A chapter first published on January 22, 2018, under the title “To the idea of conservatism as spoken of by literary figures such as Fukuda Tsuneari and Eto Jun, Mr. Nishibe gave the framework and precision of a scholarly discipline,” entered goo’s top 10 search rankings this morning.
Based on an obituary-style profile of Susumu Nishibe written by journalist Naoya Kawamura and published in the social affairs section of the Sankei Shimbun, this passage looks back on Nishibe’s immeasurable significance for Japanese conservative thought.
It praises as his greatest achievement the fact that he gave academic structure and precision to a conservatism previously discussed in more literary terms, and that, drawing on Edmund Burke, he presented a dynamic view of conservatism centered on the idea that one must reform in order to conserve.

2019-03-04
His conservatism was not merely about rigidly preserving old things.
He favored Burke’s way of thinking: reform in order to conserve.

A chapter I published on 2018-01-22 under the title, “To the idea of conservatism as spoken of by literary figures such as Fukuda Tsuneari and Eto Jun, Mr. Nishibe gave the framework and precision of a scholarly discipline,” entered goo’s top 10 search rankings this morning.
The following is a biographical tribute to Susumu Nishibe by journalist Naoya Kawamura, published today in the social affairs section of the Sankei Shimbun.

A man of feeling who valued courtesy and moral duty.

The day had finally come.
Susumu Nishibe had long spoken and written about self-chosen death.
Even so, I had thought that the Nishibe style would continue on for a long time yet.
In recent years, I had heard that after being preceded in death by his wife, he had especially lost his vigor.
The final installment of his series in the magazine Seiron, “One Who Tried to Become a Fascist,” in last year’s February issue, ended with words that suggested self-destruction.
And when I saw that he positioned his new work, The Essence of Conservatism, as “what should be my final writing,” my bad premonition deepened.

From Nishibe’s own point of view, perhaps he merely put into practice his own idea of bringing his life to its conclusion by himself.
But he was a presence that should be called one of Japan’s treasures.
I regret that I did not go to see him and urge him, saying, “There is still so much more I want you to teach me.”

To the idea of conservatism as spoken of by literary figures such as Fukuda Tsuneari and Eto Jun, Nishibe gave the framework and precision of a scholarly discipline.
His greatest achievement was probably that he established conservative thought as an academic field.

The British conservative thinker Edmund Burke, whom Nishibe valued highly, thoroughly criticized the French Revolution, which attempted to design the state through reason.
From that position developed Nishibe’s conservative thought, which attached importance to tradition and sound judgment that reason alone cannot fully encompass.

His conservatism was not merely about rigidly preserving old things.
He favored Burke’s way of thinking: reform in order to conserve.
His writing, dynamic and far from static, was always thrilling.

He thought about conservatism from the character of Japan itself.
Following the Iraq War of 2003, or Heisei 15, the conflict deepened between the so-called pro-American conservatives, who sought to maintain a close relationship with the United States, and the anti-American conservatives, and Nishibe came to be seen as a leading figure of the latter.
As a result, some distance opened up between him and this newspaper as well.
We felt this regrettable and asked him to write a series.
In the spring of Heisei 18, “Rethinking Conservatism” began.

Nishibe’s reputation for making editors suffer was well known.
During the series, I myself was once shouted at by him over drinks, and shouted back.
The next day, after calming down, I told him that it was a series necessary for Japan.
On the other end of the phone, he gave a great nod of agreement.

For all that he could be frightening, he was also deeply kind.
He was a man of reason, but also a man of feeling, and he placed great value on courtesy and moral duty.

I have written “Mr. Nishibe,” but perhaps I should really have written, as I used to address him in life, “Professor Nishibe.”
He was the sort of man one sincerely wished to call by that name.
I would like to remember Professor Nishibe through the books he left behind.