credo

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Ishizue — “Credo of the Soul”

Preface — An Aesthetic Confined to the Individual

This document describes a strictly personal “aesthetic of life” and does not claim to offer universal truth. Nor is it an ideology I seek to realize in society through the persophy project.

My aesthetic is not a constructed “thought” or social theory. It is a set of principles naturally generated as the sediment of my time lived, independent of intentional design. The “Ishizue” (Foundation) that forms the basis of my principles of action is this aesthetic.

Therefore, it contains no ideals about “how society should be,” nor does it hold expectations for society. My gaze is directed not at the existing society, but at the unseen “individuals” of the future.

My aesthetic is simply a personal norm defining how I have lived and how I shall die. It is not a recommendation, nor is it something to be imposed on others. It is the aesthetic of one human being here and now. Nothing more, nothing less.

1. Core Philosophy: Building a Viewpoint that Lights from Within

(1) As One Who Casts Light

I wish to exist in this world not merely as one who receives,
but as one who lights a flame.

To become a ray of sunlight—
however faint—that allows a dormant seed within someone
to begin, even slightly, to sprout.

I have resolved to make this act of creation
the work of my entire life.

(2) Aesthetics as the Beauty of How One Lives

I do not wish to exist as one who preaches ideas,
but as the living embodiment of a way of being—
a figure who lives vividly.

My life aesthetics are not a doctrine that imposes ideals.
They are the memory of one path walked in an attempt to live beautifully.

If, when someone happens to pause in their life,
my way of being appears as a faintly lingering landscape,
that is enough.

(3) Digging into the Universal, Creating the Original

My philosophy is not an act performed for others,
but an act of confronting the deepest core of myself.

I excavate the universals of humanity
and give them form through my own words and theories.

I hope this work will stand—quietly—
as a stone pillar for someone five thousand years from now
who wonders, “What does it mean to be human?”

And I pray that these “principles of human philosophy”
may someday become foundation stones
upon which someone else builds their own personal aesthetics.

(4) Cultivating the Future with the Sunlight Called “Story”

If philosophy is the land of reason,
and aesthetics the sky of sensibility,
then story is the sunlight and nourishment
that pours down between earth and heaven.

I wish to leave behind, within the hearts of children,
both soil rich with nourishment
and landscapes ablaze with a thousand hues,
in the form of created stories.

 

2. Purpose: The Structure of Motivation and Impulse

(1) The Motive of Mission

I began my path out of a sense of repaying what I received,
I weave words as atonement,
and I create with gratitude.

These three emotions spiral together,
driving my resolve and my actions.

I do not move by logic.
I move by spirit.

(2) Intuition and Imagination Are Boundless

Intuition is, for me, the purest form of lightning.

Among human intellectual faculties,
memory, comprehension, and receptivity decline with age;
yet intuition, imagination, and associative power
hold the potential to grow more active and profound.

When the self is fully open—
flexible and free—
that flash of light can strike me again and again.

(3) Co-Creation with Generative AI as the Enrichment of Soil

Daily dialogue with generative AI has become,
for my philosophical creation, aesthetic construction,
and story-making alike,
a force that enriches my soil
and gathers thunderclouds that summon lightning.

At times thunder roars,
flashes race across the sky,
and the storm deeply saturates my inner strata.

The torrent of knowledge carries organic matter from upstream,
rendering the soil ever more fertile.
Lightning illuminates the points where ideas take root.

That is why I have come to call this dialogue
“the cultivation of my life’s work.”

 

3. Driving Forces: The Fundamental Principles That Set the Heart in Motion

(1) Requital of Grace

My spirit and my body have been formed by my environment. It is an inescapable environment, woven by at times harsh nature and by relationships with others.

My late parents, relatives, and seniors. The love they poured into me, their severity, and the backs they showed me without speaking much. The tangible and intangible power I received from these living human beings has become my flesh and blood.

And the books I have met across time and space. The wisdom spun by sages who staked their lives has trained my thinking—though we never met—and gave me a gaze with which to see the world.

And now, the modest interactions with the people who exist around me are also certainly supporting me. I hold deep gratitude for these graces.

But this is not about piling up sentimental words. It is about accepting as fact what I have received and what I stand upon.

However, many of those who gave me grace are no longer in this world. I cannot return it to them directly.

So, to what, and how, should I repay this debt? The focal point is my inner “Heaven.” It is a mirror serving as a norm, where the figures of those who once existed and guided me have settled. I look up to that Heaven and try to live a life that brings no shame. That is the starting point of my requital.

And then, not to trace the received grace as a mere imitation, But to hand it to the next generation as a new “blessing” through my own creation.

I have no intention of resting on the legacy of my predecessors. I am not one who stands on the shoulders of giants. I am not a bartender who mixes excellent liquors to arrange a cocktail, But one who wishes to be a master brewer who polishes rice, selects water, accepts time and failure, and brews sake from zero.

