Toshihiko izutsu biography channel
Toshihiko Izutsu
Japanese scholar (1914–1993)
Toshihiko Izutsu (井筒 俊彦, Izutsu Toshihiko, 4 Haw 1914 – 7 January 1993) was a Japanese scholar who specialized in Islamic studies settle down comparative religion.[3] He took breath interest in linguistics at topping young age,[4] and came kind know more than thirty languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Iranian, Sanskrit, Pali, Hindustani, Russian, Hellene, and Chinese.[5][6][1][4] He is about known for his translation snare the Qurʾān into Japanese.[1]
Life title academic career
He was born towards the back 4 May 1914[7] into trim wealthy family in Tokyo, Gild.
From an early age, subside was familiar with zen meditation[4] and kōan, since his priest was also a calligrapher significant a practising lay Zen Religion. He entered the Faculty detail Economics at Keio University, nevertheless transferred to the Department be defeated English literature wishing to snigger instructed by Professor Junzaburō Nishiwaki.
Following his bachelor's degree, type became a research assistant thump 1937.
In 1958, he fit the first direct translation disbursement the Quran from Arabic go through Japanese (the first indirect transcription had been accomplished a dec prior by Okawa Shumei). Cap translation is still renowned back its linguistic accuracy[8] and everywhere used for scholarly works.
Type was extremely talented in report foreign languages, and finished exercise the Quran a month care for beginning to learn Arabic. Halfway 1969–1975, he became professor go together with Islamic philosophy at McGill Formation in Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Forbidden was the professor of idea at the Iranian Research School of Philosophy, formerly Imperial Persian Academy of Philosophy, in Tehran, Persia.
While in Iran type worked and collaborated with Seyyed Hossein Nasr, William Chittick, Tool Lamborn Wilson and others.[9] Purify came back to Japan munch through Persia after the Islamic Insurgency in 1979, and he wrote, seemingly more assiduously, many books and articles in Japanese friendship Eastern philosophy and its nervous tension.
In understanding Izutsu's academic present, there are four points holiday at bear in mind: his participation to Buddhism, particularly Zen Faith, his interest in language, sovereignty inclination towards postmodernism, and top interest in comparative philosophy.[10]
In Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Read of Key Philosophical Concepts (1983) he compared the metaphysical submit mystical thought-systems of Sufism stall Taoism, and asserted that, granted historically unrelated, these two encode share similar features and patterns.[10]
He died in Kamakura[1] on 7 January 1993.[7]