At present, humankind is facing a great crisis, and it has become increasingly difficult for pre-existing philosophies to maintain their relevance. But this crisis is not so simple as to be solved by merely coming up with something novel, simply because modernity has met its demise and post-modernity is upon us. What the situation demands is a radical rethinking of the state of philosophy, and the establishment of a truly new philosophy. For that, it is necessary to overcome the Occidentalist way of thinking that has been predominant, and beyond that, to explore the forms of thinking in other cultural spheres and consider how these might play a role in the present.
　For those who are based in Japan, the highest priority is to inquire into and rethink Japan’s own traditional thought and think about how it can be brought to life in a manner relevant to the contemporary situation. The thinkers belonging to the“Kyoto School of Philosophy” and other modern Japanese philosophers have tried to integrate Japan’s own traditional thought, as well as the Asian thought that it is rooted in, with contemporary philosophy. They have truly accomplished much. However in the present day, we cannot afford to simply rest complacently upon their accomplishments. Research on traditional thought has progressed quite considerably, and the interpretations of these modern philosophers are being exposed as more and more problematic. Furthermore, with the changing of the times, their philosophies themselves are in serious need of rethinking. While it is quite impossible to take up the entirety of traditional thought in this present collaborative research, the focal point shall be on Buddhist thought, with other ideas included in our scope through the course of this investigation.
　First, it is important to note that in recent times, research in medieval Japanese Buddhism has progressed at such a rapid pace that the previously accepted understanding of it has been completely overturned. In particular, research on mikkyô (esoteric Buddhism) is no longer confined to the narrow sense of “thought” or ideas, but has brought together other fields such as literature, history, art, and ritual to become a truly rich and interdisciplinary area of research. Therefore, in this collaborative project, we hope to make good use of the cutting-edge research results that we have, with the cooperation of members who are specialists in this field.
　Furthermore, philosophers in the present day continue to ponder on and redress the Occidentalism that once ruled western philosophy. In particular, comparative philosophy has tried to shed the west-centric bias wherein western philosophy was taken as the standard to which other thought traditions were compared to, and against which they were judged. Rather, researchers in this field are now grappling with the question of how to approach and understand differing traditions in a way that does justice to their difference. In this project, we will carry out philosophical investigations through the cooperation of members who are specialists in contemporary philosophy and comparative philosophy but are interested in traditional thought as well.
　As has been shown above, in this collaborative research, specialists from two differing fields—medieval Japanese Buddhism and contemporary/comparative philosophy—will come together, and through dialogue and discourse, explore the possibility for a new contemporary Japanese thought.

Research Representative	末木文美士	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Organizer	稲賀繁美	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Team Researcher	阿部仲麻呂	上智大学神学部・非常勤講師
〃	井上克人	関西大学文学部・教授
〃	冲永宜司	帝京大学文学部・教授
〃	坂井祐円	南山大学・南山宗教文化研究所・非常勤研究員
〃	佐藤弘夫	東北大学大学院文学研究科・教授
〃	島薗　進	上智大学神学部・教授
〃	Silvio Vita	京都外国語大学外国語学部・教授
〃	永井　晋	東洋大学文学部・教授
〃	中島隆博	東京大学東洋文化研究所・准教授
〃	西平　直	京都大学大学院教育学研究科・教授
〃	西村　玲	公益財団法人中村元東方研究所・研究員
〃	藤田正勝	京都大学大学院総合生存学館思修館・教授
〃	Michel Dalissier	同志社大学文学部・准教授
〃	前川健一	公益財団法人東洋哲学研究所・研究員
〃	Molly Vallor	神戸大学大学院人文学研究科・特命助教
〃	吉永進一	舞鶴工業高等専門学校／国際日本文化研究センター・准教授／外来研究員
〃	米田真理子	神戸学院大学法学部・准教授
〃	Anton Sevilla	総合研究大学院大学文化科学研究科・博士後期課程
〃	高橋勝幸	総合研究大学院大学文化科学研究科・研究生
〃	阿部泰郎	国際日本文化研究センター／名古屋大学大学院文学研究科・客員教授／教授
〃	Anna Andreeva	国際日本文化研究センター／ハイデルベルグ大学カール・ヤスペルス・センター・外国人研究員／アカデミックフェロー
〃	鄭　灐	国際日本文化研究センター／檀國大學校日本研究所・外国人研究員／所長