Volume 13 | Issue 18 | Number 3 | Article ID 4316 | May 04, 2015 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus

Sawaki Kōdō, and Wartime Japan: Final Pieces of the Puzzle 沢木興道、禅宗、そして戦時下日本 パズルの最後のピース

Brian Victoria

An earlier article posted at The Asia-Pacific In light of this debate, I invite readers to join Journal entitled “Zen Masters on theme as I seek to “take readers behind the Battlefield” (available here) sparked a heated scenes” to recreate the wartime past of Zen online debate extending over a series of articles master Sawaki Kōdō. Inasmuch as Sawaki’s concerning the wartime role of Sōtō Zen war-related statements are already known, the Master Sawaki Kōdō (1880-1965). primary focus of this article is a recreation of Sawaki’s wartime activities as the final pieces of a puzzle leading to a comprehensive understanding of this well-known master’s wartime record.

Part I

Getting behind the scenes in Japan’s war years is not an easy task, for writings in the Zen tradition about a particular , past or present, are nearly all works of hagiography, i.e., especially those written by someone in that Zen master’s . This is because disciples invariably seek to present their predecessors in the best possible light, allowing them to bathe in their master’s “reflected glory” while establishing their own credentials as bona fide Zen masters. Equally important, such unconditional praise is in accord with the Confucian moral dictum, long incorporated into Zen, that one’s master must never be publicly criticized.

Another major difficulty is similar to one experienced in Germany following the Nazi’s defeat, i.e., few Germans were willing to admit they had once staunchly supported Adolf Hitler. Many Postwar Germans went to great lengths Sawaki as a priest to hide their wartime complicity. Similarly, in postwar Japan few have been willing to admit Interested readers will find the relevant they once supported Japanese aggression articles, including both sides of the debate, directed against the peoples of Asia. Even here and here. today, some Japanese political leaders dismiss

1 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF the very idea of any Japanese wrongdoing. The great to endure, nor enemy current attempts by the Japanese government numbers too numerous [to to disavow the role of the Japanese military in overcome]. I call this invoking the organizing wartime sexual slavery (aka power of the military flag. “comfort women”) are but the latest example. Discarding one’s body beneath the military flag is true selflessness. 2 Ironically, this unwillingness to admit (Emphasis mine) culpability spills over, in the case of Zen, even to the Western Dharma descendants of wartime Zen masters. If their master (or master’s In a similar vein: master) was a fervent advocate of war and the mass killing it entails, what does this say about Zen master Dōgen said that we the master’s alleged “enlightenment” (or their should discard our self. He taught own)? Facing a situation, how does one go that we should quietly engage in about reconstructing a past that no one wishes practice having forgotten our self. to have reconstructed or be reminded of? Dōgen expressed this in the The first step is, of course, to look for the chapter entitled “Life and Death” wartime writings of the master or masters in of the Shōbōgenzō [A Treasury of question. Fortunately, many of their comments the Essence of the True Dharma] are still extant in the publications of their as follows: “Simply discard body respective Zen institutions, whether Sōtō or and mind and cast yourself into the Rinzai. The second step is to look for the realm of the Buddha. The Buddha writings of these masters that were published will then serve as your guide, and in newspapers, books or other wartime if you follow the guidance given, Buddhist periodicals, including secular you will free yourself from life and publications. death, and become a Buddha, without any need to exert yourself Sawaki’s Statements either physically or mentally.”

In attempting to reconstruct Sawaki’s wartime record, there is, as evidenced in previous articles, ample proof of his efforts to employ Expressed in different words, this the Buddha-dharma in support of the Japanese means that the orders of one’s war effort.1 For this article, two short examples superiors are to be obeyed, will suffice: regardless of content. It is in doing this that you immediately become faithful retainers of the emperor Religion exists in the renunciation and perfect soldiers. If you die you of all forms of desire. This is where will be worshipped as a god in the way is to be found. This is [Shintō] .3 where enlightenment is (Emphasis mine) encountered. . . .

Expressed in terms of our Japanese Needless to say, “true selflessness” in military, it denotes a realm in does not consist in “discarding one’s which wherever the flag of our body beneath the military flag” any more than military goes there is no ordeal too becoming “perfect soldiers” is a teaching of

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Zen Master Dōgen. Something similar of course We find that Sawaki was but one in a long list can be said concerning the support that all of of both Rinzai and Sōtō Zen leaders who spoke the world’s major religions give to the wars similarly. Sawaki’s uniqueness among his peers fought by the nations they are a part of. was that, as a young Zen priest, he had demonstrated his willingness, as a soldier, to Sawaki’s Wartime Actions kill (and be killed) on behalf of Japanese colonial expansion in the Russo-Japanese War While it may be possible to debate the meaning of 1904-5. He subsequently actively of some of Sawaki’s more obscure wartime encouraged others to do likewise. It was statements, the meaning of the two quotations precisely this willingness that enabled Sawaki above is clear. However, a more controversial to have such a powerful wartime impact during question remains, i.e., did Sawaki’s wartime the Asia- of 1937-45. actions match the Buddhist rhetoric he used to endorse Japan’s aggression? About this there is more room for debate.

The major reason this question is more debatable is because the evidence is less clear. For example, to the best of my knowledge, Sawaki, unlike D.T. Suzuki, left no diaries behind detailing his wartime actions or motivations. We must therefore rely on reports by those who were close to Sawaki, i.e., his disciples, the authors of his hagiographies. Needless to say, they are highly unlikely to write anything that is unambiguously negative about him. Thus, when references are made to Sawaki’s wartime teachings or actions, they deserve close attention, not just regarding the content of the references but, equally important, the way these references fit into the larger context of a country in the midst of what Japanese leaders accurately described as “all- out war” (zenmen sensō).

Further, in seeking to understand Sawaki’s thought it is critically important to compare and contrast it with that of his peers. Sawaki’s wartime statements must be compared with those of other Zen masters of his time to ascertain what they held in common and what, Sawaki as a soldier if anything, separated them. Doing this enables us to determine if Sawaki was alone in his pro- war statements, and especially to determine if Especially in wartime, the political orientation Sawaki was in any sense unique in using of one’s friends, even acquaintances, provides Buddhist teachings as the basis for his support additional information about the nature of the of Japan’s war policies. person under discussion. If Sawaki had

