本居宣長
The origin of the philosophy as used in Japan can be traced to works by 17th century Confucian scholars Yamazaki Ansai and Yamaga Sokō, who wrote on the sanctity of the Imperial House of Japan and its superiority to the ruling houses of other nations. These ideas were expanded by Kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga, and seen in Takenouchi Shikibu's theory of absolute loyalty to the Emperor of Japan ( "sonnōron"), that implied that less loyalty should be given to the ruling Tokugawa shogunate.