This paper discusses traditional Chinese views of "Zhou Nan" and "Zhao Nan" in studies on the Book of Odes, as well as Zhu Xi's adoption of and contributions to these viewpoints. It also looks at the issue from a mid 17th century to the early 19th century Japanese perspective by discussing related views and new ideas of four heads of the Itō family learning-which was the central hub of the kogigaku, or study of ancient Confucian semantics-as well as their to their criticisms of Zhu Xi's views. While these views represent a gradual internal transition in Itō family learning on the Book of Odes, they also outline the evolution of scholarly thought during the entire Edo period. Furthermore, since the Itō family learning was the mainstay of the kogigaku, the views on "Zhou Nan" and "Zhao Nan" of four heads discussed in this paper can been seen as representative of the general views of other scholars of the kogigaku school of thought. Indeed, this paper gives a general outline of Chinese and Japanese research on the Book of Odes, which can provide insights to contemporary scholarly research on this topic.