Naito Konan is a famous Japanese scholar on China. His books have influenced scholars all over the world. He developed a tradition using new methods of scientific historiography to study about China. He helped the authorities to establish a Department of Oriental Studies at Kyoto University in 1907.
Naito argued that The Republican Government of Sun Yat-sen showed a way to end the dominance of the aristocracy and centralised power that were in existence in China right from the time of the Sung dynasty. He showed that there are powers in Chinese history to modernise and democratise China. He thought that Japan has a special role to play in China. He somehow lessened the power of Chinese nationality.
