Toshihiko Izutsu
Toshihiko Izutsu ( Japanese 井筒 俊彦 , Izutsu Toshihiko ; * May 4, 1914 , † July 1, 1993 ) was a Japanese scholar of Islam and philosopher who had an unusual talent for languages.
Origin and education
The son of a pomade producer began to practice zazen and kōans at an early age under the guidance of his father . While attending Aoyama Gakuin Middle School, he came into contact with Christianity, from which he soon turned away. Instead, he dealt with Kitaro Nishida's philosophy.
In April 1931 he enrolled at Keiō University, initially in the economics faculty, but soon switched to the faculty of English literature. There he studied under Professor Junzaburō Nishiwaki . After graduating in 1934, he received an assistant position in 1937.
To be able to read the Old Testament , he had started learning Hebrew . He acquired the basics of Arabic from a German-language textbook, at the same time he was also learning Russian, ancient Greek and Latin. In total, he learned more than ten languages independently. Later, his knowledge is said to have extended to over thirty languages.
academic career
During the war he served the military as an interpreter for Central Asian languages and Arabic, with which he now increasingly occupied himself. He was active in the Kaikyōken Kenkyūshō ("Institute of the Islamic World") and from 1942 the Tōa Kenkyūshō (East Asia Institute; complete: 東 亜 経 済 調査 局 ・ 西北 研究所 , "East Asian Economic Archives , Northwest Institute").
In 1950, Izutsu became an assistant professor of linguistics at Keiō University. From 1954 he held the chair for philosophy of language and (from 1962) Islamic philosophy .
In 1957 he published a scientific translation of the Koran into Japanese.
1969-75 he took over the professorship for Islamic philosophy at McGill University in Montreal .
This was followed in 1975 by the professorship for comparative oriental philosophy at the Imperial Iranian Academy for Philosophy in Tehran .
He retired from Keiō University in 1981.
His studies were not limited to religious comparative Islamic-scientific topics, but also extended to other areas, e.g. B. the “Concept of Man in Russia in the 19th Century” or “Philosophy of Zen Buddhism ”. He pursued a meta-philosophical approach to comparative religious studies, which was based on rigorous linguistic study of classical metaphysical texts, similar to the approach of a Philosophia perennis at Leibniz .
Izutsu's "Gesammelte Werke" appeared in Japanese in 11 volumes from 1991–93. In 1982 he was awarded the Asahi Prize for his Islamic studies and his research in comparative religious studies .
Bibliography (selection)
- Consciousness and Beings ISBN 978-3891298855
- Philosophy of Zen Buddhism ISBN 978-3499554285
- The theory of the beautiful in Japan (with Toyo Izutsu) ISBN 978-3770120659
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Blurb to: Seeing God Everywhere: Essays on Nature and the Sacred
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Izutsu, Toshihiko |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 井筒 俊彦 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese scholar of Islam and linguist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 4, 1914 |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 1, 1993 |