokugaku). Born to a merchant family in Matsusaka, Ise, he studied medicine in Kyoto and then practised as a doctor in Matsusaka while researching the Japanese classics. Guided by Kamo no Mabuchi, he spent about 35 years completing the Kojiki-den, a commentary on the Kojiki, and described the essence of The Tale of Genji as mono no aware.
A. Period: Edo period. Born in 1730, died in 1801.
A. Motoori Norinaga was born in Matsusaka, Ise Province (now Mie).
A. A school of scholarship that sought to recover Japanese thought before Confucianism and Buddhism by studying classics such as the Kojiki and Man’yōshū. Kada no Azumamaro, Kamo no Mabuchi, Motoori Norinaga and Hirata Atsutane are its leading figures.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Kamo no MabuchiKeichūHirata AtsutaneUeda Akinari
Maeno RyōtakuIke no TaigaSuzuki HarunobuHiraga GennaiSugita GenpakuMaruyama ŌkyoUeda AkinariHayashi Shihei
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.