Abstract
The World at present sees some sure signs of an advent of a new age of spirituality coming ever closer to us with quiet but steady footsteps. Against this background, the author of this thesis attempts to trace the unifying process of "Japanese Spirituality and Christianity" within the author's mind, and to theorize about it in general philosophical terms. It was Suzuki Daisetsu who put forward the concept of spirituality for the first time in this country and took the initiative in establishing "the Philosophy of Spirituality." Nishida Kitaro then carried on the mission of theorizing this concept of spirituality, invoked by Suzuki, by means of logic and philosophical terminology. Nishida's philosophy, based on factual surveys on people's spiritual experiences, has much in common with Karl Rahner's Christian theology. Through comparative studies of these two philosophers, Nishida and Rahner, the present author has arrived at the conclusion that Nishida's theory of "the Topology of Absolute Nothingness" should be interpreted as an equivalent to the Christian theory of "Holy Spirit." Every succeeding theory the present author has developed concerning the theology of Holy Spirit has its origin in that firm belief in the affinity between these two philosophers' conceptions. The author concludes his thesis with the hope that the Christian faith based on belief in Holy Spirit, which has a similar basis as Suzuki Daisetsu's "Japanese Spirituality," will be of global and universal significance, and therefore expected to lead to a worldwide religious renovation in the near future.