3 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF associated with those few antiwar Buddhists of is the long tradition in Zen, first practiced in his day, we would come away with a much China, in which the disciples of Chan (J. Zen) different impression of him than if, as we shall masters wrote down their master’s words and see, he consistently associated with some of published them as if their master had written Japan’s most prominent rightwing civilian and them. This is not to suggest that Sawaki did military leaders. not, or could not, have carefully checked his disciples’ work exactly as his disciples claimed In short, establishing context is a keyhe did. ingredient of the academic enterprise. The more contextual evidence presented, coupled Sawaki’s Second Trip to China with hard facts, the greater level of confidence we can have in conclusions reached. InBearing this in mind, Sakai Tokugen began his Sawaki’s case we have already noted the description of Sawaki’s four- month China visit manner in which he broke his priestly vow not (March through August 1934) by quoting to kill during the Russo-Japanese War. Thus, Sawaki as follows: there is no need to repeat that evidence here. Instead, let us first closely examine a second Inasmuch as I had previously been trip Sawaki made to China years later, close to Lt. General Yanagawa beginning in March 1934 and extending Heisuke, he made the following through August. proposition to me, “Why don’t you Before doing this, however, it is important to come to China to worship at the examine what appears at first glance to be a various temples there?” [I replied] reasonable suspicion regarding information “I wouldn’t be able to serve as a concerning Sawaki. In the first instance, this military spy, you know.” “Aha, ha, suspicion has to do with the difference between ha! It’s not something like that at books written about Sawaki by his disciples all. It would be fine if you would 5 versus those writings that bear Sawaki’s name just come to worship.” as their author. In Sawaki’s case, however, this difference is minimal, for none of the writings, On the surface this doesn’t seem to be a attributed directly to Sawaki or simply quoting particularly revealing conversation, let alone a him, was actually written by him. In other sinister one. Yet things begin to look different words, all of his writings, whether carrying his when one examines the contents more closely. name or not, were written by his disciples, not For starters, it is interesting to note that himself. As Sawaki’s longtime disciple, Sakai Sawaki, a former enlisted soldier, identifies Tokugen, notes, “There is not a single one of himself as a close friend of an Imperial Army Sawaki’s writings that he wrote himself. All of general. What was the origin of their them were written stenographically.”4 friendship? And who was General Yanagawa? There may be at least two reasons for this. First, as an impoverished youth, Sawaki received only a primary school education. Thus, it is possible he found it tedious to write employing the complicated Chinese characters comprising the Buddhist lexicon. Sawaki was, however, recognized for his wide knowledge of the Zen canon. Thus, a more likely explanation

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domestic assassinations of opposing political, business and military leaders in the early 1930s. These assassinations succeeded in bringing a halt to Japanese cabinets based on political parties following the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in May 1932. Because of the emphasis this faction placed on “spiritual training” ( seishin kyōiku ), both Sōtō and Rinzai Zen masters trained many of the officers and civilians associated with it and even defended their domestic acts of terrorism in their writings and in the courtroom.

Although still a few years in the future in 1934, during the Nanking Massacre of December 1937 General Yanagawa served as commander of the Yanagawa Imperial Army Corps. Soldiers in the units comprising this corps subsequently testified to having committed some of most heinous atrocities perpetrated against the residents of Nanjing, especially against Chinese women, extending over many days and weeks.

In 1948 the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal executed General Matsui Iwane for his role as supreme commander during the Nanking General Yanagawa Heisuke Massacre. Shortly before his death, Matsui described the attitude of his subordinate officers, including Yanagawa, as follows:

Lt. General Yanagawa Heisuke [1879–1945] Prince Asaka was there [at the was one of the senior members of the “Imperial Staff Officers Meeting] as well as Way faction” in the Imperial Army. The theater commander General domestic aim of these ultra-rightwing Yanagawa. I told them that the nationalists was the complete eradication of the enhancement of imperial prestige remaining elements of Japanese democracy; the we had accomplished had all been adoption of national socialist economic policies debased in a single stroke by the similar to the Nazis; and the restoration of full riotous conduct of the troops. political power to Emperor . As for Nevertheless, after I finished foreign policy, they fully supported the speaking they all laughed at me.7 expansion of the Japanese colonial empire, yet believed the Soviet Union was Japan’s principal enemy due to its promotion of communism.6 Be that as it may, a second question raised by the previous quotation concerns Sawaki’s In to achieve their goals, encapsulated in unwillingness to spy for the Imperial Army. Yet, the call for a “Shōwa Restoration,” younger what would have prompted Sawaki to suspect faction members committed numerousthis in the first place?

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The answer is that in the aftermath of WW I, incident carried out in secret by a group of the Imperial military, both the Army and Navy, Imperial Army officers in September 1931, the were well known for employing real as well as Japanese military had occupied all of fake Buddhist priests to spy for them in China. northeastern China, i.e., Manchuria and Inner These spies had been particularly effective Mongolia. Following this, the Japanese when Japan attacked Germany’s colonial government established the puppet state of enclave in Qingdao. It was a combination of a Manchukuo in March 1932. In the aftermath, real Buddhist priest-spy on behalf of the Navy, the question for the Japanese military and and a fake Buddhist priest-spy from the Army, government became one of how to mollify whose robes gained them entry to that closely Chinese anger toward Japan. guarded enclave. They told the German border guards they had come to conduct memorial One policy adopted by the Japanese services in the colony’s small, but strategically government and military in response was to located, Japanese Buddhist cemetery. In reality stress the importance of the religion, i.e., they had both been sent to draw detailed Buddhism, which both peoples shared. Who diagrams of German fortifications on behalf of better to remind the Chinese people of their their military patrons. shared religious heritage than an ideologically trustworthy Japanese Buddhist priest like Given Sawaki’s military background, he would Sawaki? In fulfilling this role there was no need have been well aware of the Imperial military’s for him to act as a spy. His extended travel use of Buddhist priests as spies, and it is to throughout China, including Japanese- Sawaki’s credit that he indicated his controlled Manchuria, would be sufficient. unwillingness to be used in this manner. Yet, why would Yanagawa have issued hisIn this connection it should be noted that the invitation, an invitation that according to Japanese government also paid for D.T. Suzuki Japanese custom meant he would arrange to travel to China to meet influential Buddhist payment for Sawaki’s trip? leaders over a forty-day period beginning in May of the same year. It is for good reason that A likely answer lies in a further description of Suzuki’s admirers claim he visited China “in a Sawaki’s lengthy trip. First we learn that it was semi-diplomatic capacity” but provide no hint the Japanese consulates in Shanghai and other of what “semi-diplomatic” activities he was Chinese cities that made all of Sawaki’s travel 11 arrangements including providing aninvolved in. I suggest that both men likely interpreter.8 Further, in Nanjing, the Japanese played similar roles in the Japanese consulate provided him with lodging in the government’s efforts to secure the consulate itself.9 But why would both the acquiescence of Chinese Buddhist leaders to Imperial Army and the Japanese government the Japanese occupation of one part of their have been so solicitous towards Sawaki? country.

One possible reason is contained within the Another noteworthy aspect of Sakai’s book is following sentence in the narrative: “My visit its abrupt end, i.e., a short six pages after came after the outbreak of the Manchurian Sawaki’s return from China in August 1934. Incident. The feelings of ordinary Chinese Thus, there is no description of Sawaki’s toward Japan had worsened.”10 actions during the subsequent full-scale invasion of the remainder of China beginning in There was, in fact, more than ample reason for July 1937 and through Japan’s defeat in August ordinary Chinese to be filled with hostility 1945. Nor is there any discussion of Sawaki’s toward Japan. Following a fake “anti-Japanese” postwar life despite the fact that he lived until

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December 1965, dying at the age of 85. There noted above, we know the pro-war message was, however, one notable exception to Sakai’s Sawaki delivered in Japan proper. This message silence about both Sawaki’s wartime and would surely have resonated with Japanese postwar life. employees stationed in Manchuria.

