Yoshikawa Shinto

Yoshikawa Shinto is a doctrine of Shinto proclaimed in the early Edo period by Yoshikawa Koretari.

Overview

While inheriting Yoshida Shinto from his teacher Hagiwara Kaneyori, Yoshikawa further developed it and advocated a more moralistic form of Shinto known as "Yoshikawa Shinto."
Based on Yoshida Shinto but removing its Buddhist elements, Yoshikawa incorporated Neo-Confucian thought and used "Rikaku Shinto" to expound a way of governing the nation. He emphasized morality and was critical of the hereditary shrine families.
Yoshikawa also incorporated official Confucian doctrines, uniting Shinto and Confucianism, and interpreted Shinto as the Way of ruler and subject. By stressing loyalty to the Imperial [House of Japan|imperial family], he created a new current in early-modern Shinto that strongly influenced later movements such as Suika Shinto and pro-imperial thought.
Within Yoshikawa Shinto, Shinto was divided into "Gyōhō Shinto" centered on rites, and "Rikaku Shinto" as a theory for governing the realm, holding the latter to be the true essence. He further taught that Shinto is the fundamental principle of the universe, and that deities such as Kuni-no-Tokotachi inherently dwell in the hearts of all humans, a doctrine of the unity of kami and people.
Many lords, including Masayuki Hoshina of the Aizu Domain, sympathized with Yoshikawa Shinto, and the Yoshikawa family was appointed Shinto administrators under the Jisha-bugyō. Among Yoshikawa's disciples, Yamazaki Ansai later founded Suika Shinto.