This contributed volume investigates the non-Western understanding of happiness under the influence of various religions such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Shintō, and Christianity against Western thought on happiness. The chapters help clarify the particular characteristics of the concept of happiness that are unique to modern Japan. This book also reveals the regional deviations and historical determinants of the concept of happiness. The chapter authors represent an international collaboration, and thus open up new horizons for the study of the concept of happiness. This volume appeals to researchers and students working in these fields.

Tetsuya Furuta completed coursework for his Ph.D in the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology at the University of Tokyo in 2008.He was appointed to the Faculty of Letters at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo in 2019.

His research areas include 1) Ludwig Wittgenstein, 2) Contemporary Anglo-American Ethics, 3) Modern German Philosophy and Turn-of-the-Century Viennese Thought, 4) History of Japanese Thought, 5) History of Ethical Thought, 6) Philosophy of Language, 7) Philosophy of Action (Theory of Action) and 8) Philosophy of Mind.