Thanks for your comment, I’m really glad to hear that you liked the translation! It’s surprising that there is so little about Umeda in English since he’s such a well-known figure in Japan (in technology/web circles).

As to your question, the original Japanese is 志向性 (Shikousei), which I believe derives from the English “intentionality” (or possibly from the corresponding word in another Western language). I think basically your “finding out what you really want to do, then doing it” is pretty much what he’s trying to say.

I’m hoping to translate this interesting discussion involving Umeda for gyaku sometime in the next couple weeks, keep watching if you’d like to read more about his ideas.

And of course, good luck with the Japanese study!

I haven’t taken the time to read the article in Japanese. Although I can read Kanji a little, it would take me a while with the dictionary open to get through it.

I was wondering if you could explain what you think Umeda means by (what you have translated as) intentionality, as it appears no less than 4 times in the article. It seems central to his argument, yet I can only find shallow dictionary definitions or dense philosophical discussions about intentionality on the web.

I can only guess that it has something to do with finding out what you really want to do, then doing it. Pointing out the kanji for this word would help greatly for those of us that are studying Japanese. Clarifying what you think is meant by it might help those that aren’t.

I hope to be able to talk with Umeda-san (and you too!) someday..

have a happy holiday!

Terri