 Then there are the cases of Watsuji Tetsurō (1889–1960) and Kuki Shūzō (1888–1941). Both of these philosophers were brought to Kyoto University by Nishida, and both developed philosophies which were more or less influenced by Nishida’s thought (see Maraldo 2005, 34 and 52). And yet, both their thought and their activities remained too independent to count them among the inner circle of the School. It should be kept in mind, however, that these two “associates” in particular are first rate philosophers in their own right, whose original work outshines that of many of the less original though full-fledged members of the School. Watsuji’s novel theory of “culture and climate” (fūdo), together with his major work on the ethics of “betweenness” (aidagara), and Kuki’s combination of logical rigor and existential insight in his major writings on the problem of contingency, together with his provocative works on Japanese aesthetics (notably his hermeneutical phenomenology of “iki”), have each made lasting contributions to philosophy and are worthy of international scholarly attention.