A Brief Chronology of Sawaki’s life, As a decorated, and seriously wounded, Imperial Army veteran from the Russo-Japanese The exception consisted of an appendixwar, Sawaki would have enjoyed instant including a chronology of Sawaki’s life listing credibility and respect from his audiences, major events that occurred before, during and especially as he had earlier helped defeat a 12 after the war. Here we focus on the wartime major Western power just as Japan was, after era. Although brief, there is much to learn from December 7, 1941, seeking to do once again. this chronology. Furthermore, Sawaki was appropriately modest about his accomplishments: “It was just a Sawaki made two additional visits to Manchuria question of being in the right place at the right during the war years. The first was in May of time - a time when a lot of killing was going on. 1941 and the second was in May of the I was lucky – that’s all.”13 following year. Significantly, the chronology notes that in both years he received invitations Sawaki, however, had a more important from two major Japanese companies operating message to convey to his audiences in his in Manchuria, i.e., Kokusai Unyu (International capacity as a Zen priest. As noted in a previous Transport) in the first instance and, a year article, he criticized his past performance on later, Manshū Dengyō (Manchuria Electric the battlefield for having been marred by Industry). bravado and a desire to be recognized, if only in death, for his bravery in battle. In other Manshū Dengyō was headquartered in Tokyo words, from a Buddhist point of view, his and enjoyed monopoly control over all service had been marred by self-attachment. As electrical generation in Manchuria. Kokusai Unyu was a large transportation company noted above, in the following years Sawaki directly connected to the military in that it came to recognize what true selflessness transported both soldiers and their equipment. consisted of, i.e., “Discarding one’s body Both companies had numerous branches beneath the military flag is true selflessness.” throughout Manchuria where Sawaki would Additionally, “It is in doing this that you have lectured. Yet, why would either company immediately become faithful retainers of the pay a Buddhist priest to come to Manchuria? emperor and perfect soldiers.”

On the one hand, this question cannot be If talking about becoming “perfect soldiers” to precisely answered in the absence of written civilians, i.e., company employees, seems records of Sawaki’s presentations during his incongruous, it is important to note that those visits. Yet, it can be said with confidence that Buddhist priests like Sawaki who were too old his presence was deemed sufficiently valuable to become soldiers during the Asia-Pacific War to the war effort that he received multiple were strongly encouraged to provide morale- invitations. building lectures to Japanese company employees and factory workers. As stated in a However, when the question of Sawaki’s call from the multi-sect “Great Japan Buddhist Manchurian presentations is framed differently, Federation,” (Dainihon Bukkyō-kai) priests we come up with a much more likely answer. were “expected to provide spiritual training That is to say, thanks to his wartime writings as and guidance to the industrial warriors” (

7 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF sangyō senshi ).14 In the midst of a losing war it Briefly, Maruyama Tsurukichi (1883-1956) had was ever more critical to instill in civilian risen through police ranks to serve as the head employees the same spirit of self-sacrifice unto of the “Special Higher Police” (Tokubetsu Kōtō death as the battlefield soldier. In theKeisatsu), the Japanese equivalent of the Nazi accomplishment of this task it is hard to Gestapo, in Kagawa Prefecture and later the conceive of anyone better qualified than head of the colonial police force in Korea. This Sawaki. was at the time of the Korean independence movement of 1919. According to research A Final Note of Interest conducted by Park Eunsik, the bloody combination of military and police suppression There is one final note of interest in Sakai’s that followed resulted in 7,509 people killed, chronology, namely, in March 1945 Sawaki 15,849 wounded, and 46,303 arrested.15 moved to the residence of Maruyama Tsurukichi. The reference, however, neither Maruyama returned to Japan in 1924, this time explains what caused Sawaki to move or who taking charge of suppressing leftwing activities Maruyama was. March 1945 marked the at home, especially labor unions and strikes. Maruyama continued to rise through the ranks beginning of the firebombing of Tokyo by B-29 until by 1945 he was tasked with mobilizing the bombers that destroyed the heart of the city entire northeastern area of Japan in and took more than 100,000 lives, so this may preparation for the expected Allied invasion. have forced Sawaki to move. But who was the Following the war, Maruyama was initially man who took him in? banished from holding public office by the Allied Occupation Forces. However, in 1951 he assumed the presidency of Musashino Bijutsu Gakkō (Musashino Art School). Be that as it may, the question remains as to why had Maruyama had taken Sawaki in?

It is reasonable to assume that it had some connection to three additional entries in Sakai’s chronology. First, from December 23, 1939 onwards, Sawaki served on a government commission charged with promoting the martial arts among Japanese school children as part of their preparation for military service. Second, on November 22, 1941 Sawaki was appointed to serve on a government commission devoted to enhancing the physical strength of all citizens. These and related contributions led the Japanese government’s Bureau of Decorations to award a “” in the form of a silver cup to Sawaki for “promoting the public interest” on November 3, 1943. Maruyama Tsurukichi Interim Conclusion

It is in the nature of the work of the religious

8 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF historian to develop logical hypotheses based 946 pages, indicates that it contains a much on available information while simultaneously more detailed picture of Sawaki than the 283 remaining prepared to modify or even reject pages of Sakai’s book. However, references to these hypotheses when confronted withSawaki’s activities during the Asia-Pacific War additional information. The process of ongoing are contained almost entirely in the second discovery makes the religious historian’s work volume. both interesting and challenging. In his preface Tanaka notes that he wrote his In Sawaki’s case it is clear I have reached some biography based on his own recollections as tentative hypotheses about the nature of his well as the recollections of others who knew wartime activities based on solid if incomplete Sawaki well. Tanaka attended several information. gatherings of those who knew Sawaki where he recorded their reminisces with his tape At this point, Sawaki’s wartime actions, like his recorder. He frequently includes these words, appear to be entirely congruent with reminisces in his book, placing quotation signs those of a strong if not fervent supporter of around the recorded material. However, he Japan’s military aggression. The onlyseldom identifies who or where something was information we have to the contrary is that he said, making it difficult for the scholar to declined, if only half in jest, to become a spy for unravel events. the Imperial Army. Yet, like D.T. Suzuki, he accepted the largesse of the JapaneseTanaka Tadao’s Political Background government in undertaking a four-month trip through China at a time when China-Japan Before examining the war-related content of relations were severely strained. Tanaka’s two volumes, it is important to examine Tanaka’s political orientation, for it Nevertheless, I have yet to prove myclearly has an impact on his view of Sawaki. As hypotheses concerning the nature of Sawaki’s Tanaka explains (p. 159),17 he had been wartime activities. I have merely provided an imprisoned from 1937-39 under suspicion of introduction to those activities coupled with a being a member of the leftwing popular front plausible explanation of their significance. movement. However, while in prison he There is, however, additional information underwent a process known as tenkō, i.e., concerning Sawaki’s wartime activities. coerced ideological conversion in which prisoners rejected their previous leftwing views Part II and pledged loyalty to the emperor and state. In postwar Japan he went on to become a major The focus of Part II is on Sawaki’s wartime ultra-nationalist. To give but one example of his activities as presented in the writings of yet later political views, consider Tanaka’s eulogy another of his disciples, a layman named offered at the time of the suicide of the famous Tanaka Tadao. Tanaka wrote a two-volume postwar ultra-nationalist novelist and actor, tribute to Sawaki entitled: “ Sawaki Kōdō – Mishima Yukio. Kono Koshin no Hito (Sawaki Kōdō – Heart of 16 an Ancient Man). Tanaka was a respected member of Sawaki’s long-time disciples. He was so respected that Sakai invited him to write a preface to his own book on Sawaki, the only one of Sawaki’s disciples so honored.

