19世纪经过工业革命以及交通革命后，世界进入一个新的发展阶段。1840年中国鸦片战争以及1853年美国黑船来航震惊了日本的整个社会。日本近代武士代表吉田松阴，登上大时代的舞台，对整个明治时代产生重要影响。吉田松阴出身长州藩兵学世家，面对新的时代因素和社会环境，其思想经历一个连续的变化过程，而对这一过程产生重要作用的是他的出藩游学。在游历日本的过程中，松阴对于其他藩人的资源和力量有了较深刻的认识，同时也开始意识到日本作为整体的存在形式，为其打破幕府体制之下藩与藩的严格界限打下基础。他对于士道非常重视，关心时势，对主公抱有高度忠诚。在外来势力的强大压力之下，为了维护日本国威主张尊王攘夷。然而尊王与敬幕之间存在矛盾，为了解决这一矛盾，他提出“同”与“独”的区分，且特别强调“独”，尤其是日本及天皇的“独”性。安政大狱之后，激进的吉田松阴与藩内趋向保守的上层藩士背道而驰，与自己的学生同志之间也产生矛盾，逐渐被孤立。孤立中的吉田松阴以绝食来坚持自己的主张，以“诚”的观念来调解被孤立的状态。通过与另一重要武士精神经典《叶隐》及其口述者山本常朝的对比，可以看到吉田松阴的生死观以及其中包含的绝对忠诚思想。在积极探索新思想的同时，松阴还积极投身于改变现实的行动之中，这集中体现在他的“直接行动论”和“草莽崛起论”当中。其行动影响了明治时代的许多人，促使他们主动去适应并作用于时代。松阴本身作为生存于变革时代的人物，自身的思想中存在着不系统、矛盾等局限性。他的后来者们通过不同的具体方式继承其遗志，开创了明治时代的新局面。从明治维新时期以来，对于吉田松阴的评价性著作已经出现。从德富苏峰到井上哲次郎，吉田松阴从革命家转变为忠君爱国之士，成为日本武士道谱系上中重要一环。在对松阴的研究中，能够清楚地看到个人与时代的互动关系，为处于新时期变革的我们提供重要经验和借鉴。
In the 19th century, traffic revolution and industrial revolution brought significant changes to the whole world. In 1840, Sino-British Opium War broke out between China and England. And in 1853, American fleet arrived in Japan. These two events shocked the Japanese. Yoshida Shouin, as a symbol of samurai, took the lead in that period, and produced a great influence on the Meiji period.Yoshida Shouin was born in a traditional samurai family, he lived in a society which was facing challenges from the West, so his thought and practice were on a constant change. His travel around Japan also played an important role in this change. During his tour, Shouin came to realize the power of the people from other feudal territories, and developed the notion of “state”. Because of the military and political presure from foreign powers, Shouin turned to anti-bakufu thought, and provided its theoretical basis, that is the concepts of ”tong” and ”du”. After the Ansei event, shouin was imprisoned and isolated. He sticked to the notions of “zhong” and “cheng”. Besides that, by comparing it with Hagakure, we can know the meaning of Shouin’s notion of loyalty. Under the guidance of his thoughts, Shouin took a lot of actions.Though there were some limitations in Shouin’s thoughts, his thoughts were accepted widely and became an important part of spirit of Meiji period. The research of Shouin could be traced back to the beginning of Meiji period, and the research focus also varied with the change of society. Through a study on Yoshida Shouin, we can understand the relationship between an pioneering individual and the society during Japanese pre-Meiji
