Nishida Kitaro (西田幾多郎)
Kitaro NISHIDA (May 19, 1870 - June 7, 1945) was a representative Japanese philosopher, professor and honorary professor of Kyoto University.
He was the founder of the Kyoto School
Daisetsu SUZUKI (real name: Sadataro), Ryokichi YAMAMOTO and Sakutaro FUJIOKA of the same prefecture had been his friends since Ishikawa Prefectural College (which late became Fourth High School), and Nishida, Suzuki and Fujioka were known as the 'Kaga no San Taro' (lit. the three Taro of Kaga).
Career
He was born in Kahokushimori (former Mori, Unoke-machi) in Ishikawa Prefecture as the first son of Yasunori and Tosa NISHIDA. The Nishida family were wealthy and served as district officials under the Tomura-sei (ten village system) in the Edo period. When young, he underwent many difficulties such as the deaths of family members, discrimination against his academic background (treatment with regard to elective courses at Tokyo University) and divorce. After graduating from university, he returned to his hometown where he became a junior high school teacher, and engaged his mind in thought. He put his thoughts together and wrote his most famous work entitled "Zen no Kenkyu" (A study of Good) (Kodokan, January, 1991). This book was a "must have" book for students of old-education-system high schools.
He died suddenly of uremia in Kamakura. His posthumous Buddhist name is Kozenin Meido Sunshin Koji.
The road along a canal of Lake Buwa, on which Kitaro walked, is called 'Philosopher's Walk' and has been selected as one of the 100 famous Japanese roads.
Timeline
1884: Graduated from Ishikawa Normal Preparatory School.
1888: Completed the Fourth High School (old-education-system) preparatory course.
1890: Dropped out of Fourth High School.
1894: Graduated from an elective course at the Tokyo University Department of Philosophy.
1895: Became a teacher of a branch school of Ishikawa Prefecture Noto Jinjo Chuggako (old-education-system junior high school) (April), and married to Kotomi TOKUDA (May).
1896: Lecturer of Fourth Higher School (old-education-system).
1897: Increased interest Zen meditation and studied under Zen masters Setsumon, Tekisui, Koshu and Kokan.
1899: Professor of Yamaguchi High School (old-education-system) (formerly Kyuyamako) (March), professor of Fourth High School (In July, he taught psychology, logic, ethics and German), practiced Zen meditation under a Zen master Garyusan Setsumon.
1900: Established a private school called Sansanjuku with colleagues Mitake and Sugimori where he and guided students.
1901: Received the title of Sunshin Koji from a Zen master Setsumon.
1903: Practiced Zen meditation under Zen master Kohoan Koshu of Daitoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, responded to koan (a method to learn the secrets of Zen by providing questions to a person seeking the secrets) and received authorization.
1905: Practiced Zen meditation under Zen master Zuiun at Kokutai-ji Temple in Toyama Prefecture.
1909: Became a professor at Gakushuin University (July), and a lecturer at Nihon University (October).
1910: Became a lecturer at Buzan University (present Taisho University) (April), and assistant professor of the literature department of Kyoto Imperial University (August, Ethics).
1911: Became a lecturer at Shinshu Otani University (present Otani University).
1912: Became a lecturer at Kyoto Higher School of Design (current Kyoto Institute of Technology).
1913: Became a professor (religious studies) at the literature department of Kyoto Imperial University (August) and a doctor of literature (December).
1914: Dismissed from the religious studies course and appointed to the first course of philosophy and history of philosophy.
1925: His wife Kotomi died (January).
1927: Became a member of the Imperial Academy.
1928: Retired from Kyoto Imperial University
1929: Became an honorary professor of Kyoto Imperial University.
1931: Remarried to Koto YAMADA (December).
1940: Received the Order of Culture.
Ideas
His philosophical system is called Nishida Philosophy, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he was the only philosopher in recent Japanese history to have had a philosophical system named after him.
He tried to merge Buddhist concepts with Western philosophy from a more fundamental aspect based on his experience of Zen meditation (Sunshin Koji) in Kokutai-ji Temple (Takaoka City) and philosophy in recent times near his hometown. His thoughts developed from the pure experience theory (which theorized the 'state of nothing') of Zen Buddhism into the self-consciousness theory (one develops himself by recognizing his pure experience), logicalness theory as a field in which consciousness, such as awareness, exists and absolutely paradoxical identity theory (the field is finally integrated religiously and ethically). Although at a glance, his ideas appear to have developed chronologically, there is also the interpretation that NISHIDA viewed the same point from a variety of angles from the outset to his final years, and this viewpoint is now widely accepted among researchers (particularly those associated with Zen).
The 'absolutely paradoxical identity theory' shown in his last years was evaluated or harshly criticized as being a religious term as opposed to a philosophical term. It is said that it can be summarized as 'the past and the future deny each other, but join together at the present and move from the present to the present' or 'the Logic of Topos' (locational logic) (the self is a true self when the self denies itself') which reinterprets 'the Logic of Sokuhi' (Superrational Logic) (an idea in Kongo-kyo Sutra that 'A is non-A and therefore is A') of Daisetsu SUZUKI in Western philosophy. It is the essence of the Nishida philosophy in which behavior and ideas are unutterable and inseparable.
In his thesis "the Logic of Topos (locational logic) and Religious Worldview," Nishida said that 'Religion was a psychic fact. Philosophers should not forge religion based on their system of philosophy.
They must explain this psychic fact.'
Nishida did not use an approach that imported ideas or a philological approach, learned only ways of thinking of his predecessors, developed his ideas uniquely, and therefore, his works are original and difficult to understand at first sight.
But his original method of study that was created from practices of Zen meditation can be a devastating antithesis to philologists and 'philosophy scholars.'
On the other hand, Hajime TANABE and Satomi TAKAHASHI criticized the Nishida philosophy as being too religious to be practical.
Family
His second son is Sotohiko NISHIDA - a professor at Konan University (old-education-system). His first son is Kikuhiko NISHIDA - Director of the Professional Golfers' Association of Japan, former executive of the Bank of Tokyo Ltd., the elder brother of Sotohiko, and the brother-in-law of Princess Hanako who the wife of Princess Hitachi.