Koyama Iwao (高山岩男)
Iwao KOYAMA (April 18, 1905 - July 7, 1993) was a Japanese philosopher.
He was born in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. He graduated from the Department of Philosophy, Kyoto Imperial University. He studied philosophy during the heyday of the Kyoto School with Kitaro NISHIDA, Seiichi HATANO, Hajime TANABE, and Tetsuro WATSUJI, during which time he was greatly influenced particularly by Tanabe. After graduation, he became a lecturer at the Third High School before becoming an assistant professor of the Kyoto Imperial University Faculty of Letters in 1938 and being promoted to professor in March 1945, but he retired upon Japan's World War II defeat in August. His son is Takehiko TAKAYAMA, the former president of Nippon Paper Crecia Co., Ltd..
Brief personal history
From 1942 to 1943 during World War II, articles summarizing symposiums that Iwao KOYAMA held with Masaaki KOSAKA, Keiji NISHITANI, and Shigetaka SUZUKI (colleagues of his from Kyoto Imperial University) on topics such as ' The world's historical position and Japan' appeared in the magazine "Chuo Koron" ('The world's historical position and Japan' appeared in the January issue in 1942, 'The morality and history of the Great East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere' appeared in the April issue in 1942, and 'The philosophy of all-out battle' appeared in the January issue in 1943).
They affirmed that the war was imperative in order to establish the supreme ideal of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and to 'overcome the modern age.'
He displayed a cooperative stance, particularly toward the navy. Their speculation that they would rather deal with the more liberal navy than be forced into cooperating with the army was behind this. After the war, he was expelled from his official position. During that time, he went into retirement by Hamana-ko Lake.
Following this, while writing a column for the Shizuoka Shinbun (newspaper), he taught at Kanagawa University, Nihon University and Tokai University before finally serving as the president of Akita Keizaihoka University.
During his later life, he was involved in the Graduate School of Tamagawa University by the request of Kuniyoshi OBARA, his colleague at Kyoto Imperial University while he was enrolled in Tokai University, and he deepened his interest in broad philosophical anthropology and pedagogy.
At the center of this was the 'logic of concord' that he proposed exists in opposition to Hajime TANABE's 'logic of species.'
Iwao KOYAMA along with Masaaki KOSAKA, Keiji NISHITANI and Shigetaka SUZUKI are collectively referred to as 'The Four Heavenly Kings of the Kyoto School.'