International Association for Japanese Philosophy
9th Annual Conference
Dates: July 27th – 29th, 2026
Venue: Ernst Egli Hall, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Türkiye
Organizer: International Association for Japanese Philosophy (IAJP)
Language: English
Keynote speakers
Prof. Deguchi Yasuo
Prof. Iwasawa Tomoko
Prof. Uehara Mayuko
(in alphabetical order)
Towards Life: Existential Ways of Japanese Philosophy
One of the most well-known criticisms of traditional Western philosophy by thinkers with existential sensitivities at the beginning of 20th century was that philosophy had become too abstract and too theoretical in a way that no longer amounts to anything substantial regarding authentic human experience and lived life. This critique, having some parallels with the general narrative of Lebensphilosophie at the time in Europe, was very clear in articulating the existential crisis, of which the systematic, academic and institutional philosophies (and philosophers) failed to address, due to the fact that they were already disconnected from the lived and concrete human experience of everyday reality. It was such that, philosophy had lost its touch with life itself, so to speak. Taking this situation as an indicator, it was in part that existential crisis that eventually spurred Western intellectual thought towards Japanese philosophy by the mid-20th century, with the hope that Japanese philosophy in general, and Kyoto School in particular, would provide new perspectives and maybe solutions for the existential issues at hand. For the Western philosophers noticed that the Japanese philosophers and their related texts made thoughtful and comprehensive directly relevant to their concerns.
While the interest towards Japanese philosophy (and Japanese philosophers) has been growing exponentially through the years outside Japan, it’s been observed that some scholarly studies regarding Japanese philosophy are caught up in the same overly abstract and theoretical attitude of an “armchair philosophy”, meaning, that those “existential” aspects of relevant Japanese thoughts are sometimes overlooked. This might result in the unfavourable situation that studies of Japanese philosophy become attainable and understandable only for and by a small group of experts, already well-versed in the field, with its heavy academical terminology, complex technical jargon and indigenous sociocultural-historical connotations. Within this context, there is a danger that the more inaccessible Japanese philosophy is for the common people, people without an academic background, the person on the street, the common intellectual, the average reader etc. with a genuine interest towards Japanese philosophy, the more it may lose its connection to the lived and experienced reality happening outside the meeting rooms of academic institutions and campus premises of universities. Moreover, this also means that, the concern in Japanese philosophy increasingly necessitates preexisting specializations, and substantial grasps in abstract conceptions and theoretical academic discussions beforehand. But this will result in a decrease of interaction with Japanese philosophy on an extensive and widespread level, without ever reaching to wider audiences in every layer of intellectual achievement.
This brings us to the thematic questions such as “what might be the role and functions of Japanese philosophy in people’s everyday lives in helping them deal with existential issues today”, “in what ways can Japanese thought restore that direct touch between philosophy and life”, “how do/did Japanese philosophers take these issues into consideration within their own texts and contexts” and “what are specific qualities of Japanese culture and history that might provide beneficial insights into the subject matters of those existential sensitivities and tendencies” etc. These questions will constitute the main focus of the 9th IAJP conference. With these problematics in mind, we want to highlight in this year’s conference the “existential” and “life-oriented” aspects of Japanese philosophy, working on different layers (social, cultural, historical, political, religious, ideological, anthropological, mythological, spiritual, educational, scientific, theological, fictional, artistic, psychological, folkloric, literary etc.). On this basis we welcome papers from a variety of fields of study and research. The main aim of 9th IAJP conference is to manifest and show the potential of Japanese philosophy reaching and relating to wider and diversified areas of human existence and life.
Each individual presenter will have twenty (20) minutes for presentation and ten (10) minutes for Q&A section. The length of each panel (up to five people) will be decided respectively, and according to the moderators’ requests.
The official language of the conference is English.
Submission: Please send an email to both IAJP (japanesephilosophy@gmail.com) and Engin ENZAKI (iajp2026@gmail.com), including the following information:
– Name and Surname (Surname in CAPITAL letters)
– Affiliation and position
– Title of paper/panel
– English abstract (250 and 300 words) for each individual/panelist
– 5 to 8 keywords
– Dietary restrictions, if any (Vegetarian, Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Gluten-free, Others)
The deadline for abstract submissions will be May 1st, 2026.
Participants will be notified regarding their submission acceptances as soon as possible (no later than May 10th).
Late submission is between June 20th and July 1st, but the possibility of acceptance will be considerably low.
Please note that we will charge a registration fee of 10.000 Japanese Yen (or 3000 Turkish Liras) for each participant (5000 Yen or 1500 TL for students). To be paid by cash on site.
For questions about the conference: iajp2026@gmail.com
