Abstract

This work comprises the works of Shoeki translated in full. When Ando Shoeki's writings were discovered nearly a century ago, they were thought to be forgeries, such was their uniqueness and revolutionary nature. But his sharp and thoughful criticism of the Japanese feudal order proved to be genuine. Shoeki's philosophy combines and criticizes Buddhism, Confucianism and traditional Oriental medical theories offering a unique view of humanity, society and the natural world that is startling in its modernity. He advocates ecology, equality of the sexes and the abolition of the feudal order. His writings combine Swiftian parable, Platonic dialogue and philosophical treatise, and is an important key to understanding the history of Japanese thought.