Background
Seika Fujiwara was born in Harima Province (Hyo-go Prefecture) as the son of Tamesumi, a Court Councillor.
Seika Fujiwara was born in Harima Province (Hyo-go Prefecture) as the son of Tamesumi, a Court Councillor.
He studied Buddhism at the Shokokuji Temple in Kyoto and gained reputation for his wide knowledge. He visited Kyushu when Hideyoshi Toyotoini was at Nagoya (Kyushu), commanding his expeditionary army to Korea, with the intention of crossing over to China to study Confucianism. Having been thwarted in his plan by the rough seas, he returned to Kyoto to study Confucianism there.
Ieyasu Tokugawa, who founded the Edo Shogunate, often invited Seika to lecture on Confucian classics when he was in Kyoto. In 1614, he attempted to found a Confucian school in Kyoto jointly with Dosnun Hayashi, another noted Confucian and his disciple, and asked Ieyasu for assistance. But Ieyasu soon died and Seika’s plan did not materialize. He looked upon as the founder of the Confucianism of the Yedo Period of three centuries. He sought harmony among Confucianism, Buddhism and Shintoism.