From Militant Nationalism to Contemporary Peace Movements
In 2000, the Syracuse University Press published “Millennialism, Persecution, and Violence: Historical Cases,” an anthology of articles edited by Catherine Wessinger. Inside, is a chapter written by Jaqueline I. Stone entitled, “Japanese Lotus Millennialism: From Militant Nationalism to Contemporary Peace Movements.”
Having just finished reprinting quotes from Stone’s article on Chigaku Tanaka’s efforts to establish the Honman No Kaidan “By Imperial Edict and Shogunal Degree,” I want to add some additional discussion of Tanaka’s efforts to leverage Nichiren’s doctrines to enhance the cause of Japanese nationalism in the early 20th century.
As Stone explains in the article:
Japanese Lotus Millennialism, p274During Japan’s modern imperial period, intense nationalism, militarism, and war were assimilated to new millennial visions of a world harmoniously united under Japanese rule. Certain elements in the teachings of the medieval Buddhist teacher Nichiren were appropriated to these visions. His discourse about Japan as the place where a new Dharma would arise to illuminate the world was given an imperialist reading; his advocacy of assertive proselytizing or shakubuku—which for Nichiren had meant preaching and debate—was adopted as a metaphor for armed force; and his emphasis on giving one’s life for the Lotus became a celebration of violent death in the imperial cause. Such millennialist appropriations inspired not only extremists committed to political assassination or coups but also broadly legitimated the violence that pitted Japan as a whole against other Asian countries and the West.
And after Japan’s defeat in the Pacific War, Nichiren’s teachings were again sought:
Japanese Lotus Millennialism, p274It is little exaggeration to say that ultranationalistic Lotus millennialism died in August 1945 in the flames of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But even before these ruined cities had been rebuilt, a new Lotus millennialism had risen to take its place. Postwar Lotus millennialism envisions a time when, by awakening to the universal Buddha nature, people everywhere will live in harmony and with mutual respect. Different Nichiren- and Lotus-related religious groups offer variations on this basic theme, but on one point they all agree: in that future time, there will be no war. Nuclear weapons, in particular, will be abolished.
The importance of Nichiren in the aspirations of Japan is emphasized in Stone’s conclusion:
Japanese Lotus Millennialism, p280What also strikes one in considering modern Lotus millennialism is how close it lies to mainstream aspirations. Perhaps a romantic advocate of direct imperial rule, such as Kita Ikki, whose ideas were appropriated in the service of a military insurrection, cannot be considered a mainstream figure; nor perhaps can the followers of Nihonzan Myōhōji, who advocate passive resistance and reject violence even in self-defense. But their millennial visions were at the moment of their emergence not so very remote from the hopes of large segments of the population, being intimately connected to widespread desires, respectively, for a strong Japanese empire in the 1930s and for abolition of the atomic threat in the immediate postwar period. This is all the more true in the case of the large Nichiren Buddhist lay movements, such as the Kokuchūkai, Risshō Kōsei-kai, and Sōka Gakkai. Tanaka gave voice to the patriotic sentiments of many and elevated them to a holy status in his rhetoric of Nichirenshugi; the support his movement won from government bureaucrats and military leaders shows that his vision was useful to official agendas. In the postwar period, Risshō Kōsei-kai and Sōka Gakkai articulate a widespread revulsion against war and fears about the continuing nuclear threat, offering a path by which the common citizen can contribute to their eradication. Such examples suggest that millennial thinking is by no means limited to the marginal or disenfranchised, but can serve to legitimize the actions of armies and politicians, and also give expression— albeit in intensified form—to aspirations shared by a majority.
Beginning today and continuing through Aug. 18, I will publish quotes that explain how Nichiren’s teachings have been adapted to promote both war and peace.