Watsuji Tetsurō
| Tetsuro Watsuji | |
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| Born | March 1, 1889 Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture |
| Died | December 26, 1960 |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Japanese philosophy |
| School | Kyoto School |
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Main interests
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Aesthetics, Ethics, Culture, Religion |
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Notable ideas
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Climate and Culture, Rinrigaku Ethics |
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Influences
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Influenced
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Tetsuro Watsuji (Japanese: 和辻 哲郎 Hepburn: Watsuji Tetsurō?) (March 1, 1889 – December 26, 1960) was a Japanese moral philosopher, cultural historian, and intellectual historian.
Watsuji was born in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture to a physician. During his youth he enjoyed poetry and had a passion for Western literature. For a short time he was the coeditor of a literary magazine and was involved in writing poems and plays. His interests in philosophy came to light while he was a student at First Higher School in Tokyo, although his interest in literature would always remain strong throughout his life.
In his early writings (between 1913 and 1915) he introduced the work of Søren Kierkegaard to Japan, as well as working on Friedrich Nietzsche, but in 1918 he turned against this earlier position, criticizing Western philosophical individualism, and attacking its influence on Japanese thought and life. This led to a study of the roots of Japanese culture, including Japanese Buddhist art, and notably the work of the medieval Zen Buddhist Dogen. Watsuji was also interested in the famous Japanese writer Natsume Sōseki, whose books were influential during Watsuji's early years.
In the early 1920s Watsuji taught at Toyo, Hosei and Keio universities, and at Tsuda Eigaku-juku.
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Wikipedia