View source for Japanese philosophy

{{Short description|Fusion of ideologies}}
{{Asian philosophy sidebar}}
'''Japanese philosophy''' has historically been a fusion of both indigenous [[Shinto]] and continental religions, such as [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]] and [[Confucianism]].  Formerly heavily influenced by both [[Chinese philosophy]] and [[Indian philosophy]], as with [[Mitogaku]] and [[Zen]], much modern Japanese philosophy is now also influenced by [[Western philosophy]].

==Ancient and medieval thought==
{{main|Buddhism in Japan}}

Before [[feudalism]] was firmly established in [[Japan]], [[Buddhism]] occupied the mainstream of Japanese thought. The Buddhist culture introduced politically by [[Prince Shōtoku]] was completed as the "making a country safe" thought in the [[Nara period]]. When the [[Heian period]] (794–1185) began, in substitution for the "making a country safe thought", a form of esoteric Buddhism collectively known as ''[[mikkyō]]'' became widespread. However, in the late noble era when pessimism was popular due to the "belief that Buddhism will decline during the [[Three Ages of Buddhism|latter days]] of this world", the [[Pure Land]] movements spread out encouraging anticipation of a "future life" as a means to cope with desperation over "life in this world". During the [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333) when government dominated by the [[samurai]] class began, a “new” Buddhism for the newly-risen [[Social class|class]] (samurai) appears.

===Arrival of Buddhism and early influence in Japan===
{{see also|Nanto Rikushū}}

In ancient Japan, the arrival of [[Buddhism]] closely relates to the national construction and the national centralization of [[Political power|power]]. [[Prince Shōtoku]] and the Soga family fought and overcame the Mononobe family, who had handled the ancient Japanese [[religion]], and elaborated a plan for national [[governance]] based on the unification of the [[legal codes]] system and Buddhism. While cooperating with the Soga family, Prince Shōtoku, who was the regent of the [[Empress Suiko]], showed a deep understanding in "foreign" Buddhism,<ref>See [[Sangyo Gisho]] and [[Seventeen-article constitution]].</ref> and planned to stabilize national [[politics]] through the use of Buddhism. The thought that national peace and security came through the power of Buddhism is called the "making a country safe" thought. In the [[Nara period]], in particular the times of [[Emperor Shōmu]], the Kokubun-ji temples and Kokubun-ni-ji temples were erected throughout the whole country and [[Tōdai-ji|Tōdai-ji Temple]] and the [[Daibutsu]] were erected in [[Nara, Nara|Nara]]. The Buddhist policy of the state reached its apex during the Nara period, as evidenced by [[Jianzhen]] of the [[Tang dynasty]] bringing an imperial ordination platform to Todai-ji Temple,

While Nara Buddhism followed only the "making a country safe" thought, Heian Buddhism brought not only national [[peace]] and [[security]] but also the personal worldly [[profit (economics)|profit]]. Because practitioners of Heian Buddhism frequently performed severe [[ascetic]] practices, [[incantation]]s and [[prayer]]s in the mountains; this Buddhism came to be called [[mikkyō]]. [[Kūkai]], a Buddhist monk, learned Chinese [[esoteric Buddhism]] while on a diplomatic mission to the Chinese court, and combined Japanese Buddhism with Chinese esoteric Buddhist practices to form Japanese [[Shingon Buddhism]]. [[Saichō]], a Buddhist monk who also journeyed to China, learned the practices of the Chinese [[Tendai]] sect and argued that the teachings of the [[Lotus Sutra]] should be the core of Japanese Buddhism.

By the late Heian era, the earthly focus of Heian Buddhism led Buddhist monks to declare a "sinful age" wherein the possibility of relief in this world was denied and therefore a trend of looking for reincarnation to the Buddhists' [[paradise]] after death arose. Additionally, the new thought that "Buddhism will decline during the latter days of this world" led to the rise of the [[Pure Land]] movement. This movement, spearheaded by [[Kūya]], a follower of Pure Land Buddhism, preached faith to the [[Amitābha]] and taught that all people could reach the Buddhist paradise, not just Buddhist monks.
[[File:Dharmacakra (Buddhist Wheel), Sun temple, Orissa.jpg|thumb|Dharmāchakrā (Buddhist Wheel) [[:Category:Buddhist symbols]]]]

===Kamakura Buddhism===
The [[Jōdo-shū|Jōdo]] faith, which affected by the Jodo sect of the late Heian period, relies on salvation through the benevolence of [[Amitābha]], and is going to be relieved by its power. [[Hōnen]], who initiated the Jodo sect of Buddhism, abandoned other ascetic practices entirely. He preached his pupils to believe in Amitabha and to earnestly pray "[[nianfo|namu-amida-butsu]]", and so they would go to the paradise. His pupil, [[Shinran]] who initiated [[Pure Land Buddhism]], thoroughly carried out Honen's teaching and preached the absolute dependence. In addition, Shinran advocated that an object of the relief of the Amitabha was a criminal who was aware of a worldly and desirous criminal oneself. [[Ippen]], who initiated the [[Jishu]] sect, began "the chanting religious dance".

