Sōkichi Tsuda

Sōkichi Tsuda (津田 左右吉, Tsuda Sōkichi; October 3, 1873 – December 4, 1961) was a Japanese historian and intellectual historian.^[1] He served as a professor in the Faculty of Letters at Waseda University. He is known for applying rigorous source criticism to ancient Japanese history, particularly to the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (collectively, the Kiki). He has been regarded as a leading figure in Japan's modern empirical historiography. In 1947 he was elected a member of the Imperial Academy (renamed the Japan Academy later that year), and in 1949 he received the Order of Culture. He was also awarded the court rank of Junior Third Rank and the decoration First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Among Tsuda's representative early achievements were Jindaishi no atarashii kenkyū (1913) and Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no shin kenkyū (1919), later revised and reissued in 1924 as Jindaishi no kenkyū and Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no kenkyū.^[2] In these studies, Tsuda sharply distinguished myth from history in the Kiki narratives and examined historical realities through exhaustive source criticism of classical texts.^[2]

Tsuda argued that the emperors prior to the 15th emperor Emperor Ōjin ,from Emperor Jimmu and the so-called Eight Unrecorded Emperors through the 14th emperor Emperor Chūai and his consort Empress Jingū, including their genealogies, were not historical facts but later-constructed narratives.^[2] He viewed these portions as products of political objectives pursued by court officials of the later Yamato polity; in his view, the myths of the Kiki were developed as stories premised on granting political authority and prestige to the Imperial Household, with the Jimmu's Eastern Expedition treated as part of that ideological project. He also maintained that the "discovery" tales of the 23rd emperor Emperor Kenzō and the 24th emperor Emperor Ninken were typical examples of a "noble exile-and-return" motif and therefore not historical, and further argued that the 22nd emperor Emperor Seinei and the 25th emperor Emperor Buretsu likewise did not exist. These claims began to draw significant criticism from around 1939; in 1940 some of his works were banned and others were ordered to be partially deleted.^[2] Tsuda insisted that his arguments did not constitute an affront to imperial dignity, holding instead that imperial dignity should not depend on myth or political coercion.^[2]

Tsuda's views were long treated as a postwar mainstream position, but have increasingly been revisited critically alongside advances in archaeology and related fields.

Tsuda was born on October 3, 1873, in Tochii Village (now Higashi-Tochii, Shimoyoneda-chō, Minokamo, Gifu), as the eldest son of Tōma Tsuda, a former shizoku (former samurai class).^[2] The Tsuda family had served the Takekoshi clan, hereditary chief retainers of the Owari Domain, and relocated to the area after the Meiji Restoration under instructions from the Takekoshi household.^[3]

In 1886 he graduated from Bunmei Elementary School (now Minokamo Municipal Shimoyoneda Elementary School). As the child of a former samurai family, he studied Chinese classics under the school principal, Tōru Mori. After elementary school he moved among private academies in Nagoya, then entered Ōtani-ha Futsū Gakkō (now Nagoya Ōtani High School), but withdrew the following year and returned home. He then studied via lecture notes as an external student of Tokyo Senmon Gakkō (later Waseda University).

In 1890 he moved to Tokyo and transferred into the Japanese-language politics program. In 1891 he graduated from Tokyo Senmon Gakkō's Japanese-language politics course (now the School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University).^[4]

After graduation, Tsuda received private guidance from Kurakichi Shiratori. In August 1896 he became an assistant teacher of history at the former Maebashi Middle School in Gunma (now Maebashi High School). Tsuda believed a single teacher should teach national history, Oriental history, and Western history without strict subdivision; he wrote in his diary that school life was "hardly enjoyable," and that the "most unpleasant thing" was the assigned subject (Maebashi High School Alumni Bulletin No. 47, May 2020). In April 1897 he became a teacher at the former Chiba Middle School; the principal was Kenjirō Kikuchi, a junior of Shiratori at the Faculty of Letters. Records indicate Shiratori recommended Kikuchi and that Shiratori's influence affected Tsuda's appointment; Tsuda also held Kikuchi in high regard.^[5] In 1901, at age 28, Tsuda published Shinsen Tōyōshi.

