Shunpei Ueyama, a philosopher and former president of Kyoto City University of Arts, died of Parkinson's disease at his home in the city of Kyoto last Friday, his family said Monday. He was 91.
Starting his academic career as a researcher of Western philosophy, Ueyama produced studies in logic and the Imperial system in Japan, and was also outspoken about Japan's international contributions and issues involving the U.N., based on his wartime experiences.
After graduating from Kyoto University in 1943, Ueyama survived World War II, although he was a member of a human-guided torpedo suicide attack group.
After the war, he became a professor and head of the university's Institute for Research in Humanities.
Ueyama, born in Taiwan, also served as head of the Kyoto National Museum and was honored by the government as a Person of Cultural Merit in 1994.
Kyodo