The Analects become a bestseller

Over the next few Steps, we will trace the history of the reception of the Analects

during the Edo period (1603-1868): During the Edo period, the Analects were usually a part of Zhu Xi’s Shisho shicchū [1]. Editions with notes and reading marks provided by prominent scholars like Hayashi Razan (known also as Dōshun) [1] and Yamazaki Ansai (Yamazaki Ka)[2] were also widely read. Leaders with a passion for learning such as Tokugawa Tsunayoshi[3] also published their own editions of the work, and so did the various local daimyo, for use as textbooks in the schools of their domains [4]. Also characteristic of the Edo period are the editions curated by scholars with new and unique outlook on the classics [5], such as those published by Matsuzaki Kodo and Yasui Sokken[6], the founders of the “Kōshōgaku” school of learning.

Let us look together at these developments while looking at original books from the period.