Le Shinagaku et la modernisation de la sinologie japonaise

During the Meiji period, traditional Chinese learning (kangaku) in Japan went through a reorganization process under the influence of Western modern structures of knowledge that led to the establishment of a new discipline close to Western-style sinology. The Imperial University of Tokyo and the Imperial University of Kyoto both played an important role in this process. The former is often described as defending a more traditionalist view of Chinese studies whereas the latter is associated with Shinagaku, name of the supposedly Western oriented Kyoto school of Sinology. This paper examines the validity of this common understanding through the analysis of some of the “fathers” of Shinagaku