Inoue Tetsujirō (井上 哲次郎, February 1, 1855 – December 7, 1944) was a Japanese philosopher, poet and educator. He is known for introducing Western philosophy in Japan and for being a pioneer in Eastern philosophy. He became the first Japanese professor of philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University, and also served as the 2nd President of Daito Bunka Academy.
Inoue Tetsujirō | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 1, 1855 |
| Died | November 7, 1944 (aged 89) |
| Occupation | Philosopher |
He condemned Christianity as fundamentally incompatible with the theocratic, polytheistic Japanese polity and thus considered its followers "inherently disloyal" to Japan. He compiled A Dictionary of Philosophy (哲学字彙, Tetsugaku jii), which was first published in 1881, again in 1884, and finally in 1912.
Biography
editInoue was born on February 1, 1855, in Dazaifu, Chikuzen Province (present-day Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture), the third son of physician Funakoshi Shuntatsu.[1]
After moving to Hakata to study English in 1868, he studied Western studies at Kōunkan in Nagasaki. An outstanding student, he was sent to Kaisei Academy in Tokyo in 1875, after which he proceeded to Tokyo Imperial University to study philosophy. In 1878, he was adopted by Inoue Tetsuei. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1880,[1] he composed Chinese poems, one of which inspired the composition of the poem White Aster by Ochiai Naobumi.
He helped introduce Western philosophy in Japan and became the first Japanese professor of philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University. He was also a pioneer in Eastern philosophy.[2][3]
He was also a member of the International Education Movement. He wrote a commentary on Japan's Imperial Rescript on Education, wherein he encouraged the Japanese people to support the state and imperialism.[4] Inoue's support of imperialism established him as opposed to the ideas of other proponents of International Education, such as Shimonaka Yasaburo, Noguchi Entaro, and Izumi Tetsu.
Inoue was the most prolific and prominent promoter of bushido ideology in Japan before 1945, authoring dozens of works and giving hundreds of lectures on the subject over almost half a century.[5]
See also
edit- Aizawa Seishisai, who was similarly distrustful of Christian converts
References
edit- ^ a b Nihon dai hyakka zensho. Shōgakkan (Shohan ed.). 2001. 井上哲次郎. ISBN 4-09-526001-7. OCLC 14970117.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Imanishi, Junkichi (2001). 井上哲次郎の開拓者的意義 印度學佛教學研究 第49巻第2号. The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies 日本印度学仏教学会. pp. 526–532.
- ^ 桑, 兵 (2013). 近代「中国哲学」の起源 近代東アジアにおける翻訳概念の展開 京都大学人文科学研究所附属現代中国研究センター研究報告. 京都大学人文科学研究所附属現代中国研究センター. p. 151.
- ^ Dummings, William E. Education and Equality in Japan. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ; 1970.
- ^ Oleg Benesch. Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushido in Modern Japan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. ISBN 0198706626, ISBN 9780198706625
- Eddy Dufourmont.Is Confucianism philosophy ? The answers of Inoue Tetsujirō and Nakae Chōmin, in Nakajima Takahiro ed.,Whither Japanese Philosophy? II Reflections through other Eyes (UTCP Booklet 14), 2010, p. 71-89.
http://utcp.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/publications/pdf/UTCPBooklet14_04_Dufourmont.pdf
External links
editLes Sectes bouddhiques japonaises, E.Steinilber-Oberlin, K. Matsuo, Paris 1930, pp. 293/4