TOGAI ITO

Background

TOGAI ITO was born in 1670, in Japan.

Career

Togai faithfully carried on his father’s teachings, though he added nothing of his own. His scholarship was praised by the leading authority on Chinese studies in Edo at the time, Ogyu Sorai, but he seems to have taken little notice of this fact. He was invited to the domain of Kii by the lord of the fief but declined to accept the invitation, preferring to devote his time to teaching and writing.

Works

• Other Work

  • the Seidotsu

  • Bengiroku

  • Kogaku shiyo

Personality

His interests cover a broader range of subjects than those of his father and include Chinese and Japanese institutional history and the history and literature of Korea. Ito Togai and his father gave instruction to townsmen and samurai alike and both had large numbers of disciples; among Togai’s more notable disciples were Okuda Sankaku, Sawamura Kinsho, Matsuzaki Jikei, and Aoki Kon’yo.

The books and papers of Togai and his father are now in the collection of the Tenri Library in Nara Prefecture.

Connections

Father:

Ito Jinsai