Zen at War - Review

Zen at War

Brian Victoria. 1997; 264 pp. $19.95. Weatherhill.

Like the earlier Rude Awakenings by James Heisig and John Maraldo, this scholarly yet quite readable book exposes the incredible extent to which Japanese Buddhist institutions and priests supported and promoted militarism, Imperial Buddhism, and fascism from the Meiji Restoration through WWII. There are numerous quotes from D.T. Suzuki and lesser-known Japanese Buddhists, stories of lots of fanaticism and a tiny bit of resistance, some post-war confessions and a look at the new corporate Zen. The author is a Soto Zen monk who spent many years in Japan, where he was jailed and finally deported for his political activities. Another veil is lifted.

"Suzuki began his description of the relationship between Zen and Bushido in the book's second chapter. He described the "rugged virility" of Japan's warriors versus the "grace and refinement" of Japan's aristocracy. He then stated: "The soldierly quality, with its mysticism and aloofness from worldly affairs, appeals to the will-power. Zen in this respect walks hand in hand with the spirit of Bushido ("Warriors' Way"). On the one hand, Suzuki claimed that "Buddhism ... in its varied history has never been found engaged in warlike activities." Yet in Japan, Zen had "passively sustained" Japan's warriors both morally and philosophically. They were sustained morally because "Zen is a religion which teaches us not to look backward once the course is decided." Philosophically, they were sustained because "[Zen] treats life and death indifferently."

"The bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesh vara (Kannon or Kanzewon in Japanese) was transformed into a martial figure. Avalokiteshvara was "elevated" in the Rinzai verse to the rank of shogun or generalissimo, with the full title Kanzeon Shogun Bodhisattva. Given the miraculous powers Avalokiteshvara was believed to possess, Japan's military leaders readily welcomed this most well-known of bodhisattvas into their ranks. In the fall of 1939, imperial army general Matsui Iwane (1878-1948) personally ordered the construction of the Koa Kannon temple on a hillside outside of the city of Atarni in Shizuoka Prefecture. The temple's connection to Japan's wartime effort is apparent in its name: "Avalokiteshvara for the Development of Asia."

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