The Research Of Takayama Chogyu’s Thoughts

Takayama chogyū is a well-known literary critic of important standing in JapanMeiji thirties, whose thought is complex and changeable which generally experiencedthree stages, namely romanticism, Japan doctrine and individualism. As arepresentative thinker of the Meiji Times, his thought to a certain extent reflects theoverall state of mind at that time in Japan. Content of his ideas vary with the times,but the ideological connotations have great differences and contradictions. However,from the perspective of the times to be considered, these contradictions anddifferences happen to reflect the conflicts between the ideal among Japanese youthgeneration and the reality of Japan that was on the rise. Therefore, as a representativeof the Meiji thought, he to some extent is the epitome of entire Meiji era, whosepersonal thinking typifies the thinking of that period. Based on the state of mind of theMeiji youth, this research emphasizes the study on the Takayama Chogyū’s literaryideas and political ideas, and attempts to dissect the causes of his ideologicaltransformation according to the background of the Meiji era. The thesis starts withTakayama Chogyū’s literature information to find the basic trends of his thought,together with related contemporary literary criticism to restore its original stateideology in a better way. Takayama Chogyū’s complex and changeable ideas aregeneralized in this paper, which offers a glimpse to the evolution of Meiji ideologicalcircle.