Tanaka’s book consists of two volumes, totaling

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ambiguous awareness of national identity. It is necessary for those who uphold the lofty ideal of love of country to unceasingly cling to Mishima’s spirit.18

It is through this ultra-nationalist prism that Tanaka's view of Sasaki's wartime record needs to be assessed.

Tanaka on Sawaki

The first thing to note is that Tanaka is very much aware of the need to address both the war itself as well as Sawaki’s relationship to it. We see this as early as the second page of the preface to his book. Addressing his Japanese readers, Tanaka writes: Mishima Yukio

Impertinent Japanese intellectuals On November 25, 1970, Mishima, accompanied claim that it was reckless to fight a by four members of his private army, addressed war with an enemy like the United soldiers of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in States when it was clear to all that Tokyo, urging them to rise up, launch a coup Japan would lose. These d'état, and restore political power to the unrepentant, idle spectators state emperor. The assembled soldiers, however, that Japan’s defeat was only to be only laughed at Mishima’s call to arms. Deeply expected. That is to say, these disappointed, Mishima committed traditional impertinent intellectuals treat the ritual suicide by disemboweling himself, i.e., Japanese people with contempt. seppuku . They have gone in a worthless direction, masochistically and For Tanaka, Mishima’s call for a military meekly echoing the viewpoint that uprising was of no concern. He wrote: severely criticizes the Japanese people as criminals on a worldwide-scale. Mishima has carried out the wishes of our ancestors by never ceasing to pray for the defense of Tanaka then contrasts Sawaki with these the sacred nature of the emperor. . masochistic intellectuals: “The entire body and . .Since Mishima’s death, there has mind of [our] master was brimming with a been a continual increase in the spirited bravery.” influence of Japan’s communist forces together with an increase Tanaka identifies one of the impertinent within conservative political intellectuals (p. 459). In a section entitled, parties of the influence of those “Rats, Too, Form an Unbroken Line” (i.e., in a cultivating a humanistic, fashion similar to the Imperial family), Tanaka

10 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF introduces Professor Ichikawa Hakugen who unlimited number of sentient taught at Rinzai Zen sect-affiliated Hanazono beings, facing various forms of University in . distress, wholeheartedly call on the name of Kannon , then Ichikawa was certainly an intellectual, but he Kannon will graciously and was also a Rinzai Zen priest. What immediately deliver them from distinguished Ichikawa from his peers was that their distress. For example, even if in 1970 he had written a book entitled The War someone is thrown into a great Responsibility of Buddhists ( Bukkyō-sha no fire, they will remain unburned. Sensō-sekinin ). In 1975 he wrote a companion Further, if someone attacks book, Japanese Religion under Fascism ( Nihon intending to kill you, if you but call Fashizumu ka no Shūkyō ). In his first book on the name of this Bodhisattva Ichikawa both admitted and repented his own then the attacker’s sword will wartime support of Japanese aggression. break into little pieces. There are However, for the first time in postwar Japan, he many other examples from this also identified those many, many other Zen that could be given, but figures, including both Sawaki and D.T. Suzuki, aren’t they all examples of who had said and written similar things during superstition? the war. Hey professor, how do you explain Tanaka could not abide Ichikawa for having this superstitious writing? criticized Sawaki, in particular, Sawaki’s admonition to “Invoke the Power of the Military Banner” (Nenpi Gunki-riki) instead of the Note that Tanaka does not deny that Sawaki traditional Mahāyāna invocation: “Invoke the wrote the admonition calling on soldiers to Power of Kannon (Skt., Avalokiteśvara)” (Nenpi invoke the power of the military banner during Kannon-riki). Tanaka rebuked Ichikawa as the war years. Instead he takes Ichikawa to follows: task for the criticism of Sawaki. Namely, if invoking the power of the Imperial military’s banner is superstitious then so must be the Professor Ichikawa Hakugen of invoking of Kannon’s power. In Tanaka’s mind Hanazono University has ridiculed there was no difference between the two. and made fun of Sawaki Kōdō for his “Invoke the Power of the Was Sawaki a Militarist? Military Banner,” asking if this is all that a famous Zen master is Just how deeply concerned Tanaka was with capable of. Ichikawa heaped abuse Sawaki’s wartime reputation is further on him implying this was some demonstrated by a section in Chapter Eleven kind of strange superstition. Since entitled, appropriately, “Was [Sawaki] Ichikawa wrote this in his book Complicit in Japanese Militarism?” Tanaka there is no doubt that he meant it acknowledges (p. 357) that Ichikawa was not seriously. the only one to have criticized Sawaki’s wartime conduct: However, if it is appropriate to call this a superstition, then the Kannon Sutra itself must be a There are those whom Nietzsche superstition as well. The Kannon has described as shallow minded, Sutra . . . states that when an i.e., frivolous, who attached such

