For Japan, all modern sciences were imported disciplines. Sociology, too, was brought about through the influx of European culture. The history of Japanese sociology generally begins with the introduction of Auguste Comte’s (1798–1857) ideas by students sent to study in the Netherlands during the late Edo period, followed by the introduction of Herbert Spencer’s (1820–1903) theories in the early Meiji period. As discussed below, these undoubtedly had an enormous influence on Japanese sociology. However, it would be incorrect to say that there were no disciplines similar to sociology within Japanese thought before this time. Japan’s ability to accept and establish sociology was due to nothing other than this country’s social conditions and, more specifically, the foundation of its academic and intellectual traditions. To discuss only the aspect of sociology as an imported discipline while ignoring these factors would be entirely insufficient as an explanation of Japanese sociology’s history. Therefore, this chapter will address not only the influx of foreign culture but also Japan’s history of science and intellectual history that formed its foundation.