As contrast with dependent [[Jōdō]] faith, [[Zen]] Buddhism attempts to be spiritually self-awakened by [[Zazen|Zen meditation]]. [[Eisai]] learned the [[Rinzai]] sect in China. He gave pupils a difficult problem and he made them solve it, and so they would be enlightened by themselves. Rinzai Zen was supported widely by the upper samurai class in the [[Kamakura period]]. [[Dōgen]] learned the [[Sōtō]] sect in China.<ref>For a philosophical study of Dōgen's concept of language cf. Ralf Müller: [http://www.verlag-alber.de/suche/details_html?k_tnr=48610 Dōgens Sprachdenken: Historische und symboltheoretische Perspektiven] [Dōgen’s language thinking: Systematic perspectives from history and the theory of symbols], Welten der Philosophie, vol. 13. Freiburg/München: Verlag Karl Alber, 2013; reviewed by Steffen Döll in Philosophy East & West Volume 65, Number 2 April 2015 636–639.</ref> Oppose to Eisai, he preached enlightenment by earnest sitting meditation ([[zazen]]). Soto Zen was supported by the local samurais.

Most schools of [[Nichiren Buddhism]] (Japanese: {{lang|ja|法華系仏教}} {{Transliteration|ja|Hokke-kei Bukkyō}}) refer to the priest and teacher [[Nichiren]] as their founding father. In his teachings he underlined the, to his mind, supremacy of the [[Lotus Sutra]]. He advocated the attainment of Buddhahood during one's lifetime and regarded his interpretation of the Buddhist teachings as the correct form of practice for the Latter Day of the Law [[mappō]]. One of his major treatises is the "Rissho Ankoku Ron" (On Establishing the Correct teaching for the Peace of the Land). The chanting of the [[Mantra]] "[[Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō]]" is to this day the central practice to almost all Nichiren Buddhist schools and organisations.

==Early modern thought==
{{further|Edo period}}

Whereas the ancient and medieval thought of Japan was tied closely to [[Buddhism]], the early modern thought of Japan was mainly [[Confucianism]] or [[Neo-Confucianism]], which was designated for official study by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. In addition, [[rationality|rational]] Confucianism stimulated [[Kokugaku]], [[Rangaku]] and the non-official popular thought after the middle [[Edo period]].

===Confucianism===
{{main|Neo-Confucianism in Japan}}

In the [[Edo period]], [[Confucianism]] was the authorised study. Various schools of [[neo-Confucianism]] were popular.

The [[Zhu Xi]] school of neo-Confucianism respected [[family]]-like [[feudal]] order which upheld fixed social positions. [[Hayashi Razan]] assumed the Zhu Xi school of neo-Confucianism to be the theoretical basics of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. Through the principle of [[civilian]] [[government]], [[Yushima Seidō]] dedicating to [[Confucius]] was established. By the [[Kansei Reforms]], the Zhu Xi school of neo-Confucianism were still more strengthened and authorized by the Tokugawa shogunate. In addition, the thought of a school of the Zhu Xi school of neo-Confucianism gave big influence to the political movement advocating reverence for the [[Emperor]] and the expulsion of [[Alien (law)|foreigners]] of the late Tokugawa era.

In contrast with the Zhu Xi school of neo-Confucianism, the [[Wang Yangming]] school of neo-Confucianism respecting practical [[ethics]] was consistently monitored and oppressed by the Tokugawa shogunate because of its criticisms against the socio-political conditions under the Tokugawa shogunate.

The third schools of neo-Confucianism took consideration into the real intentions of original texts by [[Confucius]] and [[Mencius]]. [[Yamaga Sokō]] established his philosophy on Confucian ethics, and assumed the [[samurai]] to be the highest class. [[Itō Jinsai]] paid attention to "[[ren (Confucianism)|ren]]" of Confucius and he respected "ren" as the [[love]] for another person and "truth" as pure consideration. In addition, deriving from his substantial studies of ancient Chinese classics, [[Ogyū Sorai]] insisted that the original Confucian spirit is to rule the [[world]] and to save a [[citizen]].

