Exploring Japanese Thought

Abstract

Japanese history is filled with many great writers and thinkers whose names live on today. While some are well-known abroad, like the Zen scholar Suzuki Daisetsu and the writer Miyazawa Kenji, others remain confined to the realm of scholarship. This book introduces forty-five works of thought to a general readership, put into context with insightful and evocative commentary. Grouped into seven themes, each essay deals with topics such as the relationship between people and nature, the living and the dead, introspection to secular engagement, the nature of the physical body, redefining Buddhism, traditional thought and culture throughout the ages, and the function of the state in society. By examining the ideas of the past, Exploring Japanese Thought offers wisdom for living in the present.