was a Japanese scholar who specialized in

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

and

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including human migration, migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study ...

. He took an interest in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

at a young age, and came to know more than thirty languages, including

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, Turkish,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

, Hindustani,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

. He is widely known for his translation of the

Qurʾān The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (''Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides i ...

into Japanese.

Life and academic career

He was born on 4 May 1914 into a wealthy family in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. From an early age, he was familiar with

zen meditation ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...

and

kōan A ( ; ; zh, c=公案, p=gōng'àn ; ; ) is a narrative, story, dialogue, question, or statement from Chan Buddhism, Chinese Chan Buddhist lore, supplemented with commentaries, that is used in Zen Buddhism, Buddhist practice in different way ...

, since his father was also a

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

and a practising lay

Zen Buddhist Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

. He entered the Faculty of Economics at Keio University but transferred to the Department of English literature, wishing to be instructed by Professor

Junzaburō Nishiwaki was a Japanese poet and literary critic, active in Shōwa period Japan, specializing in modernism, Dadaism and surrealism. He was also a noted painter of watercolors. Between 1960 and 1966, Nishiwaki received 7 nominations for the Nobel Prize ...

. Following his bachelor's degree, he became a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

in 1937. In 1958, he completed the first direct translation of the Quran from Arabic into Japanese (the first indirect translation had been accomplished a decade prior by Okawa Shumei). His translation is still renowned for its linguistic accuracy and is widely used for scholarly works. He was extremely talented in learning foreign languages and finished reading the Quran a month after beginning to learn Arabic. Between 1969 and 1975, he became a professor of Islamic philosophy at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

). He was the professor of philosophy at the

Iranian Research Institute of Philosophy The Iranian Research Institute of Philosophy (IRIP; Persian: مؤسسه پژوهشی حکمت و فلسفه ایران) is a public research institute in Tehran, Iran. History In September 1974, Farah Pahlavi Empress of Iran commissioned Seyyed ...

, then known as the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. While in Iran, he worked and collaborated with

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...

William Chittick William Clark Chittick (born June 29, 1943) is an American philosopher, writer, translator, and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts. He is best known for his work on Rumi and Ibn 'Arabi, and has written extensively ...

Peter Lamborn Wilson Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 22, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wils ...

and others. He came back to Japan from Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and he wrote, seemingly more assiduously, many books and articles in Japanese on

Eastern philosophy Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...

and its significance. In understanding Izutsu's academic legacy, there are four points to bear in mind: his relation to

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, particularly Zen Buddhism, his interest in language, his inclination towards

postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

, and his interest in

comparative philosophy Global or intercultural philosophy is an approach to philosophy which emphasizes the integration of influences from different cultures. It can represent the meeting of different philosophical traditions, such as Western philosophy, Asian philosophy ...

. In ''Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts'' (1983), he compared the metaphysical and mystical thought-systems of

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

and

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, and asserted that, although historically unrelated, these two traditions share similar features and patterns. He died in

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

on 7 January 1993.

Notable works

* ''Language and Magic: Studies in the Magical Function of Speech'' (1956) * ''The Structure of the Ethical Terms in the Koran: A Study in Semantics'' (1959)
''God and Man in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung''
(1964) * ''The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology: A Semantic Analysis of Īmān and Islām'' (1965)
''Ethico-religious Concepts in the Qurʾān''
(1966; reprinted in 2002 with a new foreword by Charles J. Adams) * ''A Comparative Study of the Key Philosophical Concepts in Sufism and Taoism'' (2 vols., 1966–1967) * ''The Concept and Reality of Existence'' (1971) * ''Toward a Philosophy of Zen Buddhism'' (1977)
''The Theory of Beauty in the Classical Aesthetics of Japan''
(with Toyoko Izutsu, 1981)
''Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts''
(1983)
''Creation and the Timeless Order of Things: Essays in Islamic Mystical Philosophy''
(1994)
''The Structure of Oriental Philosophy: Collected Papers of the Eranos Conference: Volume I''
(2008)
''The Structure of Oriental Philosophy: Collected Papers of the Eranos Conference: Volume II''
(2008)

Documentaries

* '' The Eastern'', directed by Masoud Taheri, 2018

References

External links

"Toshihiko Izutsu Reading List"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Izutsu, Toshihiko 1914 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Buddhists 20th-century Japanese historians 20th-century Japanese philosophers 20th-century Japanese translators Academic staff of Keio University Academic staff of McGill University Academics from Tokyo Buddhist writers Iranologists Islamic studies scholars Japanese Arabists Japanese emigrants to Canada Japanese non-fiction writers Japanese orientalists Keio University alumni People from Tokyo Philosophers of language Japanese philosophers of religion Traditionalist School Translators of the Quran into Japanese Writers from Tokyo