===Kokugaku and Rangaku===
{{main|Kokugaku|Rangaku}}

In the middle of the [[Edo period]], [[Kokugaku]], the study of ancient Japanese thought and culture, became popular against foreign ideas such as [[Buddhism]] or [[Confucianism]]. By the [[Sakoku]] policy of the Tokugawa shogunate, Edo intellectuals could not have any positive contact with Western civilization, and so [[Rangaku]], Dutch learning, was the only window to the [[West]].

In the middle days of the Edo period, [[Kokugaku]] became popular while being influenced by positivist [[Confucianism]] with [[nationalism]] as a background. Kokugaku positively studied ancient Japanese thought and culture, including "[[Kojiki]]", "[[Nihon Shoki]]" and "[[Man'yōshū]]", and they aimed at excavating original moral [[culture]] of Japan which was different from Confucianism and [[Buddhism]]. [[Kamo no Mabuchi]] wrestled with the study of "Manyoshu" and called "[[masurao-buri]]" for [[masculine]] and tolerant style, and he evaluated the collection as pure and simple. Through his study of the ''Kojiki'', [[Motoori Norinaga]] argued that the essence of the [[Japanese literature]] came from "[[mono no aware]]" which were natural feelings to occur when you contacted an object. He respected Japanese "Yamato spirit" instead of Chinese (Confucianism / Buddhism) "Kara spirit". According to him, Kokugaku should pursue the Japanese old way of "[[Shinto]]". Through his study of Kokugaku, [[Hirata Atsutane]] advocated nationalistic [[State Shinto]], the obedience to the [[Emperor]] and abolition of Confucianism and Buddhism. It was a driving force to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the [[Meiji Restoration]].

In the [[Sakoku]] period of the Edo period, there was no direct contact with the West, but [[Rangaku]] became popular by encouraging importation of Western books translated in Chinese from China during the [[Kyōhō Reforms]]. [[Maeno Ryotaku]] and [[Sugita Genpaku]] translated the Dutch "[[Kaitai Shinsho|Tafel Anatomie]]" into Japanese. Dutch learning unfolded to other Western studies such as British, French and American studies by the late Tokugawa era. The manner of "Japanese spirit, Western [[civilisation]]" was completed by [[Sakuma Shōzan]]’s straightforward expression, "Eastern [[ethics]] and Western [[technology]]". Because [[Takano Chōei]] and [[Watanabe Kazan]] criticized Sakoku strictly, they were oppressed by the Tokugawa shogunate.

===Popular thought===
In the [[Edo period]], private schools were opened by [[samurai]]s, [[merchant]]s and scholars who played an active part. Their thoughts were criticisms for the dominant [[feudal]] order.

[[Ishida Baigan]] synthesized [[Confucianism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Shinto]], and established practical philosophy for the masses. He recommended working hard at [[commerce]] as the effect of honesty and thrift. [[Ando Shoeki]] called nature's world the ideal society where all human beings engaged in [[farming]] and they lived self-sufficiently without artificiality. He criticized a [[lawful]] society where there was feudal [[Social class|class]] discrimination and the difference between the rich and poor. [[Ninomiya Sontoku]] insisted that people must repay the [[virtue]]s, which supported their existence, with their own virtue.

==Late Modern thought==
{{further|Empire of Japan}}

While the early modern Japanese thought developed in [[Confucianism]] and [[Buddhism]], English [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] and French [[human rights]] were prevalent after the [[Meiji Restoration]] had become rapidly affected by Western thought. From the time of [[First Sino-Japanese War|Sino-]] and [[Russo-Japanese War]]s, Japanese [[capitalism]] highly developed. [[Christianity]] and [[socialism]] also developed and became tied to various social movements. In addition, [[nationalistic]] thought and study were formed while being opposed to foreign study.

===The Enlightenment and people's rights===
In the [[Meiji Restoration]], English and French [[civil society]] was introduced, in particular, [[utilitarianism]] and [[social Darwinism]] from England, and [[popular sovereignty]] of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] from France.

