Nishitani Keiji (西谷啓治)
Keiji NISHITANI (February 27, 1900 - November 24, 1990) was a Japanese researcher who studied philosophy and the philosophy of religion. He was a member of the Kyoto school. He was an emeritus professor in the Faculty of Letters in Kyoto University and also a Bunkakorosha (Person of Cultural Merits).
Biography and Personal Profile
He was born in Noto-cho, Hosu County, Ishikawa Prefecture. When he was young, he read "Thinking and Experience" written by Kitaro NISHIDA, who was also from Kahoku City. He then graduated from Daiichi High School (the first old-education-system high school) and then from the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University. He studied under Kitaro NISHIDA. In 1943, he became a professor at Kyoto Imperial University. He participated in 'Overcoming the Modern' and was expelled from his public office after the war. After his purge was lifted, he returned to be a professor at Kyoto University in 1952. In 1963, he took mandatory retirement and became an emeritus professor, and he also became a processor at Otani University. He studied German mysticism but he devoted himself to studying Buddhism during the later part of his life.
In 1965, he became a member of The Japan Academy. In 1970, he received the Second-Rank Order of the Sacred Treasure. In 1982, he was designated as Bunkakorosha. In 1990, he was appointed to Shoshii (Senior Fourth Rank) and received Kyokujitsusho (The Order of the Rising Sun).
In the fields other than philosophy, he produced a large number of reviews and essays on Basho MATSUO, Kanzan poetry, Leo Tolstoy, and Rainer Maria Rilke. He received the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe medal. There is Nishitani Keiji Kinenkan (the Memorial Hall of Keiji NISHITANI) in his birthplace, Ushitsu.
Masaaki KOSAKA, Iwao KOYAMA, Shigetaka SUZUKI, and Keiji NISHITANI are called the 'four giants of the Kyoto School.'
Yoshio NISHITANI, who was the founder of Mirai-sha Publishers, was his cousin. His son, Yusaku NISHITANI, was an associate professor at Kyoto University (ethics).