The Japanese Mind: Essentials of Japanese Philosophy and Culture

by Charles Alexander Moore

A collection of essays that provide insight into Japanese culture. This book is a great buy for anyone interested in Japan.

Genres: Japan, Essays, Philosophy, Japanese Literature

357 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

260818: i enjoyed this book but i am not sure how exact his appraisal is, in his last chapter/essay, these years later (published 1982), that there remains an unbridgeable gap/conceptual dissonance between ‘east’ and ‘west’ essentials or ways of thought. and whether this text is truly meant as introduction or is rather directed to readers who have read a lot of japanese philosophy and culture. this is a collection of papers from several meetings every few years, midcentury and on in 20th century, at the east-west centre of the university of hawai'i. and as with any collection there are great and some less and all somewhat spurred by buddhism as way of thought, as philosophy, two of which are by dt suzuki: one on reason and intuition in buddhist philosophy, one on an interpretation of a zen experience, both great, both clear, both concise...

unlike me, who is somehow compelled to read all chapters, all in order, i hope you do not feel you must read all in any order, and i hope you are not frustrated by allusive and maybe unfamiliar cultural matrices. as this reading is for me 'fun'... in my thoughts the specific metaphysics, authors, works, are now sedimented in my mind and have become part of my thoughts in many times, but no i am not marking quotations, making footnotes, and perhaps i am missing some culture/language, but following the subtitle i do seem to know some of these 'essentials'. i have always read much buddhism, Japanese literature, philosophy of zen but 'failed' to become very zen in my life, because i worried it is 'anti-intellectual' but this perception is corrected here, rather as 'radical empiricism' not only of objects of the world but also objects of thought...

i start reading this after much reading and believe it is a hopeful, engaging text, that does actually appeal to philosophers and japanophiles- and introduces neither complicated new words or new architecture of thought. i have always appreciated the 'philosophical' aspects of buddhism, rather than buddhist 'religious' gestures/duties... though this is the case in any 'western' ways of thought, particularly the need to believe in cosmology and metaphysics, and the insistence of transcendent gods... i can say i am pleased to discover all of my previous thought is either correct or at least, heading that way...

[Smiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In fact, the full title “The Japanese Mind: Essentials of Japanese Philosophy and Culture” remarkably throws more light to its casual readers since its 14 papers by 13 Japanese eminent scholars have been “taken from the books resulting from the four East-West Philosophers’ Conferences held at the University of Hawaii in 1939, 1949, 1959, and 1964.” (p. vii) Thus, it looks a bit outdated when the present year, 2016, is taken into account. However, some fields like philosophy and culture seem vigorously challenging and they simply stand the test of time and human inquiry through the ages as proposed, debated and concluded by those great professors in the east.

Reading its 14 titles, of course, takes time and concentration and, I think, it is a matter of one’s own choice regardless of the order, that is, you may start with Dr Shunzo Sakamaki’s “Shinto: Japanese Ethnocentrism” or Dr Shinsho Hanayama’s “Buddhism of the One Great Vehicle (Mahayana)” or Dr D.T. Suzuki’s “An Interpretation of Zen Experience” on the topics of Shinto or Mahayana Buddhism or Zen or the other way round.

According to Dr Hajime Nakamura, “The tendency toward humanitarianism has been traditional among the Japanese. The love of others in its purified form is named “benevolence” or “compassion” (Sanskrit, maitri, karuna). The idea was introduced into Japan with the advent of Buddhism, and special emphasis has been put on it in Japanese Buddhism.” (p. 144) Interestingly, this has confirmed me on the imported religious influence as transformed from Buddhism into Japanese Buddhism; furthermore, those two Sanskrit words have long been used in Thai, that is, maitri (ไมตรี), karuna (กรุณา) so they readily help Thai readers understand the meanings and concepts.