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things as a label of militarism [to Another missed opportunity Sawaki] or claimed that he severed his relationship with Zen Buddhism With more than 900 pages in two volumes, one or opportunistically went along might think that Tanaka would have seized the with the times. However, as opportunity to respond to Sawaki’s “shallow- previously noted, the wartime minded” critics by setting the record straight actions of Sawaki Kōdō show no on his master’s wartime stance, both in word traces of his having been cut off and deed. Yet, the title of Chapter Eleven from the Buddha-dharma or simply makes it clear this is a false hope, namely: going along with the times. Instead “Immediately Before the Great War and he went straight ahead, looking Immediately After It.” As with Sakai’s book, the war years draw yet another yawning blank. In neither to the left nor right, short, two of Sawaki's most ardent defenders constantly at one with the Buddha- both sidestep his record during the war years. dharma. Nevertheless, when read closely, Tanaka On the one hand, in light of Tanaka’s political includes bits and pieces of information that orientation, it is not surprising to find him address aspects of Sawaki’s wartime actions albeit not his wartime writings. First of all, he dismissing Sawaki’s critics as he does. Yet, on confirms what we already know and adds to the same page Tanaka does level the following patterns of conduct first described by Sakai. criticism against what he calls “Japanese For example, Tanaka introduces Sakai’s religion”: description of Sawaki’s wartime Dharma talks (p. 455) given at the lay-oriented Zen training Japanese religion, especially center attached to Daichūji temple: Buddhism, has never been the driving force behind conflicts with In Sawaki’s lectures on Zen Master other nations. However, up to the Dōgen’s writings, you will find present time, it has failed to exert such phrases as “the eight corners itself to transcend such conflicts. of the world under one roof” and Therefore, when war comes and “the way of the gods” scattered the people rise up to fight as a throughout. At that time we all matter of life and death [Japanese truly believed in such things as religion/Buddhism] ends up “one hundred million [citizens] of cooperating with the war-making one mind” and “self-annihilation capacity of its own country. for the sake of one’s country.” We were consumed with the thought of repaying the debt of gratitude we This is, I think, a rather strong criticism. owed the state, and we incessantly Whether Tanaka’s criticism was, if only feared for the destiny our nation. obliquely, meant to apply to Sawaki as well, is up to the reader to decide. In any event, Tanaka does not attempt to defend Sawaki by The importance of the above quotation is that it claiming that critics missed the subtlety of his confirms Sawaki’s incorporation of the most master’s thought or that he was opposed to imperialistic and deadly elements of Japanese either war in general or the Asia-Pacific War in wartime propaganda into his lectures on the particular. writings of Zen Master Dōgen. For example,

12 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF the -derived slogan, “the eight corners of slogans as “one hundred million [citizens] of the world under one roof” (hakkō ichiu), was one mind” and “self-annihilation for the sake of closely connected to the belief that Japan was a one’s country.” And while it is true that states divine land ruled by a divine emperor. This and their militaries throughout the world have served as the basis for Japan’s claim to have long used religious leaders to promote their been divinely anointed to rule all of Asia. It also wars, seldom, if ever, have religious leaders meant that Japan was engaged in a “holy war” called on all citizens of their country to carry (seisen). out actions tantamount to mass suicide.

Additionally, the phrase “self-annihilation for A key piece of information the sake of one’s country” was perhaps the most deadly of all of Japan’s wartime slogans. It The argument can be made that in Sawaki’s demanded that every Japanese citizen, military case his embrace of wartime Japanese or civilian, be prepared to die in the war effort. propaganda had little influence beyond his If this claim sounds extreme we need only look clerical and lay disciples. However, Tanaka at many similar exhortations. For example, in provides significant information that indicates May 1944 Zen Master Kumazawa Taizen, chief the importance of Sawaki’s wartime activities, abbot of Eiheiji, the temple where Sawaki including his writings, visits to Manchuria and trained, wrote: Japanese prisons, etc. Tanaka writes (p. 357), “[Sawaki]-rōshi was also active both inside and outside [of Japan] as a lecturer for the ‘People’s When the invasion comes, all men Spiritual Culture Institute’ ( Kokumin Seishin and women must become soldiers Bunka Kenkyūjo ).” In other words, Sawaki was to ward off the enemy. Our slogan a lecturer for an institute established in 1932 must be, “One person kills one by the Japanese government’s Ministry of person,” meaning that if one Education for the express purpose of hundred thousand of the enemy countering leftist thought among students, come, then we will kill all one particularly Marxism and other foreign hundred thousand, each person ideologies, while at the same time promoting killing one. I hear that military loyalty to the emperor and state. practice with bamboo staves has already begun. This is exactly the Whether Sawaki was paid for his services we spirit and practice we need. . . . don’t know though it is likely that he was since This is unquestionably the time this institute was directly funded and controlled that all the people of this nation by the Ministry of Education. In any event, must rouse themselves to action. Sawaki had a formal role in the government’s Now is the time to truly face the war effort through the Institute. We may problem of death. speculate that Sawaki was invited to lecture company employees in Manchuria, as well as prison inmates, as an extension of his duties. And Kumazawa added: “In the present emergency we must resolutely fight to the end. Sawaki’s Travel to China in 1934 In this effort Zen faith and practice are of great importance.”19 Tanaka provides further information about the funding for Sawaki’s four month long tour of Although these are not Sawaki’s words, but China in 1934. Tanaka notes (p. 75) that the those of his ecclesiastical superior, theyMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Japanese nevertheless give concrete expression to such government paid for one half of the cost of

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Sawaki’s four-month visit. Tanaka states (p. 73) trips to wartime Manchuria, the first of which that Sawaki received an additional five hundred took place in June 1941 (although Sakai wrote yen from Imperial Army Lt. General Yanagawa it took place in May). Tanaka explains that Heisuke. Tanaka states, however, there are beginning in 1941 (p. 301) Sawaki gave conflicting stories about whether Sawaki lectures in various parts of that country for the received the latter sum directly from Yanagawa next few years. But what did Sawaki say? as well as how close the two men were. Tanaka explains: Nevertheless, this is one indication of the close relationship that existed between Buddhist leaders and the Japanese government and At the time of his first preaching military during the expansion into Manchuria. tour (junshaku), [Sawaki] made a long trip to Harbin where he Yet the question lingers, i.e., what did the addressed some three thousand Japanese military and government hope to gain [Japanese] agricultural pioneers on from a trip like the one undertaken by Sawaki the outskirts of the city. He told (or, as previously mentioned, by D.T. Suzuki for them that they should act humbly that matter)? Although Tanaka never directly toward the Manchurians. Although addresses this question, he does repeatedly this was a time before mention the increasing tensions between Japan loudspeakers, his voice was as and China. Tanaka quotes Sawaki (p. 97) as strong as always, and everyone follows: could hear him.

Despite the fact that anti-Japanese Tanaka provides further details (p. 341): feelings grew stronger day by day, I felt the continental [Chinese] people remained as calm and While in Manchuria, Sawaki collected as before. I imagine that accepted invitations for lectures when [Chinese] visited Japan they not on his original schedule. One of must have had some bad these was an invitation from the experiences. Nonetheless, they president of the Manchuria spared no effort in guiding a Colonial Development Company. traveler from Japan like me. Well, I Sawaki got in a truck and went to think this must be because I came the outskirts of the city of Harbin in the shape of a Buddhist priest. in Manchuria’s interior. There is a long tradition [in China] Some three thousand agricultural in which it is natural to harbor pioneers were there carrying rifles good feelings toward priests. I am on their shoulders, undergoing grateful for that. military training.

