木村敏記念
臨床哲学文庫

February 15, 1931

Born in Tongyeong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, Korea, as the eldest son of Yoshihiko and Hamako. Moved to Kyoto.

1935 (age 4)

His younger brother, Jun, was born.

1936 (Age 5)

Moved to Takayama, Gifu Prefecture.

1937 (Age 6)

Entered Takayama Municipal Minami Elementary School.

1943 (Age 12)

Graduated from elementary school and entered Gifu Prefectural Hida Middle School.

1948 (Age 17)

Graduated from middle school and entered the Third Higher School. Moved back to Kyoto.

1949 (Age 18)

Entered the Faculty of Science, Kyoto University.

1950 (Age 19)

Founded the Kyoto University Music Society.

1951 (Age 20)

Entered the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University.

1955 (Age 24)

Graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University. Began internship training at Kyoto University Hospital and Takayama Red Cross Hospital.

1956 (Age 25)

Passed the National Medical Practitioners Qualifying Examination.

1957 (Age 26)

Published a Japanese translation of Hindemith’s Johann Sebastian Bach in Geijutsu Shincho, his first public publication.

1958 (Age 27)

Published a Japanese translation of Edwin Fischer’s Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, his first book-length translation. Married Masa Kojima.

1959 (Age 28)

Appointed assistant at Kyoto University Hospital. First encountered patients suffering from depersonalization. Began attending Koichi Tsujimura’s reading group on Heidegger’s Being and Time at the Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto University; he continued to participate for eight years. Birth of his eldest daughter, Mariko.

1960–1961 (Ages 29–30)

Published the Japanese translation of Binswanger’s Schizophrenie (Vols. 1 & 2).

1961 (Age 30)

Studied at the Department of Psychiatry, the University of Munich as a Ministry of Education research fellow (until 1963).

1962 (Age 31)

Published a Japanese translation of Frankl’s The Unconscious God.

1963 (Age 32)

Published his first academic article, “Zur Phänomenologie der Depersonalisation,” in the German journal Der Nervenarzt. Visited Viktor Frankl, Ludwig Binswanger, and others. Returned to Japan and served as a full-time physician at Shigasato Hospital (until 1965).

1964 (Age 33)

Appointed councilor of the Japanese Society of Psychopathology. Received his Doctor of Medical Science degree from Kyoto University. Birth of his eldest son, Gen.

1965 (Age 34)

Served as Vice Director of Minakuchi Hospital in Shiga Prefecture (until 1969). Published his first major study of schizophrenia, “What Lies Behind Schizophrenic Symptoms,” in Tetsugaku Kenkyu (The Journal of Philosophical Studies). Published a Japanese translation of Kugler’s Introduction to Encephalography.

1966 (Age 35)

Published a Japanese translation of Georgiades’ Music and Language.

1967 (Age 36)

Met Hubertus Tellenbach during his visit to Japan. Published a Japanese translation of Binswanger’s Phenomenological Anthropology.

1969 (Age 38)

Appointed Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, at Tellenbach’s invitation (until 1970, as a Humboldt Foundation fellow). Met his lifelong colleague Wolfgang Blankenburg. Visited Martin Heidegger’s home with Koichi Tsujimura and others for discussion. Joined the editorial board of the German journal Jahrbuch für Psychotherapie und medizinische Anthropologie.

1970 (Age 39)

Published his first book, Psychopathology of Self-Consciousness. Appointed Associate Professor at Nagoya City University Medical School (until 1974). Became an advisor to Yagoto Hospital (until 1986).

1972 (Age 41)

The first workshop on the psychopathology of schizophrenia was held; there he met Hisao Nakai. He continued to attend nearly every session until 1987, and the series later continued under different names. Published Between Person and Person. Appointed to the Transcultural Psychiatry Committee of the World Psychiatric Association.

1973 (Age 42)

Appointed editorial advisor to the Japanese journal Clinical Psychiatry. Attended the first Zurich Conference, initially titled the “International Cultural Research Institute Symposium,” and continued to attend twice yearly until the 32nd conference in 2000. Met and conversed with Gabriel Marcel. Published The Structure of Abnormality.

1974 (Age 43)

Appointed Professor at Nagoya City University Medical School (until 1986). Invited Hisao Nakai to join the faculty as Associate Professor the following year.

1975 (Age 44)

Published a Japanese translation of Viktor von Weizsäcker’s The Gestalt Circle. Published his first collection of essays, Phenomenology of Schizophrenia. Appointed councilor of the Japanese-German-Austrian Society for Psychopathology.

1976 (Age 45)

Appointed councilor of the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology. Named honorary member of the German Society for Psychiatry and Neurology (DGPPN).

1977 (Age 46)

His father, Yoshio, passed away at the age of 76. Joined the editorial board of the Japanese journal Psychiatry.

1978 (Age 47)

The first Psychopathology Colloquium, later developed into the Japanese Society of Psychopathology, was held. Published Japanese translations of Tellenbach’s Melancholy and Blankenburg’s The Loss of Natural Self-Evidence.

1979 (Age 48)

Appointed editorial advisor to the German journal Der Nervenarzt.

1980 (Age 49)

Published a Japanese translation of Henri Ellenberger’s The Discovery of the Unconscious (Vols. 1 & 2). Joined the editorial board of the Japanese journal Clinical Psychopathology.

1981 (Age 50)

Received the 3rd Philipp Franz von Siebold Award from the Federal Republic of Germany. Joined the editorial board of the Spanish journal Psicopatología. Published Anthropology of Schizophrenia (as editor and translator) and Self, Between, and Time.

1982 (Age 51)

Appointed Director of the Japanese Society for Social Psychiatry. Published Time and the Self.

