| Shūzō Kuki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1888-02-15)February 15, 1888 Tokyo Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | May 6, 1941(1941-05-06) (aged 53) Kyoto, Japan |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Notable work | The Structure of Iki |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Japanese philosophy |
| School | Kyoto School |
| Institutions | Kyoto University |
| Main interests | |
| The Kyoto School of Philosophy |
|---|
| at Kyoto University |
| Topics |
| Individuals |
| Historical background |
Shūzō Kuki (九鬼 周造, Kuki Shūzō, February 15, 1888 – May 6, 1941) was a Japanese art critic, philosopher, and poet.
Early life
Kuki was the fourth child of Baron Kuki Ryūichi (九鬼 隆一) a high bureaucrat in the Meiji Ministry for Culture and Education (Monbushō). Since it appears that Kuki's mother, Hatsu, was already pregnant when she fell in love with Okakura Kakuzō (岡倉 覚三), otherwise known as Okakura Tenshin (岡倉 天心), a protégé of her husband's (a notable patron of the arts), the rumour that Okakura was Kuki's father would appear to be groundless. It is true, however, that Shūzō as a child, after his mother had separated and then divorced his father, thought of Okakura, who often visited, as his real father, and later certainly hailed him as his spiritual father. From Okakura, he gained much of his fascination for aesthetics and perhaps foreign languages, as indeed his fascination with the peculiar cultural codes of the pleasure quarters of Japan owes something to the fact that his mother had once been a geisha.
At age 23 in 1911 (Meiji 44), Kuki converted to Catholicism; and he was baptized in Tokyo as Franciscus Assisiensis Kuki Shūzō. The idealism and introspection implied by this decision were early evidence of issues which would have resonance in the characteristic mindset of the mature man.
A graduate in philosophy of Tokyo Imperial University, Kuki spent eight years in Europe to polish his knowledge of languages and deepen his already significant studies of contemporary Western thought. At the University of Heidelberg, he studied under the neo-Kantian Heinrich Rickert, and he engaged Eugen Herrigel as a tutor. At the University of Paris, he was impressed by the work of Henri Bergson, whom he came to know personally; and he engaged the young Jean-Paul Sartre as a French tutor. It is little known outside Japan that Kuki influenced Jean-Paul Sartre to develop an interest in Heidegger's philosophy.
At the University of Freiburg, Kuki studied phenomenology under Edmund Husserl; and he first met Martin Heidegger in Husserl's home. He moved to the University of Marburg for Heidegger's 1927/1928 winter semester lectures on the phenomenological interpretation of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (published as volume 25 in the Heidegger Gesamtausgabe), and for Heidegger's seminar "Schelling's Essay on the Essence of Human Freedom." The following semester (Summer, 1928) he attended Heidegger's lecture on logic in the light of Leibniz (HGA 26) and his seminar on Aristotle's Physics. Fellow students during these years in Europe were Tetsurō Watsuji and Kiyoshi Miki.
Career
Shortly after Kuki's return to Japan, he wrote and published his masterpiece, The Structure of "Iki" (1930). In this work he undertakes to make a phenomenological analysis of iki, a variety of chic culture current among the fashionable set in Edo in the Tokugawa period, and asserted that it constituted one of the essential values of Japanese culture.
Kuki took up a teaching post at Kyoto University, then a prominent center for conservative cultural values and thinking. His early lectures focused on Descartes and Bergson. In the context of a faculty with a primarily Germanic philosophical background, his lectures offered a somewhat different perspective based on the work of French philosophers.
He became an Associate Professor in 1933 (Shōwa 8); and in that same year, he published the first book length study of Martin Heidegger to appear in Japanese. In this context, it is noteworthy that the German philosopher explicitly referenced a conversation "between a Japanese and an inquirer" in On the Way to Language (Aus einem Gespräch von der Sprache). Also, Heidegger expressed a desire to have written the preface to the German translation of The Structure of "Iki".
At the University of Kyoto, Kuki was elevated to Professor of Philosophy in March 1934 (Shōwa 10). The next year, he published The Problem of Contingency, also known as The Problem of the Accidental. This work was developed from his personal experiences in Europe and the influences of Heidegger. As a single Japanese man within an encompassing "white" or non-Japanese society, he considered the extent to which he became a being who lacked necessity. His Kyoto University lectures on Heidegger, Man and Existence, were published in 1939.
From the mid-thirties, while Japan drifted towards totalitarianism and the war in China dragged on, Kuki seemed not to be much disturbed by the growth of fascism.
In 1941, at the age of 53, Kuki died following an attack of peritonitis. His manuscripts are now kept in the Konan University Library.
Published works
Published during Kuki’s lifetime:
- On Time (Paris: Philippe Renouard, 1928).
- The Structure of “Iki” (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1930).