The thinkers of the early Meiji period advocated the British Enlightenment values derived from Western civil society. They attempted to criticise Japanese traditional [[authority]] and [[feudalism]]. However they were finally in harmony with the government and accepted the [[modernization]] from the above without the radicalness<!--originally: 'due to missing in radicalness'-->. In 1873, [[Mori Arinori]] formed [[Meirokusha]]. The people who gathered in this cultural association had much in common with points such as regarding practical learning as important, catching human characteristics practically and assuming the form of government that accepted the conditions of a country an ideal. Mori Arinori promoted national [[education]] as Minister of Education. [[Nishi Amane]] affirmed a human behaviour based on interest. [[Katō Hiroyuki]] threw away [[natural rights]] under influence of [[social Darwinism]], and instead advocated the survival of the fittest.

[[Fukuzawa Yukichi]], who introduced British [[utilitarianism]] to Japan and advocated [[natural rights]], assumed that [[human rights]] were given by Heaven. He considered the development of the [[civilization]] to be the development of the human spirit, and it was assumed that one's [[independence]] led to independence of one country.<ref>''Encouragement of learning'' (1872–76) and ''An outline of a theory of civilization (1875)''</ref> Fukuzawa thought that [[government]] is for the "sake of convenience", and its appearance should be suitable to the culture. He said that there is no single ideal form of government. In addition, he insisted that Japan should have gone into the continent externally against the [[Great Powers]].<ref>[[Datsu-A Ron]]</ref>

While members of [[Meirokusha]] finally advocated harmonization of the government and people, [[democracy|democratic]] thinkers absorbed radical people's [[rights]] from France and they supported national resistance and revolution verbally against the [[Meiji oligarchy]] after the [[Satsuma Rebellion]]. In 1874, [[Itagaki Taisuke]] introduced the establishment of the elected [[legislature]]. It spread nationwide as the [[Freedom and People's Rights Movement]]. [[Ueki Emori]] helped Itagaki and he drew up a radical draft. Strongly influenced by [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau|Rousseau]], [[Nakae Chōmin]] argued for people's [[sovereignty]] and individual [[Political freedom|freedom]]. However, concerning the Japanese situation, he pointed out the importance of [[parliamentary monarchy]]. According to him, the [[Meiji Constitution|Imperial Constitution]] should be gradually revised by the [[Diet of Japan|Diet]].

From the late period of Meiji to the [[Taishō era]], a [[democracy|democratic]] trend spread as a background of bourgeois [[political consciousness]]. Its current led to political movements for safeguarding the [[Constitution]] and for the [[Direct election|popular election]]. [[Yoshino Sakuzō]] argued for party cabinet politics and popular election. He did not deeply pursue who was the sovereign but he insisted the political goal aim for people's happiness and political decisions aim for people's intentions. [[Minobe Tatsukichi]] interpreted a sovereign as not an [[emperor]] but the [[State (polity)|state]]. According to him, an emperor only excises his [[Political power|power]] as the highest organ under the [[Meiji Constitution]]. Although his theory was widely acknowledged at first, he was politically suppressed by the military and the rightists afterwards.

In 1911, [[Hiratsuka Raichō]] formed [[Bluestockings Journal|Seitosha]]. She asked for awakening of women's own right and development of [[feminist movement]]. While [[Yosano Akiko]] denied [[gender]] differences, Raicho emphasised motherhood raising a child and she acknowledged the official aids for women to demonstrate their feminine ability. In 1920, Raicho formed a new association for women with [[Ichikawa Fusae]] and [[Oku Mumeo]]. Soon after their activities were successful in getting women's participating at political addresses, the association fell apart due an internal schism. Later, Ichikawa formed a new one and continued a movement for [[female suffrage]].

===Christianity and socialism===
{{main|Christianity in Japan|Socialist thought in Imperial Japan}}

It was [[Christians]] and [[socialist]]s who struggled with social contradictions derived from Japanese [[modernity]]. Christian social movements were active after the [[First Sino-Japanese War|Sino-]] and [[Russo-Japanese War]]s, which brought [[capitalism]] and its contradiction to Japanese society. Many Japanese socialists were influenced by [[Christian humanism]], and in that point they were deeply associated with [[Christianity]].

Christianity, banned by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], influenced many Meiji intellectuals. [[Uchimura Kanzō]] developed "two Js" to unite [[Bushido]] and Christian spirit. He believed that his calling was to serve "Japan" and "Jesus". He argued for the [[nonchurch movement]]. He challenged the [[Imperial Rescript on Education]] and spoke against the [[Russo-Japanese War]].<ref>''How I became a Christian'' (1895)</ref> [[Nitobe Inazō]] was a [[Quaker]] and attempted to unite [[Japanese culture]] and Christianity. He introduced Japanese culture abroad and he became secretary-general of the [[League of Nations]]. [[Joseph Hardy Neesima]] studied [[theology]] abroad in the United States. He established [[Doshisha University]] at Kyoto and he was engaged in Christian [[Moral character|character building]].

