Establishment History
In 1962 at the age of 84, Mishima Kaiun invested all of his personal wealth to establish this foundation out of the convictions he had cultivated in his life experiences up to that time. The following is a quote from Mishima’s remarks regarding the establishment of the foundation delivered at the 1st Board of Directors meeting and Board of Trustees meeting.
Shakyamuni said, “All meritorious actions arise from a source that is divorced from selfish desire.” I had known of these words since my teens, but for the longest time I did not know what their true meaning was. It was several years ago that I finally understood what they meant. Establishing this foundation is how I put them into action.
Today, I am fortunate that personally I want for nothing. The only thing I wish for now is “for Japan to somehow become an even more splendid country in the future.” I wondered in light of Shakyamuni’s words if there was anything I could do in some small way about this wish of mine.
I believed that what I am today is something that I owe to the unstinting support of my seniors, friends, acquaintances and furthermore the people of this country. Accordingly, the property I have managed to acquire is not mine alone. All of it should be returned to society. I decided that establishing a foundation was the best way to do that return.
The world of the future will be one that sees competition in scholarship and in intellectual powers, and to compete in intellectual powers means creating outstanding scholars. Also, scholarship to me includes not only the natural sciences but also the “common sense”—that is to say, the humanities—that support them. This is what distinguishes the Mishima Foundation.