Political Philosophy in Japan: Nishida, the Kyoto School and co-prosperity (Routledge Leiden Series in Modern East Asian Politics and History)

Political Philosophy in Japan focuses on the politics of Japan's pre-eminent philosophical school - the Kyoto School - and particularly that of its founder, Nishida Kitar? (1870-1945). Existing literature on Nishida is dismissive of there being serious political content in his work, and of the political stance of the wider school. Goto-Jones contends that, far from being apolitical, Nishida's philosophy was explicitly and intentionally political, and that a proper political reading of Nishida sheds new light on the controversies surrounding the alleged complicity of the Kyoto School in Japanese ultra-nationalism. This book offers a unique and potentially controversial view of the subject of Nishida and the Kyoto School. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Conventions......Page 11 Abbreviations......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 The existing locations of Nishida and the Kyoto School......Page 16 Structure and sources......Page 19 1 Theorizing dissent......Page 22 The responsibilities of intellectuals (in Japan)......Page 24 Language and political sleight-of-hand......Page 28 Towards the (in)effectual intellectual......Page 33 Politics before ‘philosophy’ in Japan......Page 39 Valuing harmony......Page 42 Valuing awakening......Page 44 The politics of self-cultivation and hierarchy......Page 51 The Shintō problem......Page 56 Problems of international relations......Page 57 The site of political thought in early-twentieth-century Japan......Page 59 The politics of Zen no kenkyū......Page 63 The Nishida of Zen no kenkyū, 1870–1911......Page 64 Nishida’s politics before 1911......Page 65 Structuring Zen no kenkyū......Page 67 Pure experience and personality......Page 68 Zen no kenkyū as political criticism......Page 69 Heteronomous theories......Page 70 Autonomous theories: 1—rationalism......Page 72 Autonomous theories: 2—hedonism......Page 73 Unity of personality and satisfaction (manzoku) as the good......Page 75 Zen no kenkyū and international relations......Page 79 Utopianism or naïveté—the early Nishida and the role of philosophy......Page 82 Nishida’s politics in Kyoto......Page 85 Orthodox dialogues: Nishida and Kokutai no hongi......Page 98 Kokutai no hongi......Page 100 Rediscovering the political dialogue: commentary, critique and Kokutai no hongi......Page 103 Intra-kokutai relations......Page 105 Inter-kokutai relations......Page 109 Towards a universal particularism......Page 113 5 Nishida’s shadow......Page 116 Nishitani Keiji and Tanabe Hajime—The Kyoto ‘Loyalists’10......Page 118 Miki and Tosaka—The Kyoto ‘Rebels’......Page 124 Japan and the standpoint of world history......Page 129 Sekaishiteki tachiba to Nihon43......Page 130 Overcoming modernity: the debate on the debate......Page 135 The Japan Romantic School—Nihon rōmanha......Page 137 On the nature of modernity83......Page 139 On the nature of history89......Page 141 On the nature of war95......Page 143 Conclusion......Page 147 Losing the battle: Nishida as an ineffective, dissident intellectual......Page 148 Continuing the war: Nishida as a Japanese political philosopher......Page 154 Notes......Page 158 Bibliography......Page 200 Index......Page 218 Nishida Kitaro, originator of the Kyoto School and 'father of Japanese philosophy', is usually viewed as an essentially apolitical thinker who underwent a 'turn' in the mid-1930s, becoming an ideologue of Japanese imperialism. Political Philosophy in Japan challenges the view that a neat distinction can be drawn between Nishida's apolitical 'pre-turn' writings and the apparently ideological tracts he produced during the war years. In the context of Japanese intellectual traditions, this book suggests that Nishida was a political thinker from the very beginning of his career, and, consequently, his later political works cannot be dismissed as peripheral to his philosophical project. Counter-intuitively, however Christopher S Goto-Jones argues that a consistently political reading of his philosophy reveals a dissenting standpoint, even during the height of the Pacific War.This book argues that the prevailing post-war tendency to dismiss interwar and wartime Japanese culture as fascist or ultra nationalist en total neglects a lively political discourse, which contained some serious and profound political insight and even dissent. By suggesting that Nishida tetsugaku was a voice of dissent during Japan's Great East Asia War, Goto-Jones presents a case for the rehabilitation of Nishida as a political thinker, and as an example of a Japanese resistance, able to make a valuable contribution to contemporary debates about international politics, globalization, and inter-cultural relations.Offering a unique and potentially controversial view of the subject of Nishida and the Kyoto School, Political Philosophy of Japan will be of huge interest to anyone studying Japanese history, political philosophy and comparative philosophy alike. Political Philosophy in Japan focuses on the politics of Japan's pre-eminent philosophical school - the Kyoto School - and particularly that of its founder, Nishida Kitarô (1870-1945). Existing literature on Nishida is dismissive of there being serious political content in his work, and of the political stance of the wider school. Goto-Jones contends that, far from being apolitical, Nishida's philosophy was explicitly and intentionally political, and that a proper political reading of Nishida sheds new light on the controversies surrounding the alleged complicity of the Kyoto School in Japanese ultra-nationalism. This book offers a unique and potentially controversial view of the subject of Nishida and the Kyoto School. Introduction : Political Philosophy In Japan And The Contradictory Location Of Nishida Tetsugaku -- Theorising Dissent : Intellectuals, Language, And Political Sleight-of-hand -- The Politics Of Harmony And Awakening : Confucianism And Buddhism As Political Thought In Japan -- The Early Nishida And The Place Of Japanese Political Philosophy -- (re)locating The Later Nishida : Ideology And Philosophy In Wartime Japan -- Nishida's Shadow : The Kyoto School And The Manipulation Of Nothingness -- Conclusion : The Philosophical Site Of Politics In Japan - Shisō Sensō, And The Defeat Of Nishida Tetsugaku? Christopher S. Goto-jones. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [170]-185) And Index.