was a Japanese

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and esteemed

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of medieval, renaissance, early modern, and Kantian philosophy at the

University of Kyoto , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = 22 ...

during the early 20th century. He was one of the leading thinkers of the

Kyoto School The is the name given to the Japanese philosophical movement centered at Kyoto University that assimilated Western philosophy and religious ideas and used them to reformulate religious and moral insights unique to the East Asian cultural tradit ...

. His son, Shinichirō Tomonaga, is also renowned for receiving the 1965

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

for the development of

quantum electrodynamics In particle physics, quantum electrodynamics (QED) is the relativistic quantum field theory of electrodynamics. In essence, it describes how light and matter interact and is the first theory where full agreement between quantum mechanics and spec ...

Life

Tomonaga was born in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...

the second son of Tomonaga Jinjirō, a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

of the

Ōmura Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Saga Prefecture.

, in 1871. After graduating from Nagasaki Ōmura Junior High School (now known as Nagasaki Prefectural Omura High School) and then First Higher School, he entered the

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. After graduating, he became the assistant professor of philosophy at

Kyoto Imperial University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff = 3,978 (Total Staff) , students = ...

in 1907 and then full professor in 1913. He mainly lectured on

Western philosophy Western philosophy encompasses the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The word ' ...

and

history of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and along with Nishida Kitarō and

Tanabe Hajime was a Japanese philosopher of science, particularly of mathematics and physics. In 1947 he became a member of the Japan Academy, and in 1950 he received the Order of Cultural Merit. Tanabe was a key member of what has become known in the Wes ...

, constituted the important intellectual

movement of modern Japan. Tomonaga was well known to be an unprolific writer but left a prestigious body of work and was mentor to many renowned Japanese philosophers, including Amano Teiyū, Obara Kuniyoshi, Yamauchi Tokuryū and Kosaka Masaaki. He retired from

in 1931 and then became full professor at

Ōtani University is a private Buddhist university in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. Ōtani University is a coeducation institution with an emphasis on Buddhist studies. A two-year private junior college is associated with the university. The university is associated wit ...

Works

* (1902) ''An Introduction to Philosophy'' (哲学綱要). * (1905) ''A Dictionary of Philosophy'' (哲学辞典). * (1907) ''Philosophy and Life'' (哲学と人生). * (1909) ''Philosophy of Person and Philosophy of Beyond Person'' (人格の哲学と超人格の哲学). * (1916) ''The History of Self-consciousness in relation to the Self of Modernity: New Idealism and Its Context'' (近世に於ける「我」の自覚史新理想主義と其背景). * (1922) ''Kant's Theory of Peace'' (カントの平和論). * (1925) ''Decartes'' (デカート). * (1936) ''Meditations of Descartes''(デカルト省察録) * (1948) ''A Short Work for the History of Philosophy: Rousseau, Kant, and Lotze'' (哲学史的小品ルソー・カント・ロッツェ). * (1949) "Philosophy From Renaissance to Kant" in Vol. 1 of the ''History of Western Philosophy'' (西洋近世哲学史第1冊ルネッサンス及び先カントの哲学). ;Collected essays * Tomonaga Sanjūrō, ''The Collected Essays of Prof. Tomonoga in Honor of His 60th Birthday'', eds. Amano Tenyū (Tokyo, Iwanami Shoten, 1931).

References

* Shibazaki Atsuchi, ''A Recognition of the International Relation in Modern Japan: Tomonaga Sanjūrō and "Kant's Theory of Peace"'' (Tokyo, Sōbunsha, 2009). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanjuro, Tomonaga Kyoto School 20th-century Japanese philosophers 1871 births 1951 deaths People from Nagasaki Prefecture