Sekimon Shingaku was a popular religious group of Tokugawa Japan. It originated as a small study-circle centered on the merchant Ishida Baigan (1685-1744), but grew into a large-scale movement after his death. The dissertation is a historical analysis of the later development of Shingaku, with particular emphasis on its program of religious education. The discussion covers Shingaku ideas and practices in the years in which Baigan's successor Teshima Toan (1718-86) and his most important disciple, Nakazawa Doni (1725-1803), were active as leaders--from about 1760 to 1803. During this period the movement spread to most regions of Japan.
Shingaku literally means learning of the mind or heart. The "learning of the mind" was an important strand of thought in the Neo-Confucian revival of Sung China. Teshima Toan took inspiration from this tradition of self-cultivation, as well as from popular Zen teachings of the mind. He taught that the beginning of all learning was the knowledge of one's own true nature or "original mind." Much of Toan's energy was devoted to systemizing the process of achieving and maintaining this internal knowledge. He especially sought to present his teaching in forms that could be easily grasped by uneducated common people.
This treatment gives particular attention to the function of Neo-Confucian and Zen traditions in Shingaku religious and moral education. The relative roles of these traditions in the movement sheds light on the ways in which each was adaptable that through their popular teaching methods, Teshima Toan and his followers contributed to the development of education in early modern Japan. Several Shingaku writings from this period have been translated from the Japanese and are included in the Appendix.
