James Heisig
James Wallace Heisig is a philosopher who specialises in the field of philosophy of religion. He has published a number of books on topics ranging from the notion of God in analytical psychology, the Kyoto School of Philosophy to contemporary inter-religious dialogue. His books, translations, and edited collections, which have appeared in 12 languages, currently number 78 volumes.
He served as a lecturer at the Divine Word College as a BA student and graduated with a BA degree in Philosophy from the same college in 1966. Then he received his master's degree in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago and another master's degree in Notre Dame University at the same time in 1969. After receiving a PhD in Religious studies at Cambridge University in 1973, he went back to Divine Word College to teach philosophy and religion as a lecturer. Between 1974 and 1978, he was a visiting lecturer at Catholic Theological Union, Instituto Superior de Estudios Eclesiásticos and Old Dominion University. In September 1978, he moved to Japan and thereby became a Permanent Research Fellow at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture at Nanzan University. He served as the director of the Nanzan Institute from 1991 to 2001 following in the footsteps of the former director and Belgian philosopher, Jan Van Bragt. In 2015, Heisig received an honorary doctoral degree from Tallinn University in Estonia.
Heisig still resides in Nagoya, where he continues to conduct research at the "Japanese Philosophy Reference Materials" at the Nanzan Institute, publishes a number of books and travels around the world to give his lectures on philosophy and religion. He is also famed among students of the Japanese and Chinese languages for his Remembering the Kanji and Remembering the Hanzi series.
Books (author)
- El cuento detrás del cuento: un ensayo sobre psique y mito. Introducción de Cecilio de Lora..
- Adventures in Kanji-Land.
- Imago Dei: A study of C. G. Jung's psychology of religion.
- *Japanese translation:『ユングの宗教心理学』, trans. by 渡辺学 Watanabe Manabu and 纐纈康兵 Kōketsu Kōhei.. With a new Foreword.
- Remembering the Kanji I: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters.
- *6th edition:.
- *French adaptation: Yves Maniette, Les kanji dans la tête: Aprendre à ne pas oublier le sens et l'écriture des caractères japonais. 2nd printing, 2005.
- *Spanish adaptation:. Kanji para recordar: Curso mnemoténico para el aprendizaje de la escritura y el significado de los characteres japoneses.
- *German adaptation:. Die Kanji lernen und behalten i. Bedeutung und Schreibweise der japanischen Schrift zeichen. neue folge:.
- * Dutch adaptation:. Kanji. Snel Japan's leren schrijven en onthouden door de kracht van verbeelding.
- * Hungarian adaptation:. Megjegyezhető kandzsik, Első kötet. A japán írásjegyek jelentése és írásmódja..
- * Polish adaptation:. Kanji. Kurs skutecznego zapamiętywania znaków japońskich.
- *Portuguese adaptation:. Kanji. Imaginar para aprender. Um Curso Completo para a Memorização da Escrita e Significado dos Caracteres Japoneses.
- *Italian adaptation:. Per ricordare i kanji. Corso mnemonico per l'apprendimento veloce di scrittura e signi cato dei caratteri giapponesi.
- Remembering the Kanji ii: A Systematic Guide to Reading Japanese Characters.
- *3rd edition:.
- *4th edition:.
- *Spanish adaptation:. Kanji para recordar II: Guía sistemática para la lectura de los characteres japoneses.
- *German adaptation:. Die Kanji lernen und behalten ii. Systematische Anleitung zu den Lesungen der japanischen Schrift zeichen, Neue Folge. neue folge:.
- Remembering the Hiragana: A Complete Course on How to Teach Yourself the Japanese Syllabary in 3 Hours.
- Remembering the Kanji iii: Writing and Reading Japanese Characters for Upper-Level Profiency.
- *2nd edition:.
- *3rd edition:.
- *German adaptation:. Die Kanji lernen und behalten iii: Schrift zeichen für den fortgeschrittenen Gebrauch.
- Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 hours each .
- *3rd edition:.
- *Spanish adaptation:. Kana para recordar: Curso mnemoténico para el aprendizaje de los silabarios japoneses.
- *German adaptation:. Die Kana lernen und behalten. Die japanische Silbenschrift lesen und schreiben in je drei Stunden.
- *Dutch adaptation:. Kana. Snel Japan's leren lezen en schrijven.
- Filósofos de la nada: Un ensayo sobre la escuela de Kioto. Philosophers of Nothingness: An Essay on the Kyoto School.
- * rumanian translation:. Scoala loso ca de la Kyoto.
- * Italian translation:. Filoso del nulla.
- * Bosnian translation:. Filozo ništavila: Esej o Kyoto školi, with a new Preface.
- * French translation:. Les philosophes du néant: Un essai sur l'école de Kyoto.
- Dialogues at One Inch Above the Ground: Reclamations of Belief in an Interreligious Age.
- *rumanian translation:. Dialoguri la câtiva centimetri deasupra pamântului: Revendicarile credintei într-o epoca interreligioasa.
- *portuguese translation:. Diálogos a uma polegada acima da terra: Recuperação da fé num mundo inter-religioso.
- *spanish translation:. Diálogos a una pulgada del suelo: recuperar las creencias en una época interreligiosa.
- El gemelo de Jesús: Un alumbramiento al budismo..
- *italian translation:. Il gemello di Gesù: Commento al Vangelo di Tommaso.
