Kogaku (Ancient Learning)
A tradition no longer extant within Japanese Confucianism. The disagreements in the sources are shown rather than settled.
Kogaku (Ancient Learning) is recorded within Japanese Confucianism and is no longer extant. Also written 古学, School of Ancient Learning, Kogidō (School of Ancient Meanings), Kobunjigaku (School of Ancient Words and Phrases).
Origin
Founders named in the sources: Yamaga Sokō (1622–1685), Itō Jinsai (1627–1705), Ogyū Sorai (1666–1728). No founding year is given below, because the sources read do not agree on one and a date has not been chosen for them. No founding date in my sources. Itō Jinsai and Ogyū Sorai held that theories of metaphysical principle and vital force had departed too far from Confucius, and sought to return to the 'original Confucianism' of the Chinese classics, avoiding metaphysical speculation in favour of basic virtues and relationships. Itō Jinsai and his son ran the Kogidō in Kyoto; Ogyū Sorai's method was called Kobunjigaku.
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Citation
English
The language and the date you read it belong in the citation: this corpus is multilingual and articles are revised after publication.
John Shaqi. “Kogaku (Ancient Learning).” English version. 11 August 2026. https://johnshaqi.com/articles/sect-kogaku-ancient-learning.
@misc{johnshaqi-sect-kogaku-ancient-learning-en,
author = {John Shaqi},
title = {Kogaku (Ancient Learning)},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {English version},
url = {https://johnshaqi.com/articles/sect-kogaku-ancient-learning},
note = {Accessed n.d.}
}The word count is counted from this edition. The minute estimate uses 238 words a minute, the silent reading rate for English non-fiction reported by Brysbaert (2019). The Urdu, Hindi and Roman Urdu editions carry a word count and no estimate, because no comparable rate has been published for those scripts.