The first extensive sourcebook in modern Japanese philosophy, this work features 22 translated, unabridged selections from seven authors plus bio-bibliographical information and editorial commentary.
Providing translations of and commentaries on primary source materials of modern Japanese philosophy, this sourcebook centers on the creative philosophical writings of the Kyoto School broadly conceived, featuring the thought of Nishida Kitarô, Tanabe Hajime, Kuki Shûzô, Watsuji Tetsurô, Miki Kiyoshi, Tosaka Jun, and Nishitani Keiji. The 22 selections include unabridged whole works, essays, or chapters of books. Also included is exhaustive bio-bibliographical information as well as editorial commentary. For most scholars, this will be the first look in English at the thought of Kuki Shûzô, Miki Kiyoshi, and the Marxist critic Tosaka Jun. The sourcebook will be of interest to scholars,
The selections show the intensely dialogic character of the philsophical writing of the Kyoto School of the early Showa period (1926-1949) and are of particular interest as representing philosophical strains of a golden age of Japanese thought during the war years between 1935 and 1945. In the interstices of the thought of the seven authors, the reader will find a mine of commentary on, and assimilation of, the schools of Western thought and the world's religions, accompanied (with the exception of the internationalist Tosaka Jun) by very resilient affirmations of the strength of Asian traditions.
Reviews
This sourcebook is an excellent addition to many libraries because it brings hard-to-find materials into a readable and useful form....[it] can be used by students and general readers in order to understand a particularly interesting period of Japanese philosophy and its interaction with the West.—ARBA
This compact volume represents not only a great international collaborative effort of three scholars-translators who prepare these documents over many years, but it also presents a unique compilation of essays that previously have not been available in English....This book is highly recommended for academic libraries with collections on Asian philosophy or religion.—Reference & User Services Quarterly