- *english translation: Jesus' Twin: A Commentary on the Gospel of omas.
- Nothingness and Desire: An East-West Philosophical Antiphony.
- *Italian translation:. Il nulla e il desiderio.
- Much Ado about Nothingness: Essays on Nishida and Tanabe.
Books (editor)
- Japanese Philosophy Abroad.
- *Bosnian translation : Dialog: Časopis za filozofska i društvena pitanja, 2006/3–4: 117–158.
- *Japanese translation:『日本哲学の国際性―海外における受容と展望』.
- .
Books (co-author)
- ,『米大陸における日本 文化の普及方法の研究』.
- , Remembering the Katakana, with a supplement on Learning How to Remember. 5th printing, 1996.
- . Remembering Traditional Hanzi: How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Chinese Characters, Book 1.
- . Remembering Simplified Hanzi: How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Chinese Characters, Book 1.
- . Vereinfachte Hanzi lernen und behalten. Bedeutung und Schreibweise der häu gsten chinesischen Schrei zeichen.
- . Hanzi para recordar. Chino simplificado, Libro 1.
- . Hanzi para recordar. Chino tradicional, Libro 1.
- . Traditionelle Hanzi lernen und behalten. Bedeutung und Schreibweise der häu gsten chinesischen Schrei Zeichen.
- . Remembering Traditional Hanzi: How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Chinese Characters, Book 2.
- . Remembering Simplified Hanzi: How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Chinese Characters, Book 2.
- . Kanji – Tom 1: Kurs skutecznego zapamiętywania znaków japońskich.
- . Hanzi para recordar. Chino simplificado, Libro 2.
- . Hanzi para recordar. Chino tradicional, Libro 2.
- Japanese Buddhism: Its Tradition, New Religions, and Interaction with Christianity.
- , The Religious Philosophy of Tanabe Hajime: The Metanoetic Imperative.
- Buddhist Spirituality'. Volume 1: Indian, Southeast Asian, Tibetan, Early Chinese. Ed. by Takeuchi Yoshinori with James W. Heisig, Joseph S. O'Leary, Paul L. Swanson and Jan Van Bragt.
- *Portuguese translation: A Espiritualidade Budhista: Índia, Sudeste Asiático, Tibete e China Primitiva.
- . Rude Awakenings: Zen, the Kyoto School, and the Question of Nationalism.
- Buddhist Spirituality. Volume 2: Later China, Korea, Japan, and the Modern World. Ed. by Takeuchi Yoshinori with James W. Heisig, Joseph S. O'Leary, and Paul L. Swanson.
- . A Longing for Peace: The Challenge of a Multicultural, Multireligious World..
- . Monasticism Buddhist and Christian: The Korean Experience..
- . Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 3: Origins and Possibilities..
- . Encounters: The New Religions of Korea and Christianity..
- . Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 5: Nove granice japanske filozofije.
- . Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 6: Con uences and Cross-Currents.
- . Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy 7: Classical Japanese Philosophy.
- . Japanese Philosophy: A Sourcebook.
- . Jan Van Bragt, Interreligious Affinities: Encounters with the Kyoto School and the Religions of Japan.
- . La filosofía japonesa en sus textos.
- Philosophers of Nothingness: An Essay on the Kyoto School .
Books (translator)
- Hans Waldenfels, Absolute Nothingness: Foundations for a Buddhist-Christian Dialogue.
- Murakami Hyōei, Itō Kazuo, Hazumi Eiji, and James W. Heisig, Japanese Culture in America: An Investigation into Methods of its Dissemination.
- Takeuchi Yoshinori, The Heart of Buddhism: In Search of the Timeless Spirit of Primitive Buddhism.
- *Italian translation: Il cuore del Buddhismo: Alla ricerca dei valori originari e perenni del Buddhismo. Trans. by Maria De Giorgi..
- Amador Vega, Ramon Llull and the Secret of Life.
- Kagawa Toyohiko, Cosmic Purpose.
Books (co-translator)
- . Tanabe Hajime, Philosophy as Metanoetics.
- . Heinrich Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History. Vol. 1, India and China.
- . Heinrich Dumoulin Zen Buddhism: A History. Vol. 2, Japan.
- . Akizuki Ryōmin, New Mahāyāna: Buddhism for a Post-Modern World.
- . Nishitani Keiji, Nishida Kitarō.
- , with 華園聰麿 Hanazono Toshimaro and 日野紹運 Hino Shōun R. オットー,『東と西の 神秘主: エックハルトとシャンカラ』. Recipient of the 1993 Japanese Cultural Translation Prize. 1993 年日本翻訳文化賞受賞.
- . Tezuka Osamu, Buda. Trans. by Marc Bernabé. Vols. 1–5.
Edited Collections
- Editor: Verbum 19/1–2.
- Editor: A Tribute to Heinrich Dumoulin, special issue of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 12/2–3 : 109–271.
- General editor: Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture, 19 vols.
- Co-editor: Nanzan Library of Asian Religions and Cultures, 13 vols.
- Co-editor with Kim Sung-Hae, special edition of Studies in Inter-Religious Dialogue 14/1.
- Co-direttore con Carlo Saviani: Tetsugaku –Studi e testi di loso giapponesi. L'Epos, Palermo.. 5 vols.
- Editor: Frontiers of Japanese Philosophy, 7 vols.