was a Japanese
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, poet and educator. He is known for introducing
Western philosophy
Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre ...
in Japan and for being a pioneer in
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...
. He became the first Japanese professor of philosophy at
Tokyo Imperial University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
, and also served as the 2nd President of
Daito Bunka Academy.
He condemned
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
as fundamentally incompatible with the
theocratic
Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's daily a ...
,
polytheistic
Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one Deity, god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, ...
Japanese polity and thus considered its followers "inherently disloyal" to Japan. He compiled , which was first published in 1881, again in 1884, and finally in 1912.
Biography
Inoue was born on February 1, 1855, in
Dazaifu,
Chikuzen Province
was a province of Japan in the area of northern Kyūshū, corresponding to part of north and western Fukuoka Prefecture. Chikuzen bordered on Hizen to the east, and Buzen east, and Bungo to the southeast. Its abbreviated form name was (a ...
(present-day Dazaifu,
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...
), the third son of
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
Funakoshi Shuntatsu.
After moving to
Hakata
is a ward of the city of Fukuoka in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Many of Fukuoka Prefecture and Fukuoka City's principal government, commercial, retail and entertainment establishments are located in the district. Hakata-ku is also the location o ...
to study English in 1868, he studied Western studies at Kōunkan in
Nagasaki
, officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
. An outstanding student, he was sent to Kaisei Academy in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
in 1875, after which he proceeded to
Tokyo Imperial University
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
to study philosophy. In 1878, he was adopted by Inoue Tetsuei. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1880,
he composed Chinese poems, one of which inspired the composition of the poem
''White Aster'' by
Ochiai Naobumi.
He helped introduce
Western philosophy
Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre ...
in Japan and became the first Japanese professor of philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University. He was also a pioneer in
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...
.
He was also a member of the International Education Movement. He wrote a commentary on Japan's
Imperial Rescript on Education
The , or IRE for short, was signed by Emperor Meiji of Japan on 30 October 1890 to articulate government policy on the guiding principles of education on the Empire of Japan. The 315 kanji, character document was read aloud at all important school ...
, wherein he encouraged the Japanese people to support the state and
imperialism
Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
. 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
is a Samurai moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. Its origins date back to the Kamakura period, but it was formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significantl ...
ideology in Japan before 1945, authoring dozens of works and giving hundreds of lectures on the subject over almost half a century.
[Oleg Benesch. ]
Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushido in Modern Japan.
' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. ,
See also
*
Aizawa Seishisai
, born , was a Japanese samurai (retainer of the Mito Domain) and a nationalist thinker of the Mito school during the late shogunate period.
In 1799 he became involved in the compilation of the '' Dai Nihon-shi'' (Great History of Japan) bein ...
, who was similarly distrustful of Christian converts
References
* 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
National Diet Library on Inoue TetsujirōLes Sectes bouddhiques japonaises, E.Steinilber-Oberlin, K. Matsuo, Paris 1930, pp. 293/4
1855 births
1944 deaths
Japanese critics of Christianity
Anti-Christian sentiment in Japan
19th-century Japanese philosophers
20th-century Japanese philosophers
University of Tokyo alumni
Leipzig University alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
Academic staff of Daito Bunka University
Academic staff of the University of Tokyo
{{japan-philosopher-stub