Tanehisa Otabe is professor of aesthetics at the University of Tokyo. His areas of interest cover eighteenth century German aesthetics as well as intercultural aesthetics. His publications in German include: Ästhetische Subjektivität. Romantik und Moderne (Würzburg 2005) and Kulturelle Identität und Selbstbild. Aufklärung und Moderne in Japan und Deutschland (Berlin 2011). He edited the special issue “The Unconscious” of The Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology, vol. 6, issue 2 (2019).
Humboldt Research Fellow (1999–2000, 2005), Philipp Franz von Siebold Award (2007), a board member of the International Schelling-Society (2010– ), President of the Japanese Society for Aesthetics (2013–16), President of the Japanese Schelling-Society (2016–20), Assistant Secretary General of the International Association for Aesthetics (2016–2019) and Member of the Japan Academy (2022– ).