- The Problem of Contingency (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1935).
- Humanity and Existence (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1939).
- A collection of Kuki’s essays on philosophy.
Published posthumously:
- Literary Theory (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1941).
- A collection of Kuki’s essays on literature.
- Occasional Writings (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1941).
- Paris of My Mind (Tokyo: Kôchô Shôrin, 1942).
- A collection of Kuki’s poetry.
- A Draft History of Modern Western Philosophy (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1944).
- Lectures on Contemporary French Philosophy (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1957).
Collected works
Kuki’s Collected Works , in 12 volumes (often abbreviated KSZ in scholarly publications, for Kuki Shûzô Zenshû), are published by Iwanami Shoten.
Vol. 1
- The Structure of “Iki” , KSZ1:1-85.
- ‘Introduction’
- ‘The Intentional Structure of “Iki”’
- ‘The Extensional Structure of “Iki”’
- ‘The Natural Expression of “Iki”’
- ‘The Artistic Expression of “Iki”’
- ‘Conclusion’
- ‘The Essence of “Iki”’ , KSZ1:87-108.
- A draft of The Structure of “Iki”.
- Paris of My Mind , KSZ1:109-218.
- ‘The Present State of French and German Philosophy’ , KSZ1:221-32.
- ‘Japanese Culture’ , KSZ1:233-37.
- ‘Faith and Knowledge’ , KSZ1:298-344 (German original), KSZ1:351-98 (Japanese translation by Satô Akio).
- Kuki's thesis written during his time at Tokyo Imperial University, on the subject of faith and knowledge in European medieval philosophy.
- On Time , KSZ1:263-94 (French original), KSZ1:399-433 (Japanese translation by Sakamoto Kenzô).
- Contains two lectures that Kuki delivered at Pontigny in August 1928, ‘La notion du temps et la reprise sur le temps en orient’ and ‘L’expression de l’infini dans l’art japonais’.
- ‘Things Japanese’ , KSZ1:239-62 (French original), KSZ1:435-58 (Japanese translation by Sakamoto Kenzô).
- A series of short essays, which the editors surmise were written during Kuki’s stay in Paris, including ‘Bergson au Japon’ and ‘À la manière d’Hérodote’.
Vol. 2
- The Problem of Contingency , KSZ2:1-264.
- ‘Introduction’
- ‘Categorical Contingency’
- ‘Hypothetical Contingency’
- ‘Disjunctive Contingency’
- ‘Conclusion’
- ‘Contingency’ , KSZ2:267-322.
- Kuki’s doctoral dissertation.
- ‘Contingency’ , KSZ2:323-51.
- A lecture by Kuki.
- ‘The Logic of Becoming Contingent’ , KSZ2:353-73.
- ‘An Enquiry into the Basic Character of Contingency’ , KSZ2:375-84.
Vol. 3
- Humanity and Existence , KSZ3:1-292.
- ‘What Is Anthropology?’
- ‘Existentialist Philosophy’
- ‘View of Life’
- ‘My View of Philosophy’
- ‘Aspects of Contingency’
- ‘The Feeling of Surprise and Contingency’
- ‘Metaphysical Time’
- ‘Heidegger’s Philosophy’
- ‘The Japanese Character’
- ‘The Problem of Time: Bergson and Heidegger’ , KSZ3:295-337.
- ‘The Temporality of Literature’ , KSZ3:339-65.
- ‘On the Japanese Character’ , KSZ3:367-99.
- ‘Characteristics of French Philosophy’ , KSZ3:401-14
- ‘General Characteristics of French Philosophy’ , KSZ3:415-23.
- French version of the one above.
- Contributions to the Dictionary of Philosophy , KSZ3:425-36.
- Entries on ‘Duration’ , ‘Vitalism’ , ‘Life’ and ‘Creative evolution’ .
Vol. 4
- Literary Theory , KSZ4:1-513.
- ‘Metaphysics of Literature’ , KSZ4:7-59.
- ‘An Enquiry into Elegance’ , KSZ4:60-82.
- ‘Fusion of Art and Life’ , KSZ4:83-169.
- ‘Genealogy of Emotion’ , KSZ4:170-222.
- ‘Rhyme in Japanese Poetry’ , KSZ4:223-513.
Vol. 5: Occasional Writings and Theory of Rhyme
Vol. 6: A Draft History of Modern Western Philosophy, Vol. 1
Vol. 7: A Draft History of Modern Western Philosophy, Vol. 2
Vol. 8: Lectures on Contemporary French Philosophy
Vol. 9: Lectures on Contemporary Philosophy and Seminars on Trends in Contemporary Philosophy
Vol. 10: Lectures on Heidegger’s Phenomenological Ontology
Vol. 11: Introductory Lectures on Literature and Lectures on Contingency
- The lectures entitled Outline of Literature were delivered by Kuki at the University of Tokyo in 1933. Among them is the lecture Guzen (Contingency) which is translated in Marra, 2011.
