This is another in a series of daily articles concerning Kishio Satomi's book, "Japanese Civilization; Its Significance and Realization; Nichirenism and the Japanese National Principles," which details the foundations of Chigaku Tanaka's interpretation of Nichiren Buddhism and Japan's role in the early 20th century.
From a position of hindsight, it is difficult to fathom how Kishio Satomi could trumpet a Japanese “ideal of the absolute peace throughout the past.” By the 1920s, at the time Satomi was writing this, Japan had annexed Korea and controlled Manchuria. Still, as the country moved toward the Second World War, Japan was seen as the righteous nation that Nichiren had sought to save. As Satomi explains:
Nichirenism and the Japanese National Principles, pp199-202According to the rules of the Three Principles Japan has kept this ideal of the absolute peace throughout the past. It is not for her own sake but for the sake of all nations. With such conclusive ideals Japan was established, and still exists for this purpose. It is very regrettable that most people of modern Japan have lost sight of their own National Principles. Therefore Nichiren denounced the degenerated Japan while he praised and worshipped the ideal Japan. But Japan has such ideals and principles in her own self, and it is true that Japan is the country of righteousness. But Japan must not boast of the past nor of the present, but of the creation of the future. The signification of the Japanese Throne has thus been realized, as was prophesied by the Ancestor. It was indeed originated in a most religious and moral faith: Let us cite Tanaka’s Writing about the idea of the Sovereign.
“The soul of the most augustful Divine Edict, the rights of sovereignty have their origin in God’s governance of men and men’s obedience to God. The sovereign rights are to realize an assimilation of God and Man. God is embodiment of Truth, and when man identifies himself with God he is as one with Truth. This absorption of God and man the ruler of the country strives to bring about. … Heaven, Earth and Man, the threefold category, acquire a universal sympathetic life of God’s will which is Honesty. The universal phenomena roll on in perfect regularity. The Ruler is careful that he proves himself worthy of the figure … , and the rights of sovereignty are the schedule of his conduct. He is the Saint of the National Principles.”
The term “God” in the above translation is explained by Tanaka as follows:
“Gods and men are not at all unrelated beings. In Christianity, the creator and the created explain the relation between God and man, while in Shintoism and Buddhism God holds different positions in relation to men. The gods as we speak about them here are gods of broader meaning, they being interrelated with representatives of the spiritual world, such as Bodhisattvas, saints, Tathagatas. They are none else but men who had been emancipated, had become enlighteners of their fellow-beings. Gods and men explained thus are essentially an absorption and kindreds. But their respective powers are different. When men work with higher aims their lives become lives of Gods ” (Tanaka, Japan, the Heaven on Earth, the fifth chapter. See Tanaka’s “The Study of the Japanese National Principles,” pp. 32-45).
Further, again, let us cite Tanaka’s lines:
“After many struggles he (the First Emperor Jimmu) pacified the middle island, and founded the throne in Kashiwabara, Province Yamato. In the famous proclamation which he uttered on this occasion, he made it clear that the founding of the Imperial throne was not his personal affair, but it was the realization of the Goddess’ truth of humanity, the actuality and harmony of God and Man. The rights of his ancestors were remembered with the words of Gathered Happiness and Achieved Glories, and were taught to be powers of the righteous. The Holiness (which grows of Gathered Happiness) and Valor (which brings about Achieved Glories) were qualities of Jimmu’s ancestors, deities whose lives and works the Emperor realized and identified. The Three Principles of Gathered Happiness and Achieved Glories and Cultivation of Righteousness originate in the ancient spirit of Japan. It is the greatest power, originating as it did in Jimmu’s Proclamation, which gave birth to the Empire of Japan. The Grand Goddess having favored her descendants with her achievements, and Jimmu having uttered the commencement of the propaganda of Truth, the works of the righteous have become consummation of Morality, Reason, Truth and Finality. Righteousness is soul of the National Principles. … The word ‘Righteousness’ is in itself power of truth, and factualizes the redemption of mankind. Happiness spreading above and below, the world reaching final glory, all were brothers of the same family in his mind.”
Thus the Japanese National Principles mean indeed the ideal of mankind, not only that Japan is the typical realization of such ideals. The reason of Nichiren’s worship of Japan consists in this respect in spite of his severe attack and criticism of degenerated Japan. Tanaka’s interpretation runs as follows:
“The essences of the National Principles (Kokutai) are Entity, Body and Soul. Entity here is to be understood to be appertaining more to Soul than to Body, and the Soul of the country is the same in origin with the fundamental Principles of the country. The Soul of Japan explains the reason for the creation of Japan, the reason of her being. The Heavenly Law ever symphonious and all consistent, has been favorable for her birth and existence and the development of the Higher Morality. This is the fundamental spirit of the National Principles, Japan’s Ancient Path. The exegetes have taught that ‘Entity is identical with system, and System is Law.’ The Principles of the Nation are Entity, and Entity is at once the soul and the character of the nation ” (Tanaka, Japan, the Heaven on Earth, the first chapter).
Satomi brings this idea that Japan is the ideal country back to Nichiren and his teachings.
Moreover, … [Nichiren] sometimes boldly declared that even the Sun-Goddess is nothing more than a little deity. For Nichiren, therefore, there is nothing but the universal Kingdom of truth, heaven on earth. But, as I have mentioned already, the country must first of all be religionized in order to establish the universal Kingdom of Heaven. From this point of view Nichiren found the ideal country in the very country of Japan, which was established without any doubt on the Righteousness. In this sense Nichiren identified his religion, which is based on the Hokekyo, with Japan’s substance. People today seem to think Nichiren to have been simply the founder of a sect, but this is quite an error; because Nichiren declared that he claimed to be neither the founder of any sect nor the successor of any sect (Works, p. 534).
But, on the contrary, he exclaimed, I will be the Eyes of Japan, I will be the pillar of Japan, I will be the great Ship (redemption) of Japan”; Japan which was regarded as the land of righteousness. To him, in this sense, nothing was of real significance except the realm of Japan, because the world, the morality, the humanity, the Buddha, the God or the truth, all things of life and being would start anew from the Reality of Japan. Thus, Japan as Truth of the world, Japan as the Foundation of Human salvation and Japan as Finality of the world concerning her moral essence and aspects is Japan in her reality. In that connection Nichiren looked upon himself as the leader of the nation and the world; so he says:
“The future of Japan depends on Nichiren alone
… Nichiren is the Soul of Japan ” (Works, p. 402; Nichiren’s view on Japan can be seen in the following pages: Works, pp. 2, 68—79, 104, 117, 136, 139, 140, 175—6, 182, 209, 264, 279, 328, 332, 382, 383, 426, 428, 447, 509, 519, 522, 526, 545, 548, 562, 575—6, 593, 604, 615, 759, 789, 790, 905, 930, 976, 1043, 1070, 1110—12, 1328, 1331, 1383, 1453, etc. etc.).Thus there is no “Only for Japan,” but “Japan for Mankind.” The Truth of Japan is the Truth of Humanity. The millennium of the world is to be the millennium of Japan. The substance of Japan’s primitive national foundations are powers of Achieved Glories and benevolences, of Gathered Happiness, that have grown into the power of righteousness, and the power of righteousness had become the foundation of the Empire and the soul of the nation. Thus the Holy work had begun with the Edict of the Sun-Goddess and the proclamation of the Great Jimmu, and the essential meanings of the National Principles are thus interpreted by Nichiren and Modern Nichirenism.
Nichirenism and the Japanese National Principles, p209-211
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