Abstract

This chapter examines some representative cases of Japanese intellectuals’ discussions of Friedrich Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence from the Meiji period to the early Shōwa period (roughly before the Second World War). The intellectuals discussed in this chapter include Anesaki Chōfū 姉崎嘲風, Tobari Chikufū 登張竹風, Natsume Sōseki 夏目漱石, Watsuji Tetsurō 和辻哲郎, Abe Jirō 阿部次郎 and Kuki Shūzō 九鬼周造. In examining their reception of eternal recurrence, this chapter will analyse its emotional or affective moments, and thereby contribute to the theme of ‘Emotion in Japanese Philosophy’, as a case study of the emotional features of the reception of a philosophical idea or theory. In summary, the characteristic of their reception is that they tried to understand the idea of eternal recurrence by incorporating it into the system of Japanese traditions, such as Kamakura Buddhism (Jōdo Shinshū and Zen Buddhism) and Bushidō. It is also remarkable that, based on their own reading of eternal recurrence, they expressed a wide range of emotions, including rejection, surprise, courage and delight.