was a 20th century Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese philosopher

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

 and social theorist

Social theory

Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...

. Born in Fuchū, Tokyo

Fuchu, Tokyo

is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 255,394 and a population density of 8,700 persons per km². The total area was 29.34 km²...

 as the son of a doctor, he began studying Marxist philosophy

Marxist philosophy

Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are terms that cover work in philosophy that is strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory or that is written by Marxists...

 at the age of twenty, in 1947, following the defeat of Japan and the subsequent U.S. occupation of Japan

Occupied Japan

At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...

. At this time the workers movement in Japan was quite strong, but very influenced by pro-Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 politics. Kuroda began studying closely works by prominent Japanese philosophers, among them Umemoto Katsumi, Kakehashi Akihide and Uno Kōzō

Kozo Uno

was a Japanese economist and is considered to be one of the most important theorists on the field of Marx's theory of value. His main work Principles of Political Economy was published in 1964. Among his scholars are Thomas T. Sekine and Makoto Itoh.-Thought:...

.

In 1956, following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution

1956 Hungarian Revolution

The Hungarian Revolution or Uprising of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....

, Kuroda joined Kurihara Tōichi in forming the first Trotskyist

Trotskyism

Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...

 organization in Japanese history. Kuroda criticised the mechanical "materialism

Materialism

In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...

" that was prevalent in the orthodox Marxism, and instead developed a philosophical theory of "Materialist Subjectivity".

In 1959, Kuroda became the Chairman of the Japan Revolutionary Communist League

Japan Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee (Middle Core Faction)

was the most powerful Japanese far-left revolutionary group, often referred to as Chūkaku-ha . However, in the most recent periods, the league has lost a significant amount of support due to a lack of interest and support in 'left-wing' policies across Japan as a whole.-Origin:Chūkaku-ha traces its...

. He wrote over fifty books published both in Japan and other countries on such subjects as Marxist philosophy, the analysis of Soviet society, Japanese cultural history, theory and praxis

Praxis

Praxis is the putting of theory into practice. The term may refer to:* Christian theological praxis* Praxis , the practice of faith, especially worship* The Praxis School, a school of Marxist philosophy...

 of organization building, and contemporary politics.

From 1963, Kuroda was the central theoretical figure in the Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction)

Japan Revolutionary Communist League (Revolutionary Marxist Faction)

The Japan Revolutionary Communist League is a Japanese Trotskyist revolutionary group, often referred to as Kakumaru-ha.The group's origins lie in splits from the Japanese Communist Party following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956...

, remaining active in the group until retiring late in life.

Works

• Hegel and Marx , May, 1952
• Destruction of the Revolution , 1991
• Gorbachev's Nightmare , 1992
• Praxiology , 1998
• Kuroda's Thought on Revolution , 2000
• Engels' Political Economy , 2000
• Dialectics of Praxis , 2001
• On Organizing Praxis , 2001
• Studies on Marxism in Postwar Japan , 2002
• Dialectics of Society , 2003
• Methodology of Social Science , 2005