Vol. 12: Miscellaneous Documents
Notes
- Nara, Hiroshi. (2004). The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a translation of "Iki no kōzō," pp. 96–97.
- Nara, p. 172.
- ^ Nara, p. 173.
- ^ Parkes, Graham. (1990). Heidegger and Asian Thought, p. 158.
- Marra (2004), p. 9
- ^ Nara, p. 174.
- Zwischen einem Japaner und einem Fragenden
- Marra, Michael F. (2002). Japanese hermeneutics, pp. 89–202., p. 202, at Google Books
- Light, Stephen. (1987). Kuki Shūzō and Jean-Paul Sartre, p. 31.
- Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Kuki Shūzō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 571, p. 571, at Google Books.
- Nara, p. 161.
- Nara, p. 149.
- Nara, p. 175.
- Konan University Digital Archive
- "「いき」の構造 - 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション".
- "偶然性の問題 - 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション".
- "人間と実存 九鬼周造 著 33F@69@1".
- "文藝論 九鬼周造著 28B@142@1".
- "巴里心景 - 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクション".
- Takada, passim
- Nara, p. 9
- Takada, p. 288
- Pincus, p. 52
- Marra, 2011 p. 396
References and further reading
Secondary sources
- Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten. "Contingency and the Time of the Dream: Kuki Shuzo and French Prewar Philosophy," in Philosophy East and West 50:4 (2000).
- ———. "Iki, Style, Trace: Shuzo Kuki and the Spirit of Hermeneutics," in Philosophy East and West 47: 4 (1997): 554–580.
- Light, Stephen. Kuki Shūzō and Jean-Paul Sartre: Influence and Counter-Influence in the Early History of Existential Phenomenology. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1987.
- Marra, Michael F. Kuki Shuzo: A Philosopher's Poetry and Poetics. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2004.
- ——— Japanese Hermeneutics: Current Debates on Aesthetics and Interpretation. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2002.
- ——— Japan's Frames of Reference: A Hermeneutics Reader. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2011.
- Mayeda, Graham. "Is there a Method to Chance? Contrasting Kuki Shūzō’s Phenomenological Methodology in the Problem of Contingency with that of His Contemporaries Wilhelm Windelband and Heinrich Rickert." In Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy II: Neglected Themes and Hidden Variations. Edited by Victor S. Hori and Melissa Anne-Marie Curley. Nagoya: Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, 2008.
- ———. Japanese Philosophers on Society and Culture: Nishida Kitarō, Watsuji Tetsurō, and Kuki Shūzō. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2020.
- ———. "Time for Ethics: Temporality and the Ethical Ideal in Emmanuel Levinas and Kuki Shūzō," in Comparative and Continental Philosophy 4: 1 (2012: 105–124.
- ———. Time, Space and Ethics in the Philosophy of Watsuji Tetsurō, Kuki Shūzō, and Martin Heidegger. New York: Routledge, 2006.
- Nara, Hiroshi. The Structure of Detachment: the Aesthetic Vision of Kuki Shūzō with a Translation of "Iki no kōzō." Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004.
- Parkes, Graham. Heidegger and Asian Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990.
- Pincus, Leslie. Authenticating Culture in Imperial Japan: Kuki Shūzō and the Rise of National Aesthetics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
- Saitō, Takako. ""The Human and the Absolute in the Writings of Kuki Shūzō" (Archive). In Volume 3 of Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy, 58–72. Edited by James W. Heisig and Mayuko Uehara (written as Uehara Mayuko). Nagoya: Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, 2008.
- ———."In Search of the Absolute : Kuki Shūzō and Shinran" (Archive). In Volume 7 of Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy, 232–246. Edited by James W. Heisig and Rein Raud. Nagoya: Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, 2010.
- Sakabe, Megumi. Washida Seiichi and Fujita Masakatsu, eds. Kuki Shūzō no sekai. Tokyo: Minerva Shobō, 2002.
- St. Clair, Robert N. "The Phenomenology of Self Across Cultures." In Intercultural Communication Studies 13: 3 (2004): 8–26.
- Takada, Yasunari. "Shuzo Kuki: or, A Sense of Being In-between" (Archive) In: Takada, Yasunari. Transcendental Descent: Essays in Literature and Philosophy (Collection UTCP-2). The University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy (UTCP). p. 281–295.
- Yasuda, Takeshi and Michitarō Tada. "Iki" no kōzō’ o yomu. Tokyo: Asahi Sensho, 1979.
External links
- 九鬼 周造 (Kuki Shūzō) at www.aozora.gr.jp (in Japanese)
- 九鬼周造 (Kuki Shūzō) at www.isis.ne.jp (in Japanese)