I think it can be safely said that in this instance These pioneers used this month the Japanese government and military got its every year to engage in military money’s worth. exercises since they couldn’t engage in planting before the end Sawaki’s wartime visits to Manchuria of May. The assumption of their training was that they might have Still further new information concerns Sawaki’s to defend Manchuria from an

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invasion from the north [i.e., from this training was equally if not more important the Soviet Union]. A platform the to the Japanese Imperial Army stationed in height of the second floor of a Manchuria, known as the Kwantung Army. As house had been built on the Kobayashi Kōji notes: training grounds. Kōdō climbed up the ladder and spoke from the platform. The Army expects that colonial emigrants along the frontier will be of great value. In wartime it is Although Tanaka doesn’t mention it, there are absolutely necessary to have several questions that need to be addressed Japanese villages and Japanese concerning these so-called agricultural nationals on the border. . . pioneers. The first and foremost of these is how .Emigrants will defend military landless farmers in Japan suddenly became facilities, safeguard the border, landowners in Manchuria? In an article and supply foodstuffs to the army.21 entitled, “Japan in Manchuria: Agricultural Emigration in the Japanese Empire, 1932-1945,” Kevin McDowell writes: Finally, it is important to understand the overall nature of the colonial enterprise these agricultural pioneers were a part of. Kevin Often, rather than pioneering McDowell concludes his article, “Japan in uncultivated land, many of the Manchuria: Agricultural Emigration in the colonists, aided by the heavy- Japanese Empire, 1932-1945” as follows: handed methods of the [Japanese] Kwantung Army, the East Asian Development Company, and the As the emigration movement grew Manchukuo government, simply from a small-scale trial emigration took over Chinese farms. Thus, program in 1932 to the mass while lip-service was paid to the migration project in 1937, notion of opening new land for economic objectives and cultivation, a large percentage of ideological conceptions lost force, the fields acquired by the colonists as imagery and idealism clashed were simply taken over from with realities on the ground and Chinese peasants, who were military might and the uneven pressed into selling their property power balance shaped contact and at rock-bottom prices, and then conflict between the agricultural given the choice of either moving colonists, Chinese, and other local out or working for the new inhabitants. In the process, the Japanese owners.20 emigrants acted as an instrument of Japanese imperialism, suppressing the Chinese Second, it is not surprising that military population and fortifying the training was important to these emigrant Manchurian-Soviet border.22 farmers for by 1941 they were fast becoming the object of ever more frequent armed attacks by bands of Chinese and Korean partisans Of course, it can be argued that Japanese seeking to end the Japanese occupation, not to colonists in Manchuria were doing no more mention bands of roving bandits. In addition, than what colonists have always done, e.g. the

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British in India or Africa, the Americans in the Manchuria was not the only place Sawaki was Philippines, the French in Indochina, etc. While active during the war years. Tanaka describes a true, this does not change the basic immorality 1938 lecture (p. 297) Sawaki gave to prisoners of the enterprise, i.e. it is an act of theft. At in Tokyo’s Kosuge prison. Tanaka notes, least in theory, all religions oppose theft. “Among the prisoners who listened to Rev. Sawaki’s lectures were those who are known as In the case of Buddhism, the second precept thought offenders (shisō-han).” Tanaka that all Buddhists, lay and cleric, pledge to explained that these thought offenders included follow is, “Refrain from stealing.” This includes, leftwing figures like Sano Manabu, Chairman of of course, taking someone else's property. As a the Central Committee of the Japanese priest, Sawaki had pledged to uphold this Communist Party, as well as ultranationalists precept even as he travelled throughout imprisoned for their role in the May 1932 Manchuria in support of Japan’s colonial assassination of Prime Minister Inukai efforts. It strains credibility to the breaking Tsuyoshi. point to believe that Sawaki’s only message to Japanese colonists was to “act humbly toward Tanaka then quotes a portion of Sawaki’s talk, the Manchurians” even as the latters’ lands “At the time I intended to become a priest [as a were being taken from them. young man], I was wearing black clothing. As a result I was suspected of being a thief and put Even should Sawaki have called for Japanese in prison. Therefore I’m just the same as you.” colonists to act humbly toward theAfter that, Tanaka notes, Sawaki talked about Manchurians, it wouldn’t change the fact that the way he had been interrogated as well as he supported acts of theft on a grand scale. In a subjected to torture by the police. postwar statement concerning Japan’s wartime actions, Sawaki as much as admitted this. He At this point Tanaka quotes an unidentified stated: informant: “Up to then there had never been a lecturer who spoke in such a down to earth way. It appears the prisoners thought this was With the Sino-Japanese War someone they could talk to, and they listened (1894-1895) and the Russo- with interest to the very end [of his talk].” Japanese War (1904-1905), we enlarged Japanese territory and Tanaka returns to the reasons (p. 261) for the annexed Korea. We believed that it success of Sawaki’s prison talk: really happened. . . . I myself was a soilder [sic] during the Russo- Sawaki, who from childhood had Japanese War and fought hard on grown up in the worst possible the battlefield. But since we had environment, was able to begin his lost what we had gained, I can see talk with his own experience of that what we did was useless.” having been imprisoned. This is what Buddhism calls the practice Sawaki clearly recognized that Japan had of “identification [with others]” ( attempted to “gain” through war what had not dōji ). You begin your talk by been theirs. His statement suggests that it was completely identifying with the Japan’s failure to hold on to these gains that other person. When Sawaki was a made the war effort “useless.” young priest he had been suspected of being a thief and Sawaki Lectures in Prison spent some days locked up in the

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Hyogo Prefectural jail. Sawaki was . All of the approximately forty grateful for this experience attendees had been sent there because, thanks to it, he was able under this law. to overcome the prisoners’ antipathy. As so often in the past, Tanaka reports Sawaki began his lecture as follows: Although Tanaka does give the name of the person who shared the above information, it is likely to have been one of the prison officials Due to my service at the time of present at Sawaki’s lecture. This informant was the Russo-Japanese War, I received clearly impressed with Sawaki’s efforts and the Order of the Golden Kite. But recognized that his ability to bond with this was not because I had done prisoners was key to the change of attitude anything special. Well, if I were to necessary to effect tenkō . Given this, it is explain it I would say that it was reasonable to assume that Sawaki was invited simply a case of getting lucky on back on one or more occasions to present the spur of the moment. further lectures, especially because once “thought offenders” were deemed to have been Tanaka’s description once again demonstrates sufficiently rehabilitated they could be released Sawaki’s astute involvement in the process of to join the war effort. rehabilitating thought offenders, i.e., political Tanaka describes a second group of prisoners prisoners. Sawaki’s earlier lecture in prison (p. 172), or more accurately “ex-prisoners,” was definitely not a one-time affair. In addition, Sawaki lectured to. Significantly, this time the the fact that the law enforcement agency group was composed entirely of leftwing responsible for supervising thought offenders thought offenders who were no longer in made the arrangements for Sawaki’s lecture prison. Like Tanaka himself, the assembled ex- indicates that the content of his message was prisoners had all done tenkō and repented their congruent with their ideological agenda. previous leftwing affiliations. Although two examples of Sawaki’s lecturing to Tanaka explains the background (p. 257) to thought offenders do not prove his continuous Sawaki’s lecture as follows: involvement in this kind of activity, at a minimum they suggest a pattern of behavior. Tanaka further reinforces this pattern when he Around 1937 a law was passed praises Sawaki (p. 261) for “having gone to the entitled, “The Law to Protect and police and prisons.” Sawaki’s assigned role Supervise Thought Offenders” ( was, after all, not only to oppose Marxist Shisō-han Hogo Kansatsu-hō ). thought but also to promote loyalty to emperor Shortly after I arrived in Tokyo and state. Given the above, it is once again [following my release from prison], reasonable to assume that Sawaki addressed I was ordered by the head of the thought offenders with some degree of Tokyo Office for Protection and regularity. Supervision [of Thought Offenders] to attend a lecture at Sōjiji Temple, From 1938 onwards Sawaki found time to give one of the head temples of the Sōtō talks to those “thought offenders” who had Zen sect located in the Tsurumi been freed from prison following disavowal of district of Kanagawa Prefecture. . . their previous leftwing, anti-war views but were

