was the pre-modern Japanese study of China. Kangaku was the counterpart of kokugaku and YÃ Âgaku or Rangaku. Scholars of kangaku are called kangakusha ().
In modern Japan, sinology (Chugokugaku, ä¸Âå½å¦, or formerly Shinagaku, æ¯é£å¸) refers to Western and modern Chinese studies, whereas kangaku refers to traditional or pre-modern studies.
The Chinese term for sinology, æ¼¢å¸, and Japanese kangaku are represented by the same Chinese characters, but in Japan a distinction is made between kangaku and sinology.