Japanese Philosophy

Abstract

Japanese philosophy can be viewed, in a very simple way, as consisting of three historical phases: the classical thought, modern philosophy, and contemporary philosophy. In the first and classical phase, theoretical speculation in Japan is usually seen as a variation of East Asian intellectual tradition. Japanese thinkers from the seventh century to the eighteenth century used to work in this cultural sphere, which basically consists of Confucianism and Sinicized Buddhism, using classical Chinese for formal writing; they are by no means blind followers of Chinese thinkers, contributing to the development of philosophical speculation in the East Asian framework. During the Edo period (1603–1868), however, some thinkers started to depart from this framework by drawing either on the indigenous culture or on the knowledge of occidental civilization, which eventually led to the modernization, or Westernization, of Japanese society. The second, or modern, phase of Japanese philosophy began with the full-fledged introduction of Western philosophy during the Meiji period (1868–1912). As a result, there arose a theoretical task to synthesize Eastern and Western frameworks, and many pioneering works were produced in the first half of the twentieth century. The best-known modern Japanese philosopher is Nishida Kitarō (b. 1870–d. 1945). The Kyoto school of philosophy was formed through his influence, which shares the ambition to make “contributions to philosophy” with the Eastern tradition—especially Mahayana Buddhism—in the background. However, the Kyoto school had fallen into disrepute in the mid-twentieth century when Japan underwent a tremendous social and cultural change. The third and contemporary phase of Japanese philosophy spans from the postwar reconstruction of Japan to the present, when eminent researchers gather in the University of Tokyo and lead philosophical studies under the framework either of analytic or continental context, mostly refraining from mentioning the Eastern tradition. Recent philosophical research in Japan is increasingly getting free from such academic frameworks, producing some remarkable results; however, most of these contemporary works remain little known overseas.