Four hundred and two years ago this week, a battle was fought near the village of Sekigahara, 40 km northwest of Nagoya. Though short -- it was over soon after lunchtime -- the battle was decisive, ushering in . . . Plato's Republic?
What would the ancient Greek philosopher have thought of a comparison between his ideal imaginary Republic under all-wise philosopher-kings, and the Tokugawa bakufu, the military government of Edo Japan (1603-1867) whose dour dictators ruled by decree and terror a society they scarcely understood?
The differences are obvious enough, but two core similarities are more interesting: the dread of change evident in Plato's book, "The Republic," and the Tokugawa state, and the link between government and philosophy.