In 1908 Tsuda resigned from secondary education and became a contract researcher in the Mansen (Manchuria–Korea) Historical and Geographical Research Office at the Tokyo branch of the South Manchuria Railway Company. The office head was Shiratori. Other figures in the Mantetsu research bureau's Manchuria–Korea history and geography section included Hitoshi Matsui, Iwakichi Inaba, and Hiroshi Ikeuchi.^[6] Tsuda conducted research on topics including "Bohai studies" and "Mohe studies" as part of Oriental history investigations. In 1913 Iwanami Shoten published his Jindaishi no atarashii kenkyū. The research office was transferred in 1914 to the Faculty of Letters of Tokyo Imperial University, and Tsuda remained affiliated until the transfer.

From 1917 Tsuda published Volume 1 of Bungaku ni arawaretaru waga kokumin shisō no kenkyū and continued publication through 1921. In 1918 he became a lecturer at Waseda University.^[2] He taught Oriental history and Oriental philosophy.^[1] In 1919 he published Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no shin kenkyū. In 1920 he was promoted to professor in Waseda University's School of Law and Faculty of Letters.

In 1924, at age 51, Tsuda republished revised versions of Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no shin kenkyū and Jindaishi no atarashii kenkyū as Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no kenkyū and Jindaishi no kenkyū.^[2] These works applied source criticism to the "age of the gods" narratives prior to Emperor Jimmu. He continued prolific writing: Dōka no shisō to sono kaiten (1927), Nihon jōdaishi kenkyū (1930), Jōdai Nihon no shakai oyobi shisō (1933), Saden no shisōshiteki kenkyū (1935), Shina shisō to Nihon (1937), and, in 1938, Jukyō no jissen dōtoku and Banzan・Ekiken. In 1939 he also served as a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Tokyo Imperial University, teaching the history of Oriental political thought.

In 1939, the so-called "Tsuda Incident" (a book-banning case) occurred. As a historian, Tsuda conducted philological examinations of the Kiki and critically assessed the mythic narratives and accounts related to Prince Shōtoku in the Nihon Shoki, including questions of historicity. Tsuda's main points were summarized as follows:^[7]

• The sources underlying the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were the imperial genealogy "Teiki" and the collection of court-transmitted tales "Kyūji".
• "Teiki" and "Kyūji" were formed in the 6th century, during the era from Emperor Keitai to Emperor Kinmei.
• The genealogies in "Teiki" were not historical fact; at minimum, emperors prior to the 15th emperor Ōjin (including Chūai and earlier) were fictional.
• Most of "Kyūji", especially the mythological sections, were creations by 6th-century court officials designed to assert that the emperor had ruled the land since antiquity, and thus have no historical evidentiary value.

The most controversial works were Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no kenkyū and Jindaishi no kenkyū, which were treated as "denying" texts long regarded as sacred scriptures. Muneyoshi Minoda and Kōshi Mitsui attacked Tsuda as a dangerous nihilist whose work allegedly constituted lèse-majesté (fukeizai).^[8][9] On February 10, 1940, the Ministry of Home Affairs banned Kojiki oyobi Nihon Shoki no kenkyū and Jindaishi no kenkyū, and ordered partial deletions from Nihon jōdaishi kenkyū and Jōdai Nihon no shakai oyobi shisō.^[2] Around the same time, Tsuda was compelled to resign from Waseda University at the request of the Ministry of Education, and in March he and publisher Shigeo Iwanami were interrogated by the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office.

