Political philosopher who was a Japanese disciple of the Chinese neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Yang-ming (died 1529) and who was one of the first in Japan to attempt to put Wang´s ideas into practice in his own daily life.
Born a ronin (masterless samurai) he showed such great promise that he was taken into the service of the great feudal lord of Okayama, Ikeda Mitsumasa, at the age of 15.
Largely self-taught Kumazawa was attracted to the ideas of Wang because of their antischolastic bent and emphasis on direct action.
His commonsensical solutions to problems were held in great esteem and in 1647 he was appointed chief minister of Okayama, an unprecedented honour for a man of his background. Among his many measures to foster agriculture his attempts to return to the barter economy of Japan´s simpler past provoked opposition which was seized upon by his enemies. In 1656 Kumazawa was forced to resign and he spent the rest of his years in study and writing.
Demonstrating his independent spirit by writing in coloquial Japanese rather than the classical Chinese usually used for philosophical works, he criticized the prevailing government of his day. He advocated advancement based on individual merit rather than on heredity and increased government responsibility for economic life and a relaxation of central control of the great feudal lords.
His ideas caused such a fury in the government that Kumazawa was kept in custody or under surveillance for the rest of his life.
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