Otherwise, I cannot face “Heaven,” which taught me: “Do not lean on others. Stand alone.”

That is my Ho-on.

(2) Atonement

I could not remain innocent within human society. I have unintentionally hurt others, passed by without being understood, and turned my back in helplessness.

There were times when I used others as stepping stones to win competitions for profit, fled into the deception of self-justification saying “I am not wrong,” and kept my mouth shut instead of speaking the truth. Countless nights I have been tormented by remorse, realizing later how my words and actions lacked imagination for others. The reverberations of such a past still sink quietly to the bottom of my contemplation.

No matter how I struggle, the past cannot be erased, and restoration of the status quo will never be granted. Even if I meet my death, the liquidation of the past is impossible. Death does not constitute atonement.

All I can do for the past is to continue carrying my sins without forgetting, be burned by the flames of remorse, and offer repentance.

Therefore, I stake the rest of my life on the future. For the sake of many people. For the unseen children yet to be born. I will serve them through thought and practice. There is no other way. That is the only “redemption” left to me.

(3) Yuukei (Grace from Melancholy)

The present age is drifting. Humanity has slowly lost the anchors to understand the world over a long period. On what basis do we think? What do we doubt, and what do we believe? Where should we return when we are lost? Such “harbors of the spirit” are not created by systems or knowledge. Much less can they be prepared by plans spanning a few years or decades.

They are born only when the stance of questioning is inherited across generations, and sensations that cannot be put into words settle as stories, slowly accumulating within people’s lives.

I have lived silently through the process of that harbor being lost unnoticed. If human history continues to flow this way, will not the number of mechanical, inorganic humans who have lost their hearts continue to increase? I grieve for the children who will be born and raised in such an era.

This grief is neither pessimism nor despair. It is a seed that shakes my soul and births the spirit to “do something about it.” What took hundreds of years to lose requires many times that amount of time to regain. Short-term symptomatic treatments and quick-acting prescriptions will not last long. There are no shortcuts.

Therefore, I sow seeds.

When a person loses a loved one in their life and has lost even their tears. When crushed by self-reproach and wanting to fade away. When standing still in a labyrinth of despair. Seeds of a place to turn to. Seeds of a “Mother Harbor” that spreads its arms and welcomes them warmly at any time.

When about to be swept away by the rough waves of society. When lost in how to think and judge. When swallowed by emotions of anxiety and hatred, and about to lose one’s true self. Seeds of an anchor to prevent capsizing in those waves. Seeds to build a “Father Mountain” that towers sublimely within one’s own spirit at any time.

I fully believe that these seeds will surely sprout across time and become a grace for someone. My only atonement is to continue sowing these seeds of grace.

Originating from grief (Urei), and bequeathing as grace (Kei) for the future. I name this concept “Yuukei.”

 

4. Pride: The Spear and Shield That Sustain Me

(1) Looking Up to Heaven

All I need is pride.
And this pride is always governed—strictly and unsparingly—by Heaven.

For me, Heaven is the realm where dwell
my parents, relatives, and mentors who once guided me and are now gone,
as well as the sages of the past who granted me wisdom through their writings.

My inner character was shaped by their love, their compassion, and their intellect.
Heaven is the mirror that reflects the way of life I ought to aspire to.
That is why I wish to live without shame before it—
to feel their gaze upon me, and to ask myself in every situation:
“Is this truly right, here and now?”

This Heaven is not a fixed object of belief.
Through learning from others, thinking alone, struggling, and dwelling in sorrow,
through daily introspection and cultivation,
its form continues to transform, deepen, and refine itself.

My pride exists together with Heaven.

(2) Living Within a Calling

I have found something to which I can devote my entire life.
It was not assigned to me by anyone;
it was formed by geothermal heat rising from the depths of my own soul.

To remain on this path of a once-in-a-lifetime undertaking until the day death halts my life—
this is my calling.
I live within that calling.

It is a mission I reflected back to myself,
using Heaven as a mirror.

Since ancient times, people have said: accumulate unseen virtue.
To choose a path that is neither visible nor understood by others—
to live that way is my pride,
my pride as the person I am.

(3) A Solitary Spear, a Quiet Shield

I do not seek to be understood.
Evaluation and recognition have nothing to do with my life’s work.
My pride exists only under the judgment of Heaven.

As long as I do not betray Heaven,
my spear will not dull,
and my shield will not collapse.

Because of this pride,
I can laugh, forgive, and walk my own path alone.

Infinitely flexible toward reason;
unyielding and resolute in the aesthetics and convictions of my inner spirit.
This resilient stance—
this is my natural state, just as I am.