17 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF still under police supervision. He also went into that the dormitory and Zen training center prisons holding such offenders in order to Sawaki ran for Sōtō Zen-affiliated Komazawa convince them to cooperate with theUniversity (p. 304) was closed because of the prosecution of the war. government’s order requiring the evacuation of Tokyo due to the firebombing. By way of Sawaki was viewed as being particularly good background Tanaka explains: “The scale of the at this kind of work not least because his own wartime chaos gradually increased, and the poverty-stricken childhood had contributed to a citizens of Tokyo were in a miserable state, down-to-earth ability to identify with offenders. frantically running around this way and that.” For example, he typically began his talks with a description of his own one-month imprisonment Tanaka then explains the reason Sawaki chose at age eighteen when he had been mistakenly to move to Maruyama’s residence: “In March arrested as a thief. 1945 [Sawaki] moved to the home of Maruyama Tsurukichi, former police commissioner, who Further police connections had been a long time devotee ( shinja ) of Rev. Kōdō.” Two additional pieces of evidence suggest Sawaki enjoyed a close relationship with the Given Sawaki’s decade long relationship with police. The first is the regular meditation the police as noted above, it is hardly classes (-kai) Sawaki held for policemen. surprising to learn of the close relationship Tanaka informs us (p. 157) that Sawaki’s between these two men. Nevertheless, Tanaka contact with the police began at the beginning failed to mention that by this time Maruyama of 1936, just at the time of a major uprising by had been put in charge of preparing all of young Imperial Way faction-affiliated officers northeastern Japan for the expected Allied and their subordinates known as the February invasion. Sawaki’s devotee was now 26 Incident. In fact, Sawaki had to postpone his responsible for issuing, or at least conveying, first lecture to police division heads due to the the order for the many thousands of women imposition of martial law that accompanied the (among others) in his area of responsibility to uprising. repel the Allied forces once they landed. Armed with sharpened bamboo spears, these women Sawaki’s lectures and zazen practice became were expected to make a suicidal attack so popular that he was invited to conduct them against Allied tanks equipped with on a regular basis at the police academy. The flamethrowers, machine guns and well-armed two-hour sessions, consisting of an hour lecture soldiers. and an hour of zazen , were called “Life is Zen” ( Seikatsu soku Zen ). Sawaki personally guided It was the above information that led me to the sessions once a month and his disciple, conclude in Part I of “Zen Masters on the Inatomi Shūyū, led the group on the other Battlefield” as follows: “Maruyama extended weeks. Tanaka makes it very clear (p. 159) that this invitation [to stay at his house] because of these sessions were directly connected to the Sawaki’s longtime cooperation with Japanese need for the police to “steel body and mind” ( police officials, part of whose wartime job was rensei) in what was already understood to be to apprehend and imprison anyone suspected of the national crisis facing Japan. being opposed to the government and its war effort.” The second event concerns Sawaki’s move in March 1945 to the home of MaruyamaIn light of the above evidence, it is impossible Tsurukichi, the top police official previously to believe that Maruyama, as Sawaki’s devotee, introduced in Part I of this article. We learn was unaware of the many contributions Sawaki

18 13 | 18 | 3 APJ | JF had made to police activities. its European allies, who remain in the forefront of the ongoing killing taking place in the world Conclusion today, including the invasion of other countries under false pretenses and the assassination of Although further examples are available, I trust the inhabitants of additional countries by the basis for my overall conclusions concerning drones, etc. on a truly worldwide scale. Sawaki’s wartime record is now clear. Sawaki’s actions, like his teachings, were those of one Thus, the question of how Western Buddhists who was totally committed to supporting the will react to this carnage is an immediate and Japanese war effort. On the one hand, Sakai ongoing challenge, for react they must. To Tokugen and Tanaka Tadao did their best to date, the most obvious reaction has been the simply ignore, if not erase, Sawaki’s wartime creation of a Buddhist military chaplaincy words and actions. On the other hand, their within the U.S. military. Although not well own clear sympathies for Japan’s war effort led known, some American soldiers stationed on them, in writing for a postwar Japanese the battlefield, e.g., in Iraq, now take part in audience, to provide bits and pieces of a Buddhist chaplain-led zazen practice before sanitized version of Sawaki’s war-related going out on missions to “take out” the alleged activities even as they downplayed the specific enemy.25 content of his war writings. It is noteworthy that U.S. Navy Buddhist In Tanaka’s case, when this was not possible, chaplain and True Pure Land (Shin) priest, Lt. as in the case of Ichikawa Hakugen, he sought Jeanette Yuinen Shin justified killing the enemy to ridicule this Rinzai priest and professor of using rationales similar to those of her Zen Studies for having dared to criticize Japanese Buddhist predecessors. In a January Sawaki. Nevertheless, it should now be clear 2008 entitled: “Shakyamuni – The that Sawaki’s wartime actions were entirely First Warrior,” Shin noted, “Siddhartha consistent with his wartime writings, writings Gautama (his birth name) was born into the that were beyond his disciples’ ability to erase kshatriya varna, or caste, of ancient from the historical record. In short, Sawaki was India/Nepal. This was the caste of the warriors, but one of many Zen masters who wrote and the rulers and aristocrats of ancient India. . . acted similarly. .The Buddha's Enlightenment was described as a ‘battle’ between himself and , the While the actions of these Buddhist leaders embodiment of death and evil.” may be described as “patriotic,” what should be a matter of deep concern to followers of Shin continued: Buddhism is the way in which they twisted and misappropriated Buddhist teachings to support Japan’s aggression in World War II, resulting in The ancient texts emphasize the one of the greatest collective bloodlettings in need for determination, sacrifice, human history. Although referenced only and courage for Buddhists to briefly, Sawaki even sought to justify the follow the path of Buddha-dharma, aggression of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.24 to bear up under hardships in order to achieve the highest goal a If such abuses of Buddhism were no more than human being can attain: to ‘past history’, the importance of bringing this conquer death, fear, ignorance, issue up yet again might be questioned. Sadly, evil, and thereby attain liberation. however, it is the countries of which Western The qualities of a good warrior are Buddhists are a part, i.e., the United States and exactly the qualities needed for a

