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Zen Terror in Prewar Japan: Portrait of an Assassin
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.
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.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published February 14, 2020
About the author
Brian Daizen Victoria
5 books13 followersBrian Daizen A. Victoria is a Zen-priest, living with his family in New Zealand.
He's lecturing on Asian Literature and Language at the University of Auckland.
He is very active in the Human Rights Movement and author of many books about Buddhism.
He's lecturing on Asian Literature and Language at the University of Auckland.
He is very active in the Human Rights Movement and author of many books about Buddhism.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 7, 2020
For those of you just tuning in, for 20 years Brian Daizen Victoria has written about the connections between Buddhism and militarism in Japan.
In this concluding volume he focuses on Inoue Nissho, a fascinating figure who managed to be a ne'erdowell adventurer turned spy and revolutionary consultant in China, unaffiliated seer and spiritual healer, mastermind of political assassinations, and advisor to Prince Konoe, prime minister of Japan before Tojo.
The author uses Inoue's remarkable life story to highlight the key role that Zen Buddhism played in motivated the terrorists in Inoue's band. The biggest difference between this and "Zen at War" (I did not read "Zen War Stories") is the clear connection between Zen itself and violence, especially senseless violence. While "Zen at War" told the sad story of Mahayana Buddhism's slow decline from a source of moral authority to a craven tool of state power in China and Japan, "Zen Terror" focuses on the symbiotic relationship between Zen Buddhism and the mindless servility of the warrior class to their lords. Treating submission to the act of violence with no sense of ethics suited post-Kamakura samurai society well, and Victoria shows how that politically toxic relationship very much informed Showa Japan. Inoue plotting the murder of dozens of "corrupt" politicians to satisfy the unspoken wishes of his master Hirohito, with no plan other than destruction, with no respect for life--it really is like a funhouse Chushingura, with unfortunately deep roots in the Zen tradition. Leaning heavily on Bix, Victoria points out that Hirohito was pretty okay with the "corrupt" politicians. He was getting his way and they looked bad on his behalf.
Zen really is the religion of the sword. Modern practitioners, especially in the West, prefer to take "the sword" metaphorically, and focus on the wonderful utility of zazen for achieving a wide variety of mental feats. But as Victoria shows the sword really is the sword and the potential for Zen to be used to justify violence, especially senseless violence will remain unless it is consciously removed.
"Terrorism" can describe a broad spectrum of violence, the only common factor in which seems to be motivation based on ideas, and not material interests. Since 9/11, we've become accustomed to see terrorism as the more or less random murder of civilians for the purposes of triggering a war of civilizations. Or in any event, to terrorize the general populace as a political tool. Inoue's terrorism was very different: he was involved in the murder of three people only and they were chosen as political targets. At no time was the general citizenry terrorized by the attacks--in fact, the targets were so unpopular that Inoue received massive popular support for his actions. This complicates the lessons for the present.
It seems that the sort of religious motivation that convinces people to sow anarchy within civilian society is not necessarily the same sort that convinces people to assassinate those who they believe are threatening civilian society. Mahayana Buddhism may have its problems, but it definitely does not promote sowing widespread hatred and discord. If so, is "religiously motivated terrorism" really a single concept? The final chapter includes Victoria's thoughts on this subject, which he presents as hypotheses to be proven or disproven in future work.
Like "Zen at War," "Zen Terror" is an outstanding piece of scholarship, engaging and disturbing in equal measure. Even though I have read many books about early Showa Japan, Victoria's clear retelling of the tensions among the Imperial Way and Control factions, and the rationale behind the enormously important (and in the English-speaking world largely ignored) terrorists/agitators/assassins in the 1930s helped me understand this extraordinary historical moment in new ways.
The overall message of the book is almost like a koan itself, "Does faith and submission to a higher authority bring peace?" "Does faith and submission to a higher authority bring war?"
無
In this concluding volume he focuses on Inoue Nissho, a fascinating figure who managed to be a ne'erdowell adventurer turned spy and revolutionary consultant in China, unaffiliated seer and spiritual healer, mastermind of political assassinations, and advisor to Prince Konoe, prime minister of Japan before Tojo.