Tsuda was indicted on March 8 and referred to a preliminary hearing while remaining at liberty.^[10] After 21 closed hearings, the court in May 1942 sentenced Tsuda to three months' imprisonment and Iwanami to one month, both suspended for two years.^[2] Both sides appealed, but without substantive review the case was dismissed on November 4, 1944 due to the statute of limitations.^[2][11]

Tsuda later told historian Toshikane Ōkubo that the case was not "oppression by authorities," and that in court he felt as if he were giving an academic lecture. He argued that, since there cannot be land in heaven nor humans descending from heaven, these accounts are tales; to treat them as historical records would destroy the spirit of the Kojiki. He maintained that he sought to "revive" classics that earlier scholars had "killed," and that clarifying scholarly truth would strengthen the dignity of the national polity and the Imperial Household.^[12] Philosopher Tetsurō Watsuji, testifying at the 19th hearing, stated that Tsuda's research did not insult imperial dignity but rather increased reverence for the Imperial Household and established a robust basis for doctrine that would not be shaken by rational debate.^[13]

After the war, Tsuda was received favorably in academic circles, in part due to his prewar experience. He argued that history should not be used as a tool of political strategy, opposed historical views grounded in Confucianism, Buddhism, Shintō, or National Learning (kokugaku), and likewise opposed leftist ideologies.^[14] He consistently rejected communism and criticized its postwar popularity.^[15] According to Masao Maruyama, when asked whether Tsuda's stance was materialist historiography, Tsuda replied immediately: "Materialist historiography is not scholarship."

In 1946, in the essay "Kenkoku no jijō to bansei ikkei no shisō" published in Sekai (No. 4), Tsuda argued for maintaining the imperial institution, stating that it had changed with circumstances and that democracy and the imperial institution were not contradictory.^[16] Abolitionists criticized him as having "changed" from his prewar thought,^[17] but Tsuda maintained that his view—developing the imperial institution into a constitutional monarchy—was consistent from before the war. Editors at Sekai asked him to reconsider his pro-imperial phrasing; he refused, calling it a long-held position.^[18] In fact, in Jindaishi no atarashii kenkyū (1913) he had already argued that the Imperial Household's continuity derived from kinship-based cohesion rather than coercive power, and that its dignity lay there.^[18]

In 1947 Tsuda was elected a member of the Imperial Academy (renamed the Japan Academy later that year).^[19]

In 1952 Tsuda criticized journalism that spread "mistaken views" portraying the emperor and the people as political antagonists, stating that "the emperor has never confronted the people with power."^[20][21]

Tsuda died of old age on December 4, 1961, at his home in Sakai (Musashino, Tokyo).^[22] His grave is at Heirin-ji in Niiza, Saitama.

• 1949: Order of Culture.
• 1960: Named the first honorary citizen of Minokamo.
• Junior Third Rank.
• First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Tsuda argued that the myth-related portions of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki had been heavily embellished and therefore required rigorous source criticism. His approach was not wholly unprecedented; rather, he applied post-Meiji modern empiricism to ancient Japanese historiography and offered a comparatively rational account of the compilation process.

Applying the same principles to ancient history had long been treated as taboo because it directly implied questioning the Imperial Household's early history; Tsuda was the first to apply modern source criticism comprehensively to the Kiki in published form.

While many postwar textual historians accepted Tsuda's basic framework, some avoided writing in explicit affirmation of his most sensitive conclusions even while making use of his work.^[23]

Tsuda's specific claims were also criticized as sometimes impressionistic. Historians Tarō Sakamoto and Mitsusada Inoue criticized Tsuda's approach as "subjective rationalism." From outside professional historiography, Tsuda was criticized for placing little trust in evidence beyond texts, and for downplaying archaeology and folklore studies. Nonetheless, many scholars accepted Tsuda's core assessment that pre-Keitai narratives in the Kiki have weak evidentiary force when taken alone.

