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Zen Terror in Prewar Japan
Portrait of an Assassin
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2020
Summary
Written by a Zen priest, this book explodes the myth of Zen Buddhism as a peaceful religion.
Can Buddhism, widely regarded as a religion of peace, also contribute to acts of terrorism? Through an insider’s view of right-wing ultranationalism in prewar Japan, this powerful book follows a band of Zen Buddhist–trained adherents who ardently believed so. Brian Victoria, himself a Zen priest, tells the story of a group of terrorists who were responsible for the assassination of three leading political and economic figures in 1932.
Victoria provides a detailed introduction to the religious as well as political significance of the group’s terrorist beliefs and acts, focusing especially on the life and times of the band’s leader, Inoue Nisshō. A deeply troubled youth, Inoue became a spy in Manchuria for the Japanese Army in 1909, where he encountered Zen for the first time. When he returned to Japan in 1921, he determined to resolve his deep spiritual discontent through meditation practice, which culminated in an enlightenment experience that resolved his long-term doubts.After engaging in “post-enlightenment training” under the guidance of Rinzai Zen master Yamamoto Gempō, Inoue began a program of training the “patriotic youth” who formed the nucleus of his terrorist band.
After the assassinations, Inoue and his band were sentenced to life imprisonment, only to be released just a few years later in 1940. Almost unbelievably, Inoue then became the live-in confidant of Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro, a position he held through the end of WWII. In the postwar era, Inoue reinvented himself again as the founder and head of yet another band of ultranationalists known as the “National Protection Corps.” His eventful life came to an end in 1967.
Victoria concludes with an assessment of the profound impact of the assassinations, which culminated in Japan’s transformation into a totalitarian state and set the stage for Pearl Harbor. The author also examines the connection of Buddhism to terrorism more broadly, considering the implications for today’s Islamic-related terrorism.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2020
ISBN-Print
978-1-5381-3166-4
ISBN-Online
978-1-5381-3167-1
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
354
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
Foreword No access
Preface No access
1. Introduction No access Pages 1 - 12
2. Setting the Stage: Japan from the 1860s through the 1930s No access Pages 13 - 22
3. A Troubled Youth No access Pages 23 - 32
4. An Adventurer in China No access Pages 33 - 42
5. Fighting in World War I No access Pages 43 - 58
6. The Winding Road to Enlightenment No access Pages 59 - 72
7. The Voice of Heaven No access Pages 73 - 84
8. The Blood Oath Corps Incident No access Pages 85 - 104
9. Patriots on Trial No access Pages 105 - 124
10. Imprisonment: The Zen of Pasting Envelopes No access Pages 125 - 136
11. From Prison Cell to Prime Minister’s Estate No access Pages 137 - 152
12. An Ultranationalist in Postwar Japan No access Pages 153 - L
13. Unraveling the Historical Matrix No access Pages 177 - 196
14. Unraveling the Religious Matrix No access Pages 197 - 220
15. Trilogy Conclusion No access Pages 221 - 236
Epilogue. Lessons to Be Learned No access Pages 237 - 248
Appendix 1. The Assassination of General Nagata Tetsuzan No access Pages 249 - 260
Appendix 2. Zen in the February 26, 1936, Incident No access Pages 261 - 278
