Brian Victoria

Zen War Stories

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Following the critically acclaimed "Zen at War" (Weatherhill Publishers, 1997), Victoria now explores the intimate and supportive relationship between Japanese institutional Buddhism and militarism during the Second World War. He reveals for the first time, based on the wartime writings of the Japanese military itself, that the Zen school's view of life and death was deliberately incorporated into the military's programme of 'spiritual education' so as to develop a fanatical military spirit in both soldiers and civilians. Furthermore, it is revealed that D.T. Suzuki, the most famous exponent of Zen in the West, was a wartime exponent of this Zen-inspired viewpoint which enabled Japanese soldiers to leave for the battlefield already resigned to death. Victoria demonstrates how even champions of Japan's new religions strove to inculcate service to the state and loyalty to the emperor in generations of pre-war Japanese school children. The book also examines the relationship to Buddhism of Japan's seven class-A war criminals, hung by the. Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. A highly controversial study, this book will be of interest not only to those studying the history of the period, but also to anyone concerned with the perennial question of the 'proper' relationship between religion and state.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales)
• Seitenzahl: 288
• Erscheinungstermin: 19. Dezember 2002
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 235mm x 157mm x 19mm
• Gewicht: 447g
• ISBN-13: 9780700715817
• ISBN-10: 0700715819
• Artikelnr.: 21769013

Autorenporträt

Brian Daizen Victoria holds a M.A. in Buddhist Studies from Soto Zen sect-affiliated Komazawa University in Tokyo, and a Ph.D. from the Department of Religious Studies at Temple University. Brian entered the Soto Zen priesthood in 1964 and. following training at Daihonzan Eiheiji, pursued graduate studies in Buddhism at Soto Zen sect-affiliated Komazawa University in Tokyo. At present, Brian is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide in South Australia

Inhaltsangabe

Part I. The Zen Master Wept. Monks and Soldiers Move on their Stomachs. The
Zen of Assassination. Oomori Sôgen - The Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of Zen. Zen
Master Dôgen Goes to War - The Militarist and Anti-Semitic Writings of
Yasutani Haku'un. Carrying Zen to China Zen Selflessness' in Japanese
Militarism. Part II. Buddhist War Bereavement. Confessions of a Buddhist
Chaplain. Buddhism - The Last Refuge of War Criminals. Buddhism - A Top
Secret Religion in Wartime Japan. Epilogue. Works Cited. Index