Floor Plan
Parking lot

Path of reflection

Garden of Stairs
Hall

Spiritual Grove of Philosophy

Reception

MuseumGarden of Stairs

Foyer
Seminar Hall

Library
Gallery 1

Spiritual Grove of Philosophy
While you enjoy a reflecting stroll, this grove of acacia surrounds you with plumand cherry blossoms among other species of trees. This is a forest where nature andmankind can interact in a relaxed manner.

Gallery 3

Garden of Stairs
This set of stairs is built into hilly terrain. With each step, the wind gently strokes
your face, and the view of the forest below and of the city in the distance soothes
the hearts of the visitors.

The space of emptiness

Workshop Room 1

Garden of Stairs
Workshop Room 2
Gallery 2

Observatory
Ishikawa NISHIDA KITARO Museum of Philosophy
1 Uchihisumi-i, Kahoku, Ishikawa 929-1126
TEL: (076) 283-6600

CafeMuseum
Seminar Hall

Design: ANDO, Tadao

AccessBy vehicle:
20 minutes from Hokuriku Expressway <Kanazawa Higashi I.C.>
on Highway 159
5 minutes from Noto Satoyama Kaido <Shiroo I.C.>
By JR train:
25 minutes to Unoke Station from Kanazawa Station on the Nanao Line
By Plane:
50 minutes from Komatsu airport to Kanazawa Station by bus
and 25 minutes from Kanazawa Station to Unoke Station on the Nanao Line

The Beginning of Philosophy
See. Do. Think.

Kahoku city is the birthplace of world-renowned philosopher
Nishida Kitaro, famous for his “Study of Good”. While the“Ishikawa NISHIDA KITARO Museum of Philosophy” not only
introduces Professor Nishida‟s accomplishments and articles of
his work, here you can easily learn about philosophy and“experience reflective thinking” while having fun, as this is a
“Spiritual Oasis”.

1st Floor Gallery 1 “Invitation to Philosophy”
By using easy-to-understand exhibits like rendering devices that symbolically express philosophical thought, computer graphics ofseveral philosophers‟ dialogues, big screen images and illustrations, this is an introductory corner where you can grasp what philosophy
is. Everyone from children through to adults can learn while having fun.

2nd Floor Gallery 2 “The World of Nishida Kitaro”
A heritage of Nishida‟s personal mementos, manuscripts and letters are exhibited according to theme. „Nishida as a philosopher‟,„Nishida in his family‟, „Nishida as a teacher‟, „His friends‟ etc. Various renditions allow, for example, to listen to Nishida‟s actual voiceon tape, so you can learn to understand his path of thought and personality.

B1 Floor Gallery 3 “Calligraphic Works of Nishida Kitaro”
This exhibition corner displays the calligraphic works of Nishida, as he not only worked with philosophy but also composed poems andwrote calligraphy. Through these calligraphic writings, which are a distinctive element of Oriental culture and cannot be found inWestern culture, we are able to refer to Professor Nishida‟s reflections and mentality.

B1 Floor The space of emptiness
Professor Nishida‟s study

On a rainy day, showers sprinkle in from the square-cut sky and on a snowy day, the snow piles up. Surrounded by towering walls on
all four sides, and from the basement only open to the sky above; this is a place for reflection.

1st Floor LibraryWith a variety of over 9000 copies ranging from introductory to specialist level, themain focus of this library is books and research papers related to Nishida Kitaro andphilosophy. This is a Philosophy library open to the public.

2nd Floor Cafe
3rd Floors Workshop Room 1 (Japanese style room)
4th Floors Workshop Room 2 (Conference room)
Both rooms are fully equipped with audio-visual media players and can be used forseveral purposes, for example for study groups, seminars and meetings. The room on
the 4th floor is a conference room type, and the one on the 3 rd floor is Japanese style.
Both rooms can be split into two areas.

Gallery

5th Floor Observatory

Space of Emptiness

From this panoramic view you can see the white sand and green pine trees on thecoast of the Sea of Japan, the magnificent Kahoku lagoon and the spiritual Hakusan
mountain ranges off in the distance. The beautiful sunset along the Sea of Japan is amust see!

B1 Floor Foyer
This is a circular space, opening up to a glass window ceiling on an increasing
circumference, similar to the shape of a bowl. This is a space where you can meditate
while seeing the blue sky through a circular opening.

Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945)
Philosopher. Born in the Prefecture of Ishikawa during
the 3rd year of the Meiji Era (1870). He dropped out ofthe Fourth higher middle school (Shiko) under the oldsystem of education, and then attended the Tokyo
Imperial University‟s School of Philosophy as anauditing student. After teaching at Shiko andGakushuin he taught Philosophy at the Kyoto
Imperial University. In “Study of Good” (1911),
Nishida established the standpoint of “pureexperience” that is not classified as either subjective orobjective. This was in contrast with Western modern
philosophy that had always treated subject and bodyas well as mankind and nature as opponents. He
deepened his original ideas, which disestablished suchopposition, based on the keywords “Self-Awareness”
and “Place”. This world-renowned system of thought isknown as “Nishida Philosophy”. Intellectual followersof Nishida Philosophy gathered at Kyoto Imperial
University from all over the country, and for a long
period of time this was the directive stance inJapanese Philosophy and world of thought, known as
the “Kyoto School”. In 1940, Nishida received theOrder of Culture. In 1945, he passed away at the ageof 75.

Hall

B1 Floor Hall (Seating capacity: 303)
In this hall the knowledge of the world is being discussed, for example during theannual “Summer Philosophy Seminar”. Apart from symposiums and lectures, it canbe used for film showings, concerts and many other functions.

Nishida‟s publication “Study of Good”
and his reading glasses

Ishikawa NISHIDA KITARO Museum of Philosophy