Abstract

Takashima Kaemon (1832–1914) was perhaps the most well-known and influential diviner in modern Japan. His work, Takashima’s Judgments on the Book of Changes (Takashima ekidan, 1901), is an important book on divination and Book of Changes. It is also a valuable primary source on Meiji philosophical history, showing as it does how one important text of traditional Confucian philosophy, the Book of Changes, remained a significant tool for decision-making well into modern times. Through a textual analysis and critical reading of Takashima’s Judgments on the Book of Changes, this study examines the impact of Book of Changes divination on Meiji politics and warfare. It seeks to deepen our understanding of the nature of Meiji modernity and the formation of the ideology of the “imperial system” in modern Japan. The extensive use of divination based on the Book of Changes by Meiji leaders reveals a surprising and neglected side of Meiji Japan. Takashima’s work makes evident that Meiji Japan was indeed shaped by the interplay of modernity and tradition. Meiji leaders and Westernizers were at times undoubtedly quite conservative. They used Book of Changes divination as a philosophical guide in making political and military decisions, and as an ideological tool to promote conservative political agendas such as the emperor-state ideology, pan-Asian colonialism, the political and moral implications of Shinto, and aspects of traditional morality. Takashima gained the trust of Meiji leaders and the attention of the media not only because of his divination skills, but also because of his role in appropriating a traditional practice based on a Confucian philosophical text for the sake of promoting state ideology and policies.

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