A Buddhist philosopher, he is also known as a denialist of superstitions, yokai, and other mysterious phenomena. Born in 1858 at Jikoji Temple in Niigata Prefecture, he entered the Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of Letters of the University of Tokyo at the age of 18.
Based on the idea that philosophy is the foundation of all thought and, by extension, the foundation of nations and civilizations, he has written numerous books on philosophy, as well as books advocating for the restoration of Buddhism.
Furthermore, he believed that in order to achieve true modernization, it was necessary to rid people of superstition, and as part of this effort, he proposed the study of yokai. By studying yokai and scientifically identifying their causes, he sought to thoroughly deny their existence.
Despite this attitude, however, he also acknowledges the existence of "Shinkai" [Lit. "true yokai", made by replacing the first character in yokai, 妖 "spirit, strange, ominous", with the kanji 真 "truth, reality, genuine"], mysteries that cannot be deciphered by science.
He was the first dean of the Tetsugakukan [Lit. House of Philosophy], the predecessor of Toyo University, and also contributed greatly to the development of philosophy by tirelessly giving lectures in various universities as an awareness campaign until he left this world in 1919, in Dalian, China, due to cerebral apoplexy.
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