1983 (Age 52)

Published On the Self. Appointed academic advisor to the Swiss journal Daseinsanalyse. Published Am I Truly Myself? (a dialogue with Emiko Kanai).

1985 (Age 54)

Received the 1st Egner Prize of the Egnér Foundation in Switzerland, jointly with Tellenbach and Wyss. Published a Japanese translation of Tellenbach’s Psychiatrie als Institution.

1986 (Age 55)

Published Pathology of Immediacy. Appointed Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University (until 1994). His mother, Hamako, passed away at the age of 77.

1987 (Age 56)

Delivered a lecture in the Nishida-Tanabe Memorial Lecture Series. Published Pathology of the Between.

1988 (Age 57)

His brother Jun was appointed Professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University. Launched the research group “Aporia.” Published Aida (Betweenness). Named honorary member of the German Society for Anthropological Daseinsanalytical Medicine, Psychology, and Psychotherapy.

1990 (Age 59)

His student Mari Nagai passed away at the age of 37. Joined the editorial board of the French journal L’Évolution Psychiatrique. Appointed President of the Kyoto Mental Health Association. Published Schizophrenia and the Other.

1991 (Age 60)

Published The Shape of the Shapeless. Published a Japanese translation of Heidegger’s Zollikon Seminars.

1992 (Age 61)

Published the French essay collection Écrits de psychopathologie phénoménologique and The Form of Life / The Life of Form. Appeared alongside Jacques Derrida at the “Anywhere Conference.” The Psychopathology Colloquium became the Japanese Society of Psychopathology, and he served as its first President (until 2001).

1994 (Age 63)

Published Psychopathology of Contingency. Retired from Kyoto University and became Professor Emeritus. Appointed Senior Researcher at the Kawai Institute for Culture and Education, Advisor at Kyoto Hakuaikai Hospital, and Visiting Professor at Tezukayama Gakuin University. Hubertus Tellenbach passed away. Published a Japanese translation of Viktor von Weizsäcker’s Studies in Pathogenesis. Published Reflections on the Pathology of the Soul.

1995 (Age 64)

Published Zwischen Mensch und Mensch, the German translation of Between Person and Person. Appointed Professor in the Faculty of Sociology, Ryukoku University (until 1996). Published a Japanese translation of Weizsäcker’s Der Gestaltkreis.

1996 (Age 65)

Attended the 1st International Conference on Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology (PPP). Appointed Professor in the Faculty of International Studies, Ryukoku University (until 2001). Published the first volume of the Lecture Series: Life, a seven-volume series later succeeded by the Aspects of Clinical Philosophy series. Published Nature in Culture, the first of four volumes documenting symposia of the Japan-Germany Cultural Research Institute.

1997 (Age 66)

Named Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University. A special issue dedicated to Bin Kimura was published by the Belgian journal Alter.

1999 (Age 68)

Delivered an invited lecture at the 3rd PPP Conference and received the Society Award jointly with Wolfgang Blankenburg.

2000 (Age 69)

Published a Japanese translation of Weizsäcker’s Der kranke Mensch. Published L’Entre, the French translation of Aida. Launched the first Kawai Clinical Philosophy Symposium; this inaugural session was titled “The Structure of Reflection: A Psychopathology Symposium Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Mari Nagai’s Passing,” and the symposium continued annually until 2018. A seminar series on Bin Kimura was held at the Sorbonne (until 2001).

2001 (Age 70)

Retired as President of the Japanese Society of Psychopathology and was named an Honorary Member. Published the eight-volume Collected Works of Bin Kimura. Met Giorgio Agamben during Agamben’s visit to Japan.

2002 (Age 71)

Appointed Executive Director of the Japan-Germany Cultural Research Institute. His lifelong colleague Wolfgang Blankenburg passed away at the age of 74. The journal PPP published a special feature on Minkowski, Blankenburg, and Bin Kimura.

2003 (Age 72)

Received the Watsuji Tetsuro Culture Award (Academic Category).

2004 (Age 73)

Appointed Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University (until 2006) and Soai University (until 2008). Named honorary member of the Belgian Daseinsanalysis Association. Began treating the poet Yuko Kono.

2005 (Age 74)

『Published The Self as Relation and the Italian essay collection Scritti di psicopatologia fenomenologica.

2006 (Age 75)

His eldest daughter Mariko passed away at the age of 46. Published Life and Reality (a dialogue with Tatsuya Higaki).

2008 (Age 77)

Appointed Director of the Kawai Institute for Culture and Education. Published The Wisdom of Clinical Philosophy (a dialogue with Tetsuo Konno). Published the first volume of Civilization and Philosophy, the annual report of the Japan-Germany Cultural Research Institute.

2010 (Age 79)

Received the 64th Mainichi Publishing Culture Award. Published his autobiography, From Psychiatry to Clinical Philosophy. Published a Japanese translation of Weizsäcker’s Pathosophie.

2012 (Age 81)

Received the 30th Kyoto Prefecture Culture Prize (Special Achievement Award). Published Lectures on Clinical Philosophy. Published a Japanese translation of Blankenburg’s Psychopathologie des Unscheinbaren.

2013 (Age 82)

Appointed Chair of the Japan-Germany Cultural Research Institute (until 2014). Published Tra, the Italian translation of Aida.

2014 (Age 83)

Published Betweenness and Life.

2017 (Age 86)

Published Collected Dialogues of Bin Kimura (Vols. 1 & 2).

2018 (Age 87)

Suffered a vertebral compression fracture after a fall while staying in Nagoya for a research meeting. After hospitalization at Kyoto University Hospital, he moved to a care facility in Kyoto.

August 4, 2021

Passed away in Kyoto at the age of 90. He was posthumously awarded the Junior Fourth Rank and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.