Nature, Disaster and Animism in Japan

Investigating various disastrous events and their aftermath in Japan, this book reveals a novel philosophy of life in contemporary Japan, which link humans, nature, and different forms of nonhumans including scientific technology. In light of the various disasters and human interventions that have affected human-nature relations, what could a dynamic theory of life or animism look like? This book investigates concrete problems in modern Japan, such as extreme pollution, nuclear accidents, and environmental destruction. In their light, the editors and contributors reconsider the works of several thinkers such as Minakata Kumagusu and Nishida Kitaro, who have proposed unique perspectives on the human-nature relationship. They also consider animistic thoughts and practices that can link humans, nature, and different forms of nonhumans in Japan, to create a novel philosophy of lifean anima philosophica. The book explores how human-nature relations in Japan have been repeatedly transformed not only by unpredictable natural disasters but also by various turbulent human activities including the dropping of atomic bombs in the Second World War, the crisis of environmental pollution during the period of high economic growth, and the nuclear accident in Fukushima in 2011. The book argues that in the wake of the experience of such destructive man-made disasters, nature in Japan today contains features that cannot be fully grasped by frames currently existing in the humanities. Nature here is neither the unspoiled environment opposed to culture nor the ancient natural surroundings presupposed by most arguments on Japanese animism.