About the time of Sino- and Russo-Japanese wars, Japan succeeded in capitalization through the [[Industrial Revolution]] as soon as [[socialism]] spread against [[capitalism]]. However, the social movements were suppressed by the [[security police]] law of 1900, and finally in the [[High Treason Incident]] of 1910 socialists were pressed by the military and the [[fascist]] government. [[Kawakami Hajime]] wrote articles about [[poverty]] in a newspaper. He emphasized personal remodeling to solve poverty at first, however, later he became a [[Marxist]] and he argued for social remodeling by social compulsion. [[Kōtoku Shūsui]] originally attempted to realize socialism through the [[Diet of Japan|Diet]], however he became a [[trade union|unionist]] and he argued for a direct action by a [[general strike]]. He was executed as the mastermind of the high treason incident of 1910. [[Osugi Sakae]] argued for individual [[Political freedom|freedom]] using the principles of [[anarchism]] and [[Trade union|unionism]]. He was seen as a threat by the government and was assassinated by [[military police]] in the disorder following the [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake]].

===The development of Japanism===
{{main|Statism in Shōwa Japan|Kyoto School}}

The [[Age of Enlightenment]], [[Christianity]] and [[socialism]] have influenced Japanese thought since the [[Meiji Restoration]].
The emphasis on Japanese political [[culture]] and national [[tradition]] rose as a reaction against [[westernization]]. This trend has had an [[ideological]] side of legitimizing [[imperialism]] and [[militarism]]/[[fascism]].<ref>See also [[Total war]] and [[Pan-Asianism]].</ref>

[[Tokutomi Sohō]] published a magazine in which he argued for [[liberal democracy]] and [[populism]] against Japanese [[westernization]]. However, he was disillusioned with the [[bourgeois]] who should play a political part in ... [[Kuga Katsunan]] regarded Japanese [[political culture]] and national [[tradition]] very highly. He aimed for restoration and enhancement of national emotion; however, he was not a narrow-minded [[nationalist]]. He criticized the military and argued for a [[parliamentary system]] of government and expansion of [[suffrage]].

After the [[Meiji Restoration]], Japanese government protected [[Shinto]] and treated it not as a special religion but as [[State Shinto]]. The government closely related Shinto with the holy [[emperor]], and they used Shinto as a tool for their state [[governance]]. State Shinto was clearly distinguished from private sects of the Shinto [[religion]]. It was a model of [[ideological]] state governance to form State Shinto and to promulgate the [[Imperial Rescript on Education]]. Meiji [[statism]] attempted to restore national sovereignty and pursued [[imperialism]] and [[colonialism]] through the [[First Sino-Japanese War|Sino-]] and [[Russo-Japanese War]]s. However, its [[militaristic]] trend developed to [[ultra-nationalism]]. [[Kita Ikki]] advocated the exclusion of the [[zaibatsu]], senior statesmen and [[political parties]] and the establishment of government for direct connection with the emperor and the people.<ref>See [[February 26 Incident]].</ref>

[[Yanagita Kunio]] was at the forefront of study of Japanese [[folklore]]. He named members of the general public who are not political leaders and [[intellectual]]s as “jomin”. Other folklorists are [[Minakata Kumagusu]], [[Yanagi Soetsu|Yanagi Muneyoshi]] and [[Orikuchi Shinobu]].

In pre-war Japan, [[German philosophy]] was eagerly studied and introduced. However, from the late [[Meiji period|Meiji]] to [[Taishō period]], [[Kyoto School]] attempted to harmonize Western thought with Eastern thought such as [[Zen Buddhism]]. [[Nishida Kitaro]] established an original thought by fusion of Zen and Western thought. His thought is called Nishida philosophy. He insisted on pure [[experience]] in which there is no opposition between subjectivity and objectivity.<ref>''An inquiry into the good''</ref> His [[ontology]] derived from absolute nothingness. [[Watsuji Tetsuro]] criticized Western selfish [[individualism]].<ref>''The significance of ethics as the study as man''</ref> His [[ethics]] says human beings are not in an isolated [[existence]] but related existence. He insisted that individual and social beings should be aware of their own individuality and social membership. He is also well known as his ''Climate and Culture'' in which he studied the relationship between the natural environment and local lifestyle.

