1001Philosophers

Inoue Tetsujiro Quotes

Inoue Tetsujiro was a Japanese philosopher of the Meiji and Taisho eras and one of the founders of academic philosophy in modern Japan. After early studies under foreign teachers in Tokyo and a long period of study in Germany under Eduard von Hartmann, he became the first Japanese national to hold a chair in Western philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University. The quotes below are attributed to Inoue Tetsujiro, organized by topic.

Inoue Tetsujiro on Knowledge

  • Attributed to Inoue Tetsujiro:

    “Eastern and Western philosophy must be brought into dialogue, each enriched by the other.”

  • Attributed to Inoue Tetsujiro:

    “Translation is the labor of philosophy in a time of cultural meeting.”

Read all Inoue Tetsujiro quotes on Knowledge

Inoue Tetsujiro on Politics

  • Attributed to Inoue Tetsujiro:

    “Loyalty rightly directed is the foundation of every social order.”

Inoue Tetsujiro on Time

  • Attributed to Inoue Tetsujiro:

    “The history of thought in Japan is itself a history of philosophy.”

Inoue Tetsujiro on Virtue

  • Attributed to Inoue Tetsujiro:

    “The Confucian and Buddhist heritage shapes the Japanese moral imagination.”