The Social Response of Buddhists to the Modernization of Japan The Contrasting Lives of Two Sõtõ Zen Monks
ISHIKAAWRikizan Íëj[
What was the response of Sõtõ Buddhist priests to the social situation fac-ing Japan at the beginning of the twentieth century? What inµuence did their religious background have on their responses to the modernization of Japan? This article examines the lives and thought of two Japanese Sõtõ Buddhist priests–Takeda Hanshi and Uchiyama Gudõ–both with the same religious training and tradition, yet who chose diametrically opposite responses. Takeda Hanshi supported Japan’s foreign policies, especially in Korea; Uchiyama opposed Japanese nationalism and militarism, and was executed for treason. What led them to such opposite responses, and what conclusions can be drawn concerning the inµuence of religious traditions on speci³c individual choices and activities?
THE MEIJI GOVERNMENT, having put an end to the Tokugawabakuhan system through militar y force and thus bringing about the Meiji Restoration, turned its efforts to catching up with the West. Among the measures it took to modernize and strengthen Japanese society were the establishment of a new system of education, the enactment of a new law regulating family registration, and the preparation of an entirely new legal system. It also reformed the industrial structure, forced the adoption of capitalism, expanded the reach of the military, and promoted the concept of a uni³ed nation-state. At the same time
* This essay,ÕûuCÖ5o[îéuçlíÁñ—Ì^ug…7Ru´S¾¤°^m, was written by Ishikawa Rikizan for this special issue of theJapanese Journal of Religious Studiesshortly before his untimely death in the summer of 1997. It was translated into English by Paul L. Swanson. We would like to thank Kumamoto EininhûÄ^of the Institute for Sõtõ Zen Studies at Komazawa University for assisting us with proofreading the translation and check-ing the readings of proper names in the absence of the author.