Scientific Study from the year 2025 in the subject Ethnology / Cultural Anthropology, grade: 18, , language: English, abstract: One of the most striking features of Japan's engagement with modernity is its concept of memory. While the West has often viewed memory as a passive repository of past events, Japan regards memory as an active, creative force that shapes both individual and collective identity. Japan's cultural memory-embodied in literature, art, and commemorative practices-does not simply preserve the past but actively engages with it to create meaning and navigate the present. The role of aesthetics in Japanese culture further complicates and enriches this understanding of memory. Aesthetics in Japan is not merely concerned with the appreciation of beauty, but with a more philosophical and existential exploration of life's impermanence. The mono no aware (the "pathos of things") is a central tenet of Japanese aesthetics that encourages a heightened awareness of the fleeting nature of existence, coupled with an appreciation for the fragility and beauty inherent in all things. This philosophical outlook challenges the technocratic worldview of modernity, offering instead a model where awareness of impermanence informs not only individual behavior but also collective actions and societal organization. In this book, we aim to explore how Japan's rich cultural memory and aesthetic sensibilities can provide the intellectual and ethical resources needed to rethink modernity in the 21st century. By examining the relationship between memory, aesthetics, and philosophy, we hope to develop a framework for addressing the global challenges we face today. This framework will not only draw on Japanese thought and tradition but also engage with contemporary philosophical and theoretical discourses that reflect the global stakes of modernity's future.

Pitshou Moleka est chercheur postdoctoral à Eudoxia Research Centre (Inde) dans les domaines d'innovationologie, une nouvelle science dont il est le créateur, et dans le domaine du leadership. Il a suivi les formations de développement professionnel à Calvin University, et est détenteur d'un diplôme de doctorat (PhD) en leadership des organisations (Northwestern Christian University). Il est invité dans plusieurs universités pour des cours et des conférences : BBTI Global College of Leadership (Botswana), Howard University (International conference on stigma), University of Capetown (Conférence sur les innovations en sciences sociales et humaines), Australian University of Kuwait sur la digitalisation... Il est auteur de plus de 20 livres et chapitres de livres dont certains sont publiés dans les plus prestigieuses maisons d'édition du monde comme Oxford University Press, Taylor & Francis, ainsi que Palgrave. Il est marié à madame Julienne Mujinga Mpoy et est père de deux enfants.