ABSTRACT

The writings of Thomas Hill Green were introduced into Japan by Nakajima Rikizo, a follower of Kant who studied theology and philosophy at Yale University and who, upon his return to Japan in 1890, became Professor of Ethics and Philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University. To appreciate the attitude of Green's Japanese followers toward metaphysical doctrine, one must understand the depth and tenacity in Japan of the positivist contempt for metaphysics as well as for theology and religion. Although Green's moral philosophy strongly influenced the Meiji intellectual elite, that alone would not have sufficed to generate a popularity that touched even "village scholars". An outstanding example is the notion that the highest good was the "common good" or "good of society". Although every Japanese scholar discussed in this referred to it, none understood it correctly. The outstanding misinterpretation of Green arising from labels was one that attributed to him a view of state absolutism advocated by Hegel.