Japanese Prome Minister Abe quotes Mencius
Prophet of the Way
discusses a passage from the book 'Utsukushii Kuni e' (Toward a
Beautiful Country) by S. Abe, Japan's new prime minister. Mr. Abe
quotes a phrase from Mencius (Meng Zi, Japanese Moushi) favored by
Shouin Yoshida (1830-59), a scholar and military strategist who educated
leaders of early modern Japan during the darkness of the Tokugawa regime.
Can Abe put his money where his mouth is?
October 2 2006
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200610020082.html
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without delay.)
This is the phrase:
自反而縮 雖千萬人吾往矣
（反：反省 縮：直）
"If upon self-examination I find that I am upright, I will go forward
against thousands and tens of thousands."
Through these words the politician expresses his strong resolution. The
above Asahi editorial observes that political philosopher Masao Maruyama
drew the same words by Mencius in a 1945 analysis of why people could
not stop the war. This professor says that the citizens should exercise
their right to think independently and take action when necessary to
prevent another war from happening.
This phrase is in the Book of Mencius, but is a saying by Confucius. If
we read the surrounding context, we see that Confucius considers
self-examination a source of courage. Japanese rightists, on the other
hand, are attracted to the "tremendous odds" part.
Original Chinese text of Mencius:
http://sangle.web.wesleyan.edu/etext/pre-qin/mengzi.html
See 公孫丑上 [3.2]
English translation of Mencius:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/menc/menc05.htm
Confucius teaches that we should be careful with courage. Example:
http://www.confucius.org/lunyu/cd1723.htm
Biography of Shouin Yoshida:
Hagi Where Japan's Revolution Began
By N. Taylor Gregg
http://www.shotokai.com/ingles/history/hagi.html
Korean readers please note that one of Yoshida's students was Hirobumi
Ito (1841-1909). Another student was Aritomo Yamagata, a military
leader during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.
Thank you for reading,
Douso, The Prophet of the Way
Komin
the first Ming Emperor Chu Yuen Jeng put people in jail for having
quoted phrases from Mencius .