===Contemporary Japanese philosophy===

After World War II, many academic philosophers have published books on Continental philosophy and American philosophy. Among those, [[Ōmori Shōzō]], [[Wataru Hiromatsu]], [[Yasuo Yuasa]] and [[Takaaki Yoshimoto]] created original works under the influence of [[Marxism]], [[phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] and [[analytic philosophy]]. [[Ōmori Shōzō]] created a unique monist epistemology based on his concepts of "representation monism", "double depiction", and "language animism". Wataru Hiromatsu developed his theory of "multi-subjective ontological structure of the world". Yasuo Yuasa advanced a new theory of the body influenced by [[Merleau-Ponty]] and the body image found in [[Chinese medicine]]. Takaaki Yoshimoto is famous for his "shared illusion theory" and various philosophical essays on Japanese culture. Today, such scholars as [[Kojin Karatani]] ([[literary theory]]), [[Hitoshi Nagai]] ([[solipsism]]), [[Shigeki Noya]] ([[analytic philosophy]]), [[Masahiro Morioka]] ([[philosophy of life]]), [[Motoyoshi Irifuji]] ([[analytic philosophy]]) are considered to be characteristic philosophers in the Japanese academy.<ref>See for example, [http://www.iwanami.co.jp/.BOOKS/09/4/092161+.html Collected works of Shozo Omori] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222083024/http://www.iwanami.co.jp/.BOOKS/09/4/092161+.html |date=2015-12-22 }}, [http://enojp.org/2015/03/26/omori-shozo-bibliography/ Shozo Omori bibliography],[https://www.iwanami.co.jp/.BOOKS/09/9/092021+.html Collected works of Wataru Hiromatsu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502190649/https://www.iwanami.co.jp/.BOOKS/09/9/092021+.html |date=2015-05-02 }}, [http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA44187842 Collected works of Yasuo Yuasa], [http://www.yoshimototakaaki.com/ Collected works of Takaaki Yoshimoto], [https://www.iwanami.co.jp/.BOOKS/02/9/026486+.html Collected works of Kojin Karatani] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222110149/https://www.iwanami.co.jp/.BOOKS/02/9/026486+.html |date=2015-12-22 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Budō]]
* [[Giri (Japanese)]]
* [[Grace (prayer)|Grace]] – "itsukushimi"
* [[Haibutsu kishaku]]
* [[Hakkō ichiu]]
* [[Hermit]] – e.g., [[Yoshida Kenkō]], [[Kamono Chōmei]]
* [[Kami]]
* [[Kokutai]]
* [[Ma (negative space)]]
* [[Masao Maruyama (scholar)|Maruyama Masao]] – "Bamboo whisk" culture and "octopus pot" culture
* [[Nihonjinron]]
* [[Shame society]]
* [[Wabi-sabi]]
* [[Yamato-damashii]]
* [[Taoism in Japan]]
* [[William Vorilong]], one of the first Europeans to get some knowledge about Japanese philosophy

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==

; Texts
* James W. Heisig, Thomas P. Kasulis, John C. Maraldo (eds.), ''Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook'', Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2011.
* David A. Dilworth & Valdo H. Viglielmo, with Agustin Jacinto Zavala (eds.), ''Sourcebook for Modern Japanese Philosophy: Selected Documents'', Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998.
* R. Tsunoda, W.T.de Bary, D. Keene (eds.), ''Sources of Japanese Traditions'', New York: Columbia University Press, 1964, 2 vols.

; Studies
* H. Gene Blocker, Christopher L. Starling, ''Japanese Philosophy'', Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2001.
* Hajime Nakamura, ''History of Japanese Thought: 592–1868. Japanese Philosophy before Western Culture Entered Japan'', London – New York: Kegan Paul, 1969.
* Gino K. Piovesana, ''Contemporary Japanese Philosophical Thought'', New York: St John's University Press, 1969.

==External links==
* {{SEP|japanese-philosophy|Japanese Philosophy|Thomas Kasulis}}
* [https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/overview/japanese-philosophy/ Japanese philosophy: Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online]
* [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/japanese-aesthetics/ Japanese Aesthetics] by Graham Parkes in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

{{Philosophy topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japanese Philosophy}}
[[Category:Japanese philosophy| ]]
[[Category:Cultural history of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese literature]]