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serious Buddhist practitioner.26 from the Department of Religious Studies at (Emphasis mine) Temple University. In addition to a 2nd, enlarged edition of (Rowman & Littlefield), writings include Zen War Stories According to Buddhist chaplains like Shin, (RoutledgeCurzon) and Zen Master Dōgen American Buddhist soldiers are merely carrying coauthored with Prof. Yokoi Yūhō of Aichi- out Śākyamuni Buddha’s mission to defeat evil gakuin University (Weatherhill). He is a Visiting as they go about killing America’s enemies Research Fellow at the International Research throughout the world. In that sense, the likes of Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Sawaki, Yasutani, D.T. Suzuki, et al. have Kyoto. already won the battle for the “hearts and minds” of America’s Buddhist military Related articles chaplains and the more than five thousand Buddhist soldiers in their care.27 But the • Narusawa Muneo and Brian Victoria, “War is question must be asked, is this the message of a Crime”: Takenaka Shōgen and Buddhist Buddhism? Resistance in the Asia-Pacific War and Today

The Japanese have a saying that has much to • Karl Baier, The Formation and Principles of teach us in this regard, i.e., hanmen kyōshi or Count Dürckheim’s Nazi Worldview and his “teachers by negative example.” In this limited interpretation of Japanese Spirit and Zen sense, Sawaki, et al. have much to teach us, most especially about how readily and easily • Brian Victoria, Zen Masters on the the Buddha-dharma can be coopted, corrupted Battlefield (Part I) and ultimately betrayed in order to justify the deaths of human beings, aka the ‘enemy’, on a • Brian Victoria, Zen Masters on the truly massive scale, not to mention the death of Battlefield (Part II) one’s own soldiers. Instead of bringing a • Brian Victoria, A Zen Nazi in Wartime Japan release from suffering, Buddhism becomes, like Count Dürckheim and his Sources—D.T. other world religions, a tool to rationalize and Suzuki, Yasutani Haku’un and Eugen Herrigel enhance suffering many times over. • Vladimir Tikhonov, South Korea’s Christian If Buddhists are ever to free themselves from Military Chaplaincy in the Korean War - this entrapment, the first step is to recognize religion as ideology? what has been done, and by whom. Toward this end, it is time to move beyond the denials and • Brian Victoria, Buddhism and Disasters: obfuscations that have been such a prominent From World War II to Fukushima part of the current debate on Sawaki Kōdō, among others. Only then can Sawaki’s role as • Brian Victoria, Karma, War and Inequality one of many “teachers by negative example” be in Twentieth Century Japan recognized. Once the appropriate lessons have been learned, we can transcend national Recommended citation: Brian Daizen Victoria, chauvinism and proceed to create a Buddhism "Sawaki Kōdō, Zen and Wartime Japan: Final that is truly dedicated to the welfare of all Pieces of the Puzzle", The Asia-Pacific Journal, sentient beings. Vol. 13, Issue 18, No. 3, May 4, 2015.

Brian Daizen Victoria holds an M.A. in Notes from Sōtō Zen sect-affiliated in Tokyo, and a Ph.D. 1 See articles here and here.

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14 nd 2 Sawaki, “Shōji o Akirameru Kata” (The Quoted in Victoria, Zen at War (2 ed.) . Method of Clarifying Life and Death) in the Boulder, Colorado: Rowman & Littlefied, 2006, May 1944 issue of Daihōrin, pp. 5-7. Available p. 144. on the Web here (accessed 29 September 15 2014). Park Eunsik, The Bloody History of the Korean Independence Movement. Quoted in the 3 Sawaki, “Shōji o Akirameru Kata” (The “March 1st Movement,” available on the Method of Clarifying Life and Death) in the Internet here (accessed 17 November 2014). May 1944 issue of Daihōrin, p. 6. See also: 1) Cumings, Bruce, Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York: W.N. 4 Sakai Tokugen, Sawaki Kōdō – Kikigaki . Norton and Company, 1997; 2) Han, Woo-keun, Tokyo: Kōdansha Gakujutsu-bunkō, 1984, p. The History of Korea. Hawaii: University of 269. Hawaii Press, 1988; 3) Eugene Kim, ed., Korea’s Response to Japan. Western Michigan 5 Ibid., p. 245. University, 1977; and 4) Baldwin, Frank, The March First Movement: Korean Challenge and 6 For further background on the “Imperial Way Japanese Response. New York; Columbia Faction” see: 1) Crosier, Andrew, The Causes of University, 1972. the Second World War. Wiley-Blackwell, 1997; 2) Buruma, Ian, Inventing Japan, 1854-1964. 16 Tokyo: Daihōrin-kaku, 1995. Modern Library, 2004; 3) Samuels, Richard J., Securing Japan: Tokyo's Grand Strategy and 17 Unless otherwise noted, the page numbers the Future of East Asia. Cornell University included in this article refer to the second Press, 2007; 4) Hane, Mikiso, Modern Japan: A volume of Tanaka’s book. Historical Survey. Westview Press, 2001; and 18 5) Harries, Meirion, Soldiers of the Sun: The Originally published in the January 1974 Rise and Fall of the . issue of the Risō Sekai-shi (Ideal World Random House, 1994. Magazine), available on the Web here (accessed 15 November 2014). 7 Quoted in Victoria, Zen War Stories. London: 19 RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, p. 187. Quoted in Victoria, Zen War Stories, pp. 137.

20 8 Ibid., p. 245. McDowell, Kevin. “Japan in Manchuria: Agricultural Emigration in the Japanese 9 Ibid., p. 254. Empire, 1932-1945.” Available on the Web here (accessed 30 November 2014). 10 Ibid., p. 251. 21 Kobayashi Kōji, Manshū Imin no Mura, 1977, 11 See the relevant entry in Suzuki’sp. 78. “Chronology” on the English homepage of the Matsugaoka website available here: (accessed 22 McDowell, Kevin. “Japan in Manchuria: on 13 November 2014). Agricultural Emigration in the Japanese Empire, 1932-1945.” Available on the Web here 12 Ibid., pp. 264-69. (accessed 30 November 2014).

13 Quoted in Victoria, “Zen Masters on the 23 The quotation is taken from the English Battlefield, Part I,” available on the Internet translation of Section 15, “Loyalty,” included in here (accessed 11 November 2014). excerpts from The Dharma of Homeless Kōdō (

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Yadonashi Hokkusan ) by Uchiyama Kōshō. zazen practice in Iraq, see here. Available on the Web here (accessed on 26 June 26 2014). The entire article, “Shakyamuni – The First Warrior,” is posted on the Website of the 24 See reference to Hitler and Mussolini as “Buddhist Military ” available righteous “demons” in “The End of a (Zen) here: (accessed 24 November 2014). Buddhist Myth” available on the Web 27 here: (accessed 29 November 2014). According to Jeff Brady in ‘Military Buddhist Chapel Represents Tolerance’, National Public 25 For one example of such military-based, Radio (13 October 2009), as of June 2009 there are 5,287 Buddhists serving in the US military.

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