Paper Title
THEYIJING (CLASSIC OF CHANGES) IN THE MAKING OF THE AGE OF THE GODS IN JAPAN FROM TOKUGAWA PERSPECTIVES

Abstract
Abstract – The Japanese creation myth contains many Yijing-related concepts such as taiji, yinyang and wuxing. Upholding the doctrine of the unity of Confucianism and Shinto, some Shintoists and Confucians in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) used Yijing-related concepts to explain the Age of Gods in their reading of the Chronicles of Japan (720). They developed Confucian-Shinto syncretismand provided a Neo-Confucian metaphysical underpinning for Shinto mythology. Based on textual analysis of the Chronicles of Japan, this study aims to investigate how the concepts of the Yijing were used to explain the Age of the Gods by Tokugawa Confucian and Shinto scholars.