Maruyama, Masao (1914–1996)

AbstractThe work of Japanese historian of political thought and political scientist Maruyama Masao (1914–1996) – at the same time deemed to be one of Japan's outstanding social philosophers of the twentieth century – continues to be debated. After his death around a hundred volumes on Maruyama's work were published, in sociology and social philosophy, but equally in political science and in history of ideas; and the number of translations of his work, into western languages and also into other Asian languages, is growing. Maruyama's works continue to inspire sociologists and social scientists, even if he was not a sociologist himself. His essays offer important stimuli to comparative research, not only in contemporary history, but also in political sociology and research of political culture, even though the historical sources he used are more readily available today.