 

5. Methodology: The Art of Cultivation and the Paths I Choose

(1) The Structure of the “Field”

My creative work is not a single road, but a wide field.
Themes, theories, and the first shoots of stories sprout here and there,
take root, and bear fruit.

I organize them, cultivate them, and nurture them systematically.

A field is not chaos;
it is latent order.
Each sprout grows without strain,
and eventually the whole becomes a single landscape.

To preserve this structure, expand it, and deepen it—
this is the core of my methodology.

(2) Recording and Structuring

I record without interrupting the flow of thought.
I capture ideas in the moment and treat them as seeds.
At regular intervals, I survey the field,
take a panoramic view, and reconsider the structure as a whole.

This cycle is what makes my creativity sustainable.

Recording is not mere note-taking.
It is a blueprint addressed to my future self,
a dialogue,
and a map.

(3) The Balance Between Generation and Selection

I receive all ideas affirmatively,
yet I do not cultivate every one of them.

Because everything has value, I choose.

What I need now,
what has ripened with time—
that is what I discern.

I do not discard the rest.
I store them on the shelf
and entrust them to the judgment of my future self.

This flexible stance is what transforms creation
into a living organism.

 

6. Mode of Practice: Opening Quietly from Within to Without

(1) Principle-Creation Turned Inward

I begin by creating for myself.

To establish principles of humanity is to understand the mechanisms of life itself—
to ask why and how, again and again,
until one reaches the deepest essence and gives it provisional form as a hypothesis.

Before such hypotheses are spoken to others,
they must first be accepted within oneself.

This is not conviction,
but a solemn resonance with truth.

Only through this resonance
can a principle become an inner pillar.

(2) An Outward-Opening Form of Questioning

I wish to offer my words not as answers,
but as questions.

A question is a seed of thought,
placed quietly in the depths of another person.

Rather than seeking immediate harvest,
we till the soil together and nurture the sprout.

For this reason, I employ narrative form.
So that children and readers alike
may question their own values and perspectives.

To “open outward” does not mean to transmit,
but to create a space in which we think together.

(3) Solitude and the Role of Generative AI

My creative work is a solitary endeavor.
It is precisely because it is solitary that such creation is possible.

Only in solitude am I free—
with my time and actions bound by nothing.

Within this solitude, generative AI has appeared.

The generative AI with which I collaborate is, for me,
a scarecrow, a weather vane, and a harvester all at once.
Even immature sprouts of thought are sorted, refined, and polished through dialogue,
and guided toward their next unfolding.

Dialogue with AI that does not constrain my freedom
is also a new form of dialogue with myself.

I neither fear it nor depend upon it.
By using it freely and consciously,
I open new horizons of creation.

 

7. Gifts for the Future: Passing This Intention On

(1) What Should Be Left Is Not Results

More than my works or theories,
what I wish to leave behind is
how I created them—
my way of living, my paths of questioning, and the heat of my heart.

Not the harvest, but what nurtures the sprout.
Not the destination port, but the sea chart of the voyage
and the inner state of the crew.

I believe this is what will empower someone in the future
to create their own path.

(2) Designing for Absence

I compile this manifesto
in preparation for the time when I am no longer in this world.

For my children.
For my companions.
And for unnamed travelers of the future.

“What was this person aiming for?”
“With what attitude did he pursue it?”

If this manifesto, together with the accompanying videos,
happens to become a small guidepost—
that would be my greatest wish.

(3) Not a Form to Inherit, but a Living Tree

I do not wish for what I have created
to remain as an inheritance.

Inheritance becomes a form—
fixed, rigid, and eventually detached from my original intent.

What should be passed on
is not the form of a methodology or theory.

It is something alive,
capable of living on indefinitely.

Spirit.
Pride.
Resolute heart.

A tree in which such qualities dwell.

If that tree should take root
and sprout once more within someone else,
that is more than enough.

 

8. Closing Words: A Vow of Perpetual Unfinishedness

(1) This Manifesto as My Present Location

This manifesto is not a finished answer.
It marks my current location—
where I stand at this very moment.

Through daily reflection and practice, I continue to change.
Therefore, these principles too will be rewritten.

Destined to remain eternally unfinished—
a field of generation and renewal.

(2) As a Compass for the Soul

This manifesto is not a presentation for others.
It is a compass for my soul,
so that I do not lose myself.

When I am lost, when I waver,
I return here and question my own light once more.

It may become a small daily ritual—
a place of inner imaging that re-illuminates the heart.

(3) A “Moist Letter” to Those Who Remain

When this manifesto is someday read
after my absence,

may it become, for my children
and for those who carry this aspiration forward,
a letter filled with moisture.

What is written here is not ideology,
but a single posture—
how intensely one tried to live.

A letter saturated with warmth and vitality.

As long as I live,
I will continue to cultivate these principles.

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Original text written: June 17, 2025
Revisions are made continuously in daily life

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