Confucianism, Gapponshugi and the Spirit of Japanese Capitalism

CURA Colloquium An inability to discover a solid social mechanism transmitting Confucian ideas into capitalistic activities makes scholars disagree on the causal relationship between Confucianism and the rising industrial Asia, which is assumed by the so-called post-Confucian hypothesis. A study of the decisive role of Shibusawa Eicchi, as an independent Confucian businessperson, in the formation of Japanese capitalism sheds light upon our understanding of both the causal relationship and the features of Confucian religiousness. Through the study, Max Weber’s methodology of sociology of religion and the meaning of the study of business history on today’s business education can also be reexamined. Please email CURA@bu.edu for a copy of this working paper in advance of the session.