The “Spiritual Oriental Philosophy” of Izutsu Toshihiko: Toward a “Structuralist Phenomenology”

Abstract

In his work, Izutsu Toshihiko attempted to set the groundwork for a unified “Oriental Philosophy” that could contribute to global thought in the same way that Western Philosophy has. To this end, Izutsu sought out a method that could offer a non-arbitrary way to unify the various traditions of the Orient. Specifically, in addition to some hints he took from structural linguistics, Izutsu focused on one element that is common throughout the various traditions of the East: the experience of the manifestation of “The One” in ascetic-training. This is referred to by Izutsu as the “Spiritual Orient”.

In this contribution, we shall attempt to clarify the meaning of this concept of “Spiritual Orient”, while also showing how it can serve as a new direction for phenomenological inquiry. We start by looking at the popular demand for a “Japanese Philosophy” that lurked in the background of Izutus’s own “Oriental Philosophy”. In the second section, we contrast this popular notion with Izutsu’s conception of “Oriental Philosophy” as the “Spiritual Orient”. Here, we interpret the meaning of the word “Spiritual” in the “Spiritual Orient” to mean a “double phenomenological reduction.” While doing so, we also emphasize the need for a “radicalized transcendental reduction” from the perspective of transcendental phenomenology. In the third section, we use Izutsu’s triadic diagram to better understand this reduction. In the final section, we shall analyze the phenomenality of the “Spiritual Orient” by using the example of the mandala. As a result of these considerations, we will be able to understand Izutsu’s “Spiritual Oriental Philosophy” as a new “Structuralist Phenomenology.”

Trans. Note: In this paper, the term Oriental is utilized as the translation for Izutsu’s key concept of tōyō (東洋). The decision to use the word “Orient” as opposed to the alternative translation of “East” stems from both a need to retain the stronger nuances coming from the word, as well as to match with the phrasing found in the work Henry Corbin, who shall be mentioned later on. The political implications of Izutsu’s thought and its connections to the “Orient” will be spelled out in detail later on in this contribution.

Use of the words “Orient” and “Oriental” has been extended to all instantiations of the word tōyō (東洋) not only for Izutsu’s specific use of the word as a philosophical concept. This is done both to avoid confusion as well as to avoid somehow depriving Izutsu’s usage of the word its inherent connection to the various traditions of the “East/Orient” (which, again, shall be discussed at greater length over the course of this contribution).