Contributions To Phenomenology In Cooperation with The Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology Volume 101 Series Editors Nicolas de Warren, Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA Ted Toadvine, Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA Editorial Board Lilian Alweiss, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Elizabeth Behnke, Ferndale, WA, USA Rudolfh Bernet, Husserl Archive, KU Leuven, Belgium David Carr, Emory University, GA, USA Chan-Fai Cheung, Chinese University Hong Kong, China James Dodd, New School University, NY, USA Lester Embree, Florida Atlantic University, FL, USA Alfredo Ferrarin, Università di Pisa, Italy Burt Hopkins, University of Lille, France José Huertas-Jourda, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada Kwok-Ying Lau, Chinese University Hong Kong, China Nam-In Lee, Seoul National University, Korea Rosemary R.P. Lerner, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Peru Dieter Lohmar, University of Cologne, Germany William R. McKenna, Miami University, OH, USA Algis Mickunas, Ohio University, OH, USA J.N. Mohanty, Temple University, PA, USA Junichi Murata, University of Tokyo, Japan Thomas Nenon, The University of Memphis, TN, USA Thomas M. Seebohm, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Germany Gail Soffer, Rome, Italy Anthony Steinbock, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL, USA Shigeru Taguchi, Hokkaido University, Japan Dan Zahavi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Richard M. Zaner, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA Scope The purpose of the series is to serve as a vehicle for the pursuit of phenomenological research across a broad spectrum, including cross-over developments with other fields of inquiry such as the social sciences and cognitive science. Since its establishment in 1987, Contributions to Phenomenology has published more than 80 titles on diverse themes of phenomenological philosophy. In addition to welcoming monographs and collections of papers in established areas of scholarship, the series encourages original work in phenomenology. The breadth and depth of the Series reflects the rich and varied significance of phenomenological thinking for seminal questions of human inquiry as well as the increasingly international reach of phenomenological research. The series is published in cooperation with The Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5811 Nicolas de Warren • Shigeru Taguchi Editors New Phenomenological Studies in Japan Editors Nicolas de Warren Shigeru Taguchi Department of Philosophy Faculty of Humanities and Human Sciences Pennsylvania State University Hokkaido University Pennsylvania, PA, USA Sapporo, Japan ISSN 0923-9545 ISSN 2215-1915 (electronic) Contributions To Phenomenology ISBN 978-3-030-11892-1 ISBN 978-3-030-11893-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11893-8 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Introduction Ever since the initial reception of Husserl’s thinking at the beginning of the twenti- eth century, the development of phenomenological research in Japan has steadily and fruitfully engaged multiple movements of phenomenological thought. Already in the early 1920s, Japanese philosophers began to study in Germany with Husserl and/or Heidegger. To name the more significant and influential figures, Tanabe, Kuki, Miki, and Watsuji not only enthusiastically embraced the spirit of phenome- nology but equally confronted the actual forms of phenomenology developed by European philosophers. These philosophical confrontations led this generation of Japanese thinkers to formulate their own original views of philosophy. As an intro- duction to the collection of contemporary Japanese thinkers gathered together in this volume, our aim here is to sketch the historical reception of phenomenology in Japan. This admittedly cursory survey is meant to offer the reader a broader horizon for a better understanding of particular tendencies, approaches, and interests repre- sented in New Phenomenological Studies in Japan. Nishida and Tanabe: Two Dominant Figures in Modern Japanese Philosophy Not even ten years after the publication of Husserl’s Logical Investigations (1900/01), Husserl’s nascent phenomenology was already referenced in Japan. Kitaro Nishida (1870–1945), widely considered to be the most important Japanese philosopher before the World War II, is arguably the first philosopher who intro- duced Husserl to Japanese scholars. Nishida was a highly original thinker in his own right, who was steeped in East Asian intellectual cultures and professionally trained in Western philosophy. With his broad knowledge and insightful understanding of the entire span of Western thought from its Greek origins, Nishida recognized the significance of Husserl’s philosophical endeavor. In his article on “The Claims of the Pure Logic School of Epistemology” (1911), Nishida referenced Husserl’s v vi Introduction phenomenology. Yet Nishida considered that Husserl’s thinking shared marked affinities with Neo-Kantians such as Rickert and thus referred to this entire group- ing of German thought as “the pure logic school,” which he understood as seeking to define objective truth independently of any empirical-psychological facts. More intense study of Husserl’s thought allowed Nishida to grasp its specifically phenom- enological character. With this newfound appreciation, Nishida perceived a com- monality with his own conception of “pure experience” while nonetheless remaining critical of Husserlian phenomenology. This affinity between phenomenology and Nishida’s thinking had easily been forgotten or overlooked, until the more recent research of Yoshihiro Nitta (1929–), who recognized Husserl’s importance for Nishida, claimed that Husserl’s phenomenology is important for an elucidation of Nishida’s thinking. Nitta’s scholarship proved essential for establishing this connec- tion between Husserl and Nishida within the contemporary scene of Japanese phenomenology. The transformation in Nishida’s thinking that centered on his breakthrough con- ception of basho (place) placed once again Husserl’s phenomenology in a different, more critical light. Nishida became critical of Husserl’s conception of conscious- ness for merely representing what is thought of as consciousness. According to Nishida, however, consciousness is not what we are conscious of but the conscious- ness that itself is conscious or the “being conscious itself” that lies at the bottom of the consciousness in contrast to transcendent objects. Nishida’s conception of con- sciousness offers a suggestive partner in a broader phenomenological dialogue con- cerning the scope of consciousness and its temporalization. In contrast to Nishida, Hajime Tanabe (1985–1963), Nishida’s successor to the Chair of Philosophy at Kyoto University, assessed phenomenology to be a highly creative philosophy that formed one of the representative trends in European phi- losophy in the twentieth century.1 Whereas Nishida did not have the opportunity to study abroad, Tanabe went to Germany in 1922 to study in Berlin with Alois Riehl, an important Neo-Kantian philosopher at the time. During the 1920s, Neo-­ Kantianism was popular in Japan, with Tanabe as one of its most sympathetic advo- cates. Soon after arriving in Germany in 1922, Tanabe discovered the many ways in which phenomenology was intensely debated and discussed in Europe. Shortly after his arrival, Tanabe moved to Freiburg to study with Husserl. While attending Husserl’s seminars and lectures, Tanabe rapidly assimilated phenomenological thinking. More thrilling for him was the encounter with Heidegger, who at the time was Husserl’s assistant. Tanabe immediately recognized the outstanding signifi- cance of Heidegger’s new interpretation of phenomenology. Upon his return to Japan in 1924, Tanabe gave lectures and published articles on phenomenology. In his article “A New Turn in Phenomenology: Heidegger’s Phenomenology of Life” (1924), Tanabe stressed how Heidegger’s reinterpretation of phenomenology could compensate for the weakness of Husserlian phenomenol- ogy and thereby open new philosophical possibilities. According to Tanabe, 1 Tanabe was not properly speaking Nishida’s