{"id":1735,"date":"2025-11-16T23:20:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T23:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/?p=1735"},"modified":"2025-11-16T23:20:42","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T23:20:42","slug":"nishitani-keijis-self-annihilation-and-statehood-the-paradox-of-cosmopolitan-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/2025\/11\/nishitani-keijis-self-annihilation-and-statehood-the-paradox-of-cosmopolitan-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Nishitani Keiji\u2019s Self-annihilation and Statehood: the Paradox of Cosmopolitan Freedom."},"content":{"rendered":"

John\u00a0<\/span>Namjun<\/span>\u00a0Kim argu<\/span>e<\/span>s that \u201ccosmopolitan fr<\/span>e<\/span>e<\/span>dom mobilis<\/span>e<\/span>s polit<\/span>ical proj<\/span>e<\/span>cts of\u00a0<\/span>domination<\/span>\u00a0by\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>ndowing th<\/span>e<\/span>m with a s<\/span>e<\/span>mblanc<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>thical l<\/span>e<\/span>gitimacy<\/span>\u00a0of winning th<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0approbation of thos<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0who will b<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0subjugat<\/span>e<\/span>d.<\/span>\u201d1<\/a><\/sup> In oth<\/span>e<\/span>r word<\/span>s,\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>thical promis<\/span>e<\/span>s, such as\u00a0<\/span>univ<\/span>e<\/span>rsal\u00a0<\/span>fr<\/span>e<\/span>e<\/span>dom, allow for actors to\u00a0<\/span>e<\/span>ngag<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0(knowingly or unknowingly)<\/span>\u00a0in un<\/span>e<\/span>thical practic<\/span>e<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>b<\/span>e<\/span>hind\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>shi<\/span>e<\/span>ld<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of b<\/span>e<\/span>n<\/span>e<\/span>vol<\/span>e<\/span>nc<\/span>e<\/span>.2<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Th<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0Kyoto School<\/span>\u00a0of Philosophy<\/span>, a\u00a0<\/span>group of think<\/span>e<\/span>rs promin<\/span>e<\/span>nt in\u00a0<\/span>20<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span>\u00a0c<\/span>e<\/span>ntury Japan<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0hav<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0b<\/span>e<\/span>e<\/span>n\u00a0<\/span>criticis<\/span>e<\/span>d for th<\/span>e<\/span>ir<\/span>\u00a0vi<\/span>e<\/span>w of \u2018global history<\/span>\u2019 <\/span><\/span>as a “thinly disguis<\/span>e<\/span>d justification[…]for Japan<\/span>e<\/span>s<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0aggr<\/span>e<\/span>ssion and continuing aggr<\/span>e<\/span>ssion.”3<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

This post will look at a\u00a0<\/span>short case study of\u00a0<\/span>Nishitani Keiji, a\u00a0<\/span>second-generation<\/span>\u00a0thinker of the Kyoto School and a disciple of the originator,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Nishida\u00a0<\/span>Kitar\u014d<\/span>, and his Nation of Non-Ego.\u00a0<\/span>During the symposium on \u2018Overcoming Modernity\u2019 in 1942, Nishita<\/span>n<\/span>i reflected<\/span>\u00a0that<\/span>\u00a0moral energy (<\/span>moralische<\/span>\u00a0Energie) \u201crealises a popular and national ethics by having each and\u00a0<\/span>every<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>citizen serve the state and annihilate their selves in the state.<\/span>\u201d4<\/a><\/sup> By moral energy, Nishitani means a\u00a0<\/span>\u201cfeeling of healthy morality and fresh energy,\u201d a force that\u00a0<\/span>\u201cmoves world history.\u201d5<\/a><\/sup> By<\/span>\u00a0destroying the distinction between self and other<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and concentrating<\/span>\u00a0moral energy onto\u00a0<\/span>solely th<\/span>e state, the \u201ccommunity of the people itself is made ethical.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Nishitani recognises that this\u00a0<\/span>exclusive offering up of moral energy to national interests allows room for the \u201ccolonial exploitation of other races and states.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0He argues around this by proposing\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>Japan, due to the nation\u2019s founding<\/span>\u00a0\u2018pure and clear\u2019 spirituality and<\/span>\u00a0religiosity<\/span>\u00a0of \u2018subjective nothingness\u2019<\/span>\u00a0would\u00a0<\/span>benefit<\/span>\u00a0others by\u00a0<\/span>benefitting<\/span>\u00a0itself<\/span>.6<\/a><\/sup> \u00a0In other words,\u00a0<\/span>due to Japan\u2019s founding character as a \u2018nation of non-ego,\u2019 Japan\u2019s empire\u00a0<\/span>would be cooperative and\u00a0<\/span>benevolent<\/span>\u00a0rather than a self-centred and aggressive.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With the benefit of\u00a0<\/span>hindsight,<\/span>\u00a0it is easy to see why such theory is not\u00a0<\/span>practicable<\/span>. Indeed, at a separate\u00a0<\/span>symposium,\u00a0<\/span>responding to<\/span>\u00a0Nishitani, K<\/span>\u014d<\/span>saka<\/span>\u00a0Masaaki, another member of the Kyoto school noted that\u00a0<\/span>if there was an attempt to put Nishitani\u2019s \u201cworldly ethics\u201d into practice it would be<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>as\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>the ethical system for a Greater East Asian region.\u201d7<\/a><\/sup> In practice, projects like the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere\u00a0<\/span>led to<\/span> a new Japan-centric colonial order.8<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Through this lens, Nishitani\u2019s universalism appears less as a transcendent world ethic and more as a moral vocabulary that excuses coercive power. In practice, the rhetoric of world-historical responsibility functions as a vessel for subjugation rather than liberation.<\/span>\u00a0In contemporary contexts, appeals to\u00a0<\/span>defending a<\/span>\u00a0liberal world order continue to be used as tools to\u00a0<\/span>similar<\/span>\u00a0ends<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0justifying military interventions<\/span>\u00a0and violations of international law.<\/span><\/p>\n