The author uses Inoue's remarkable life story to highlight the key role that Zen Buddhism played in motivated the terrorists in Inoue's band. The biggest difference between this and "Zen at War" (I did not read "Zen War Stories") is the clear connection between Zen itself and violence, especially senseless violence. While "Zen at War" told the sad story of Mahayana Buddhism's slow decline from a source of moral authority to a craven tool of state power in China and Japan, "Zen Terror" focuses on the symbiotic relationship between Zen Buddhism and the mindless servility of the warrior class to their lords. Treating submission to the act of violence with no sense of ethics suited post-Kamakura samurai society well, and Victoria shows how that politically toxic relationship very much informed Showa Japan. Inoue plotting the murder of dozens of "corrupt" politicians to satisfy the unspoken wishes of his master Hirohito, with no plan other than destruction, with no respect for life--it really is like a funhouse Chushingura, with unfortunately deep roots in the Zen tradition. Leaning heavily on Bix, Victoria points out that Hirohito was pretty okay with the "corrupt" politicians. He was getting his way and they looked bad on his behalf.
Zen really is the religion of the sword. Modern practitioners, especially in the West, prefer to take "the sword" metaphorically, and focus on the wonderful utility of zazen for achieving a wide variety of mental feats. But as Victoria shows the sword really is the sword and the potential for Zen to be used to justify violence, especially senseless violence will remain unless it is consciously removed.
"Terrorism" can describe a broad spectrum of violence, the only common factor in which seems to be motivation based on ideas, and not material interests. Since 9/11, we've become accustomed to see terrorism as the more or less random murder of civilians for the purposes of triggering a war of civilizations. Or in any event, to terrorize the general populace as a political tool. Inoue's terrorism was very different: he was involved in the murder of three people only and they were chosen as political targets. At no time was the general citizenry terrorized by the attacks--in fact, the targets were so unpopular that Inoue received massive popular support for his actions. This complicates the lessons for the present.
It seems that the sort of religious motivation that convinces people to sow anarchy within civilian society is not necessarily the same sort that convinces people to assassinate those who they believe are threatening civilian society. Mahayana Buddhism may have its problems, but it definitely does not promote sowing widespread hatred and discord. If so, is "religiously motivated terrorism" really a single concept? The final chapter includes Victoria's thoughts on this subject, which he presents as hypotheses to be proven or disproven in future work.
Like "Zen at War," "Zen Terror" is an outstanding piece of scholarship, engaging and disturbing in equal measure. Even though I have read many books about early Showa Japan, Victoria's clear retelling of the tensions among the Imperial Way and Control factions, and the rationale behind the enormously important (and in the English-speaking world largely ignored) terrorists/agitators/assassins in the 1930s helped me understand this extraordinary historical moment in new ways.
The overall message of the book is almost like a koan itself, "Does faith and submission to a higher authority bring peace?" "Does faith and submission to a higher authority bring war?"
無
September 2, 2023
The bulk of the book is a biographical sketch of Innoue Nissho, who starts out as a Dostoyevskian tormented soul, graduates through scenes reminiscent of Conrad's Secret Agent, and then of Rogue Male. Having served prison time for the assassinations that he led, he becomes a live-in advisor and confidant of a future Japanese prime minister: this beggars my literary references. Maybe a comparison could be made to the government roles given by Hitler to his old Beer Hall Putsch comrades. Through all this, Japanese political factions from the 1920s to 1940s are clearly portrayed, especially their tactical use of assassination.
A limitation is that the main source is Nissho's own memoir. So, for example, one may be sceptical that, after his enlightenment experience, he was so good at faith healing that he quickly generated more supplicants then he could handle. However, it does seem clear that he became a charismatic leader, who understood how to use the power of suggestion.
The author's main interest in all this is religious terrorism. He makes a convincing case that Zen Buddhism, at least as practised in Japan, lacks (and the author insists on the present tense) an ethical framework, being rather a toolkit that can be pressed into service for any given cause.
A limitation is that the main source is Nissho's own memoir. So, for example, one may be sceptical that, after his enlightenment experience, he was so good at faith healing that he quickly generated more supplicants then he could handle. However, it does seem clear that he became a charismatic leader, who understood how to use the power of suggestion.
The author's main interest in all this is religious terrorism. He makes a convincing case that Zen Buddhism, at least as practised in Japan, lacks (and the author insists on the present tense) an ethical framework, being rather a toolkit that can be pressed into service for any given cause.
October 10, 2024
This is mostly a book about Nissho Inoue, a far-right Japanese pre-war terrorist who was heavily inspired by certain Buddhist ideologies. His terrorist activities and political assassinations played a major role in how Japan transformed from a flawed democracy into the militaristic fascist regime which committed countless atrocities during WWII. So the book is definitely useful in learning about Japanese history, but it's also great because it includes some intriguing theoretical discussions about the nature of political violence and terrorism in general. It's especially useful because some people believe that Buddhism hasn't inspired terrorism but this book shows how any ideology can act as inspiration or enable political violence.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews