Search Results (28)

This article explores how Japanese anime has become a space of theological imagination, where viewers encounter the divine not as fixed dogma but as a lived process. Through symbolic analysis of five spiritually resonant anime series: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, To Your Eternity, Sunday Without God, Code Geass, and The Promised Neverland, the study examines how characters such as Madoka, Fushi, Ai, Lelouch, Emma, and Mujika embody a form of theosis that unfolds through memory, sacrifice, refusal, and care. Rather than representing God as omnipotent or remote, these narratives invite a vision of the divine as vulnerable, suffering, and becoming, emerging through grief, relationships, and transformations. Drawing on theological and philosophical frameworks, especially process theology and symbolic interpretation, the article argues that anime collapses the traditional boundaries between theology and philosophy by embodying both in story. In these narrative worlds, divinity is not merely represented, it is approached, co-created, and remembered. The sacred is not a theory to master, but an encounter to undergo. Anime, thus, does not offer theology as a system but rather theology as a journey: a reenchanted vision of the world where God is still becoming. Full article

Humor creation is presented as a modality in human communication involving “double framing”, in which a scenario, understanding, or agreed-upon reality is presented and is suddenly revealed to be something else by being recontextualized during the humorous presentation. This analysis utilizes Ba Theory, as articulated in the philosophy of Kitaro Nishida and Shimizu. Ba is a cognitive space for developing relationships, both interpersonal and in relationships to shared environments. A state of Ba arises in social interaction, requiring the need for pragmemic triggers to initiate creation and sustaining of a Ba state. The creation of humor requires that participants be in a state of Ba with each other, sharing the knowledge and understanding of the frames to which they are exposed. Examples are provided from Japanese, Chinese, German, Persian, Arabic, and English humor creation. Full article

Traditional Japanese architecture is known for its open, ambiguous spatial boundaries (“kyokai”), which integrate nature and dwelling through Zen/Shinto philosophies. Yet modern urban housing, driven by high-density minimalism, flattens spatial hierarchies and erodes these rich boundary concepts. This study aims to explore how Japanese architect Yoshiji Takehara reinterprets traditional spatial principles to reconstruct the interior–exterior relationships in modern housing through a mixed-methods approach—including a literature review, case studies, and semi-structured interviews—verifying the hypothesis that he achieves the modern translation of traditional “kyokai” through strategies of boundary expansion and ambiguity. Analyzing 78 independent residential projects by Takehara and incorporating his interview texts, the research employs spatial typology and statistical methods to quantify the characteristics of boundary configurations, such as building contour morphology, opening orientations, and transitional space types, to reveal the internal logic of his design strategies. This study identifies two core strategies through which Takehara redefines spatial boundaries: firstly, clustered building layouts, multi-directional openings, and visual connections between courtyards and private functional spaces extend interface areas, enhancing interactions between nature and daily life; secondly, in-between spaces like corridors and doma (earthen-floored transitional zones), double-layered fixtures, and floor-level variations blur physical and psychological boundaries, creating multilayered permeability. Case studies demonstrate that his designs not only inherit traditional elements such as indented plans and semi-outdoor buffers but also revitalize the essence of “dwelling” through contemporary expressions, achieving dynamic visual experiences and poetic inhabitation within limited sites via complex boundary configurations and fluid thresholds. This research provides reusable boundary design strategies for high-density urban housing, such as multi-directional openings and buffer space typologies, and fills a research gap in the systematic translation of traditional “kyokai” theory into modern architecture, offering new insights for reconstructing the natural connection in residential spaces. Full article

Yinyuan Longqi 隱元隆琦 was a pivotal figure in Sino–Japanese cultural exchange. His journey to Japan to propagate Buddhism, founding of the Ōbaku sect (Huangbo zong 黃檗宗), emphasis on the orthodoxy of his Zen teachings, and crafting of an “authentic” identity profoundly influenced Japanese Buddhism and culture. While existing studies have predominantly explored the socio–historical dimensions of Yinyuan’s construction of “authenticity” (benzhen 本真), his extensive corpus of Zen verses remains understudied. By tracing the “Huangbo” (Ōbaku) 黃檗 imagery in his writings, this study addresses how Yinyuan constructed “authenticity” through his poetic works. Before his journey to Japan, Yinyuan employed “Huangbo” imagery to articulate his personal situation and sentiment, elevating it into a symbolic representation of inner “authenticity”. In the early days after Yinyuan went to Japan, driven by the dual imperatives of promoting orthodox Zen and responding to Japanese expectations of Zen origins, he intricately intertwined “Huangbo” with Zen doctrines, transforming the imagery into a marker of “authenticity” that embodied both orthodox Zen philosophy and sectarian identity. Following the establishment of Kyoto’s Mount Huangbo, Yinyuan further reshaped the “Huangbo” imagery into a trans-geographical and cultural symbol of sectarian dharma lineage, thereby ensuring the spiritual continuity of “authenticity” across Chinese and Japanese Huangbo traditions. This process not only reflects the cross-cultural transmission of Buddhism from China to Japan but also serves as a critical lens for examining the interplay between globalization and localization in religious development. Full article

This study examines the identity and characteristics of modern Korean Buddhist education through an analysis of the religious studies lecture notes of a student from the Buddhist Central Seminary (Pulgyo Chungang Hangnim, 佛敎中央學林), preserved at Songgwang-sa Temple. Established in 1915 and operating until 1919, the seminary introduced a significant shift from traditional scripture-centered monastic education to a modern academic system. Western and Japanese academic traditions, religious studies, philosophy, and the general educational system influenced its curriculum. The lecture notes provide insight into the adoption of modern academic disciplines within Korean Buddhist education, revealing the influence of Japanese religious studies and Western comparative religion. They also demonstrate the possibility of early introduction of religious studies as an educational field in Korea. The seminary played a dual role as a hub for national education and reflection of the colonial context, embodying the complexities of nationalism and colonial influence during Japanese occupation. This study underscores the need for further scholarly exploration to understand the multifaceted nature of modern Korean Buddhist education and its unique role within the broader historical context of East Asian Buddhist history. Full article

Influenced by Hegel, modern Chinese philosophers (e.g., Mou Zong-San, Lao Sze-Kwang, etc.) and Japanese philosophers (e.g., Nishida Kitaro) were inclined to narrate Chinese or Japanese culture in terms of the Hegelian concept of ‘spirit’. Nevertheless, the Hegelian philosophy of culture assumes the existence of an unchangeable cultural spirit and was therefore criticised by Watsuji Tetsuro. Watsuji denies the existence of an unchangeable cultural spirit and argues that cultures arise from the aidagara (interactions) between Ningen (human society) and Fudo (nature). Yet Watsuji’s narration of culture overemphasised the aidagara between Ningen and Fudo but disregarded that culture may also arise from the aidagara among cultures. Therefore, by reinterpreting Watsuji’s concept of aidagara, this paper proposes the concept of Bungen to explain the formation of cultures in terms of intercultural interactions and therefore highlight the diversity of East Asian cultures. Full article

The entrepreneurial ecosystem is quite complicated because of the presence of numerous stakeholders and the inclusion of multicultural and social elements in diverse communities. The role of entrepreneurship education in developing entrepreneurial skills and aptitude has evolved. The collaboration between universities, companies, and organizations in the collaborative online international learning (COIL) approach plays an important role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to enhance value co-creation. To extend the limited literature on value creation through entrepreneurship education among stakeholders and analyze the entrepreneurial ecosystem from a micro perspective, this study investigated why companies and organizations support universities at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels to foster entrepreneurial ecosystems. Following a global career course using the COIL approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted in person or via Zoom with four representatives of the Embassy of Canada to Japan, Ernst & Young, and Manulife from April to May 2022. The modified grounded theory approach was used to analyze the responses from three institutions. The results showed that students were provided with the opportunity to solve actual issues that the three institutions faced and the students’ perspectives were considered to identify and develop high-quality proposals at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. The institutional philosophy, organizational engagement and development, and personal development of the representatives of these institutions effectively create values within universities while also forming entrepreneurial ecosystems at Japanese and Canadian companies, organizations, and universities to help build the next generation of leaders. This study has important implications through its contribution to society and the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in collaboration with the academic, industrial, and public sectors. Full article

In this paper, we will present Rinzai practices from Zen Masters Ikkyū Sōjun (一休宗純, 1394–1481) and Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴, 1686–1769) as offering a distinctive kind of spiritual exercise: disruptive reorientation to transcendence (enlightenment) through immanence (a return to the world in all its ugly distractions, beauty, and insight). This paper seeks to explore Hadot’s philosophy as a way of life (PWL) through Rinzai Zen’s unique and often bizarre spiritual exercises. In so doing, this paper hopes to explore new grounds for PWL spiritual exercises in the eccentricities of Japanese Rinzai Zen masters whose approaches wander and diverge yet remain distinctively Rinzai in nature. In the first section, we provide some background on treating spiritual exercises in an intercultural context and explore the exemplarily disruptive spiritual exercises that Rinzai Zen offers PWL practice, especially through poetry, kōans, and meditation in the midst of everyday activity. We then turn to particular examples found in the lives and spiritual practices of Ikkyū and Hakuin. We conclude with reflections on how Rinzai Zen and PWL inform one another through the exploration of “spiritual exercise” and disruption not only as scholarly pursuits but also in terms of our own arts of mindful living today. Full article

A recent book by Romaric Jannel on the work of the 20th Century Japanese philosopher Yamauchi Tokuryū is reviewed as a prolegomenon in this journal to more detailed studies of Oriental philosophy. Emphasis is placed on the similarities and overlaps of Eastern and Western thought. Full article

Tales of Times Now Past (Konjaku Monogatarishū 今昔物語集) is a Japanese setsuwa (anecdotes) collection dating from the early twelfth century. Originally contained in 31 volumes, it includes more than one thousand systematically arranged tales from India, China, and Japan. Despite the fact that Daoism was rejected by the Japanese imperial court as an organized religion, Daoist philosophies and practical systems found their ways into Japan, having a significant and profound influence over Japanese esoteric cosmology and folk beliefs. This article takes the Lord of Mount Tai (CN: Taishan Fujun; JP: Taizan Fukun 泰山府君) as the focus and examines two pertinent stories in Tales of Times Now Past. By placing the texts in a broader historical, religious, and comparative Japan–China perspective, I examine the reshaping of Daoist elements and traditional Chinese philosophical principles in these two stories and thus demonstrate how the Daoist fragments transmitted to Japan were transformed into an integral part of the orthodox structure by the time of the late Heian period in the pursuit of a more organized form of government. Full article

Eurocode 8 is currently under revision, and their amended versions will be available in the next few years. One of the major novelties of the second generation of Eurocode 8 is a specific chapter for the seismic design of aluminium buildings (i.e., Chapter 15) that is missing in the current EN1998-1:2005. Thus, the second generation of Eurocode 8 is the first European set of rules for seismic-resisting aluminium structures. These new rules are mainly based on the current Japanese recommendations, but adapted to Eurocode philosophy. The main novelties of the second generation of Eurocode 8 and the requirements for seismic-resistant aluminium structures are summarised in the present article. Full article

Judo is a well-known Japanese martial art that also features in Olympic games. Recently, an increasing interest has been observed in the application of judo as a multicomponent exercise, with a growing body of evidence showing that this feature improves physical and cognitive performance in older adults. Therefore, this review highlights the benefits of judo training in preventing physical and cognitive decline in older adults. Specifically, first, this review outlines the basic characteristics of judo (philosophy, match, and training). Subsequently, prior research examining the impacts of judo training on the physical and cognitive aspects of elderly individuals is reviewed. Thereafter, the brain mechanisms underlying the effects of judo training in improving physical and cognitive performance are discussed. Throughout this review, judo training demonstrated some positive effects on physical (gait and balance, among others) and cognitive (memory and executive function) function in older adults. These positive effects are attributed to a variety of changes in the brain (e.g., increased neurotrophic factor expression and increased cerebral blood flow, among others) that affect different brain regions and networks both functionally and structurally. From these findings, this review concludes that judo training can be an effective way to maintain and prevent physical and cognitive decline in older adults. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to revisit the concepts of a third in logic and philosophy that have existed since antiquity, widely separated in time and space, but expressing what we consider a higher level of understanding, without going outside the boundaries of science. We claim that the logic applicable to real complex processes combines a non-standard Western “Logic in Reality” and insights from classical Indian and contemporary Japanese logics for which the former provides the necessary grounding. Full article

It has been nearly 200 years since the Daodejing and Daoist thought was first introduced to Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Although the study of Daoist philosophy and Laozi in Russia started relatively late, the Daodejing has been the most translated classic of Chinese culture in Russia. The early dissemination of the Daodejing in Russia was deeply influenced by the government and religion, and there were some controversial and neglected materials that were difficult to verify due to the lack of documents and manuscripts. For example, the first translation manuscript of the Daodejing in Russia has almost become a rare book that is nearly impossible to find and inconvenient to read; the authorship of the first article introducing Laozi’s thought in Russia remains a mystery; the first complete translation was completed by a Japanese theologian living in Russia, but it has not received enough research attention. The insufficient research on the early dissemination of Laozi studies in Russia has had a negative impact on the studies of Laozi in Russia. Therefore, this paper, on the basis of various documentary and manuscript references, aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of the early dissemination of Laozi studies in Russia, paying particular attention to the three early Russian documents in the 19th century about the Daodejing, namely, the first translation manuscript of the Daodejing, the first article introducing Laozi’s thought in Russia, and the first complete Russian translation of the Daodejing. A detailed review of these three documents can help to correct some misconceptions and misunderstandings of the early dissemination of the Daodejing in Russia, and, to some extent, reveal the early dissemination characteristics of Laozi studies in Russia. Full article

There is no corporal philosophy at the level of other philosophical subdisciplines. A research line has begun whose ultimate goal is to determine whether a somatic philosophy can be built. From a pragmatist and biopolitical approach, the present study investigated why it has not been possible to develop grounded somatic philosophy. As an answer, the “idealist–dualist episteme” is described, which encompasses invariants in the history of idealist philosophy at the ontological, gnoseological, ethical–political, and pedagogical levels. These constants reflect somatophobia, as well as an ontological and gnoseological disregard of the body, which has led to the irrelevance of the body and corporeality in philosophy until the arrival of the “bodily turn”. The critique of this prevailing idealism and dualism will enable a review of current approaches based on these positions, such as embodiment, enactivism, embodied cognition, or embodied artificial intelligence. It opens up a new philosophical line with a universalis scope that is open to the eclectic construction of a pragmatic corporal philosophy that takes into account Chinese, Japanese, or African philosophies. Full article