  1. John\u00a0<\/span>Namjun<\/span>\u00a0Kim, \u2018The imperial cosmopolitanism of Miki Kiyoshi and Tanabe Hajime\u2019 in Sven Saaler and J. Victor Koschmann (eds),\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Pan-Asianism in Modern Japanese History: Colonialism, Regionalism, and Borders<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>(<\/span><\/span>Taylor & Francis Group, 2006<\/span><\/span>), p. 195.<\/span><\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  2. Kl<\/span>e<\/span>ing<\/span>e<\/span>ld<\/span>, Paulin<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>E<\/span>ric Brown, ‘Cosmopolitanism’ in E<\/span>dward N. Zalta\u00a0(<\/span>e<\/span>d.)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Th<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0Stanford\u00a0<\/span>E<\/span>ncyclop<\/span>e<\/span>dia<\/span> of Philosophy <\/span><\/span><\/em>(Winter 2019\u00a0Edition)<\/span><\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  3. T Najita and HD Harootunian, ‘Japanese Revolt against the\u00a0West: Political and Cultural Criticism in the Twentieth Century’ in Duus P (ed.) <\/span>The\u00a0Cambridge History of Japan <\/span><\/em>(Cambridge University Press, 1989) p. 741.<\/span><\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  4. Nishitani Keiji, \u2018My Views on Overcoming Modernity\u2019 in Richard F.\u00a0<\/span>Calichman<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>ed.)(<\/span>trans.)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Overcoming modernity: cultural identity in wartime Japan\u00a0<\/span><\/span>New York, 2008) p. 60.<\/span><\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  5. David Williams (ed.),\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The Philosophy of Japanese Wartime Resistance A reading, with commentary, of the complete texts of the Kyoto School discussions of \u2018The Standpoint of World History and Japan\u2019<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>(Routledge, 2014), p. 166.<\/span><\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  6. Nishitani, Overcoming Modernity, <\/em>p. 60-2. [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  7. Williams, The Philosophy of Japan’s Wartime Resistance, <\/em>p. 219. [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  8. William L. Swan, ‘Japan\u2019s Intentions for Its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as Indicated in Its Policy Plans for Thailand.<\/span><\/span>‘ in Journal of Southeast Asian Studies,<\/span><\/span><\/em> 27:1 (1996), p. 146.<\/span><\/span> [↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    John\u00a0Namjun\u00a0Kim argues that \u201ccosmopolitan freedom mobilises political projects of\u00a0domination\u00a0by\u00a0endowing them with a semblance\u00a0of\u00a0ethical legitimacy\u00a0of winning the\u00a0approbation of those\u00a0who will be\u00a0subjugated.\u201d1 In other words,\u00a0ethical promises, such as\u00a0universal\u00a0freedom, allow for actors to\u00a0engage\u00a0(knowingly or unknowingly)\u00a0in unethical practices\u00a0behind\u00a0a\u00a0shield\u00a0of benevolence.2 The\u00a0Kyoto School\u00a0of Philosophy, a\u00a0group of thinkers prominent in\u00a020th\u00a0century Japan,\u00a0have\u00a0been\u00a0criticised for their\u00a0view of \u2018global history\u2019 as a “thinly disguised justification[…]for Japanese\u00a0aggression … Continue reading “Nishitani Keiji\u2019s Self-annihilation and Statehood: the Paradox of Cosmopolitan Freedom.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1737,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1735\/revisions\/1737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/transnationalhistory.net\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}