日本近世社会における正統的な儒教的世界観の内面的崩壊過程を問題史的に解明し，〈自然〉〈作為〉の対抗の中に日本思想の近代化の型を探求．戦後の日本思想史研究の道を切り開いた古典的名著『日本政治思想史研究』の英訳版．

This is the first English translation of Masao Maruyama’s most important work, originally published in Japan in book form in 1952, the frame of reference for all subsequent studies of Tokugawa thought. A comprehensive study of changing political thought during the Tokugawa period, the book traces the philosophical roots of Japanese modernization.