• The Kiki myths were created in the mid-6th century (from Keitai to Kinmei) to legitimize imperial rule over Japan.
• These tales were repeatedly embellished and became the present mythological narratives by the early 8th century.
• Emperor Jimmu was a fictional figure created to explain the origins of the Yamato polity.
• The emperors from Jimmu through the ninth emperor Emperor Kaika (the "Eight Unrecorded Emperors") were fictional insertions made during compilation.
• The first emperor who may have existed historically was the tenth emperor Emperor Sujin.
• The 13th emperor Emperor Seimu, the 14th emperor Chūai, and his consort Empress Jingū were fictional.^[24][25]

A widely accepted claim associated with Tsuda is his argument that the Nihon Shoki's account of the 25th emperor Buretsu's cruelty is a fabrication. Tsuda argued that compilers drew on portrayals of infamous "last tyrants" in Chinese texts (e.g., the Shujing, Han Feizi, Lüshi Chunqiu, and Shiji) to craft these episodes, partly to justify the dynastic break that led to inviting Keitai. This view has been broadly supported by historians.^[26]

Tsuda was skeptical of "the Orient" as a coherent civilizational category, arguing that China, India, and Japan did not share a single common life or unified history.^[27] Regarding China's influence on Japanese intellectual formation, Tsuda took a cautious or negative position and emphasized the distinctiveness of Japanese culture.^[15] He criticized Confucianism as disregarding human nature and treated much of Chinese thought as "peculiarly negative."^[15] He was also broadly affirmative toward modern Western culture and has been characterized as embodying a Meiji-era "Datsu-A" (leaving Asia) nationalism.^[15][28]

Tsuda also produced the large-scale work Bungaku ni arawaretaru waga kokumin shisō no kenkyū (4 volumes; now in 8 Iwanami Bunko volumes), covering from antiquity to the late Edo period; it remained unfinished, but later developments can be traced via works such as Ishin no shisōshi.

Tsuda argued that even in ancient times Japan did not feel affinity with Korea, and he opposed the annexation of Korea.^[29]

Among Tsuda's students was Korean historian Yi Pyŏng-do (1896–1989), who later led South Korean historical scholarship; Yi's empiricist approach drew from Tsuda's methodology, while Yi and Tsuda's historiographical positions were also criticized from nationalist historiography perspectives in Korea.^[30]

In March 2001, the Tsuda Sōkichi Memorial Museum opened to preserve and exhibit his belongings, research materials, and publications, in commemoration of his legacy and achievements.

• Tsuda Sōkichi rekishironshū (ed. Osamu Imai), Iwanami Bunko, 2006.
• Tsuda Sōkichi Selection (Shoshi Suishin), 2012.

1. Selection 1: Tsuda shigaku no shisō (2012).
2. Selection 2: Nihon bunka to gairai shisō (2012).
3. Selection 3: Kiki no kōzō・shisō・kihō (2012).

• Ishin no shisōshi (Shoshi Suishin), 2013.
• Kōshitsu to Nihon: Haisen-go kōshitsu rongi no yōtei (Shoshi Suishin), 2017.

• Tsuda Sōkichi zenshū (Iwanami Shoten), 28 vols. + 5 supplementary vols., 1963–1966.

• Saburō Ienaga (1972). Tsuda Sōkichi no shisōshiteki kenkyū (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten.
• Masaaki Ueda, ed. (1974). Tsuda Sōkichi: Hito to shisō (in Japanese). San'ichi Shobō.
• Mikio Ōmuro (1983). Ajian'ntamu shō: Tsuda Sōkichi no sei to jōchō (in Japanese). Shinyōsha.
• Mizue Suzuki (1994). Tasogare no hito: Tsuda Sōkichi (in Japanese). Yagumo Shobō.
• Nobukameo Shinkawa & Mannen Hayakawa (eds.), Shiryō toshite no "Nihon Shoki": Tsuda Sōkichi o yominaosu (Bensei Publishing), 2011.
• Kensuke Ōi, Tsuda Sōkichi, Dainippon teikoku to no taiketsu (Bensei Publishing), 2015.

• Tsuda Sōkichi (January 2019), Nihon no kōshitsu, Chūkō Classics J69, Chūō Kōron Shinsha, ISBN 978-4-12-160182-7 (first published by Waseda University Press in October 1952).
• Takejirō Matsufuji (July 2007), Mishima Yukio "Nokosareta techō", Mainichi Wands, ISBN 978-4-901622-24-0