Tsunayoshi's attitude of valuing Confucianism encouraged an increase in scholars such as Hakuseki ARAI, Kyuso MURO, Sorai OGYU, Hoshu AMENOMORI and Soko YAMAGA, with Confucianism reaching the peak of its prosperity at this time.
綱吉のこうした儒学を重んじる姿勢は、新井白石・室鳩巣・荻生徂徠・雨森芳州・山鹿素行らの学者を輩出するきっかけにもなり、この時代、儒学が隆盛を極めた。