Kierkegaard and Japanese Thought [Hardcover]

Kierkegaard knew nothing of Japanese philosophy yet the links between his own ideas and Japanese philosophers are remarkable. The book examines Kierkegaard in terms of Shinto, Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, the Samurai, the famous Kyoto school of Japanese philosophers, and in terms of pivotal Japanese thinkers who were influenced by Kierkegaard.Preface; J.Giles Introduction: Kierkegaard among the Temples of Kamakura; J.Giles A Short History of Kierkegaard's Reception in Japan; K.Masugata Japanese Pure Land Buddhism and Kierkegaard; H.Yamashita A Zen Understanding of Kierkegaard's Existential Thought; E.Nishimura To Practise One Thing: Kierkegaard through the Eyes of Dogen; J.Giles Aeterno Modo : The Expression of Integral Consciousness in Kierkegaard and Dogen; I.Mills Truth, Paradox, and Silence: Hakuin and Kierkegaard; A.Graham Living with Death: Kierkegaard and the Samurai; A.Buben Kierkegaard and Nishida: Ways to the Non-Substanitial; E.Hanaoka The Religious Thought of Nishida and Kierkegaard; S.Tsukiyama Kobayashi's Spirit of Unselfishness and Kierkegaard's Faith; M.Mizuta Mori and Kierkegaard:?Experience and Existence; M.Morita Otani: A Kierkegaardian Fellow of the Dead; K.Masugata

The affinities between Kierkegaard's thought and elements in Japanese religion, philosophy, and culture have long been noted. Until now, however, the relationship has rarely been subjected to sustained scrutiny -at least, not in Western literature. This collection therefore makes a unique and truly important contribution to a discussion that will enrich both Kierkegaard studies and the wider cause of dialogue between Japanese and Western philosophy. Controversially rejecting the claim that Kierkegaard needs to be assessed against his own theistic background, James Giles introduces a range of contributions that reflect Zen, Pure Land, and Shint? views of life, and that engage both classic Japanese figures such as D?gen as well as modern writers and thinkers such as Kobayal“ä