Whether or not time has a physical reality is an ongoing debate in physics and in philosophy. On the one hand, time in physics is usually treated as a mathematical parameter that describes the motion of an object. In this case, time does not necessarily possess physical reality. On the other hand, using Niels Bohr’s concept of complementarity, it is possible to promote time from a parameter to a physical observable, that is, something that physical experiments can measure. In this case, time can have a physical reality, which gives rise to dynamical states of matter such as quantum time crystals. The Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitarō was also considerably influenced by Bohr’s complementarity. By reinterpreting complementarity within the framework of his own system, Nishida used complementarity and the problem of the observer to give reality to time insofar as it is linked to space. The purpose of this chapter is to (i) try to understand and extend Nishida’s philosophy of time through the lens of contemporary physics and (ii) see whether it can provide insights into today’s understanding of time in quantum mechanics.