1001Philosophers

Kuki Shuzo 1888 – 1941

Kuki Shuzo (1888 – 1941) was a Japanese philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Phenomenology and Continental Philosophy.

Kuki Shuzo was a Japanese philosopher who studied with Heinrich Rickert and Martin Heidegger in Germany before returning to teach at Kyoto Imperial University. His most original work, The Structure of Iki, offered a phenomenological analysis of the Edo aesthetic ideal of iki, a refined, resigned, and coquettish style, as the expression of a distinctly Japanese mode of being-in-the-world. The Problem of Contingency placed the category of chance at the heart of metaphysics, arguing that the contingent is not a defect of the necessary but its precondition, and exerted a quiet influence on later Japanese and continental thought.

Key facts

Nationality
Japanese
Era
Contemporary
Movements
Phenomenology, Continental Philosophy

Selected quotes

  • Attributed to Kuki Shuzo:

    “Iki is a refinement that has come to know resignation.”

  • Attributed to Kuki Shuzo:

    “Contingency is the encounter of independent series; it is the fact that the world need not have been thus.”

  • Attributed to Kuki Shuzo:

    “A culture's mode of being is sedimented in its aesthetic ideals.”

  • Attributed to Kuki Shuzo:

    “Necessity dreams of the contingent; without contingency, the necessary would be empty.”

  • Attributed to Kuki Shuzo:

    “The structure of iki is the structure of a worldly attunement, not of an isolated feeling.”

Frequently asked about Kuki Shuzo

When did Kuki Shuzo live?
Kuki Shuzo was born in 1888 and died in 1941.
Where was Kuki Shuzo from?
Kuki Shuzo was a Japanese philosopher of the Contemporary era.
What philosophical movements is Kuki Shuzo associated with?
Kuki Shuzo was associated with Phenomenology and Continental Philosophy.
What was Kuki Shuzo known for?
Kuki Shuzo was a Japanese philosopher who studied with Heinrich Rickert and Martin Heidegger in Germany before returning to teach at Kyoto Imperial University.
How many quotes are attributed to Kuki Shuzo?
There are 5 attributed quotations from Kuki Shuzo in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.