The Priesthood’s Wartime Behavior
Published by Soka Spirit Editor
Posted on August 11, 2009
Censoring the Gosho and Changing the Silent Prayers to Support Militarists.
On December 25, 1926, Japan’s Emperor Taisho died. A new emperor, Showa—known to the world outside Japan by his given name, Hirohito—took the throne, and the era was renamed Showa. During the early years of Hirohito’s reign, Japan grew increasingly nationalistic, with the military gaining a growing influence in politics. As the nation ran headlong toward war, the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood succumbed to pressure from the government and compromised Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings in support of the nation’s war efforts and the state-supported Shinto religion, which promoted belief in the divinity of the emperor.
During the 1920s and ‘30s, Japan’s militarist regime tightened its control over thought and religion. It cracked down on religious organizations deemed unfavorable to government policy. The Omoto, Hitonomichi and Honmichi sects were disbanded by the government. In 1941, the government revised the Peace Preservation Act” (Chian ijiho) of 1925, expanding its original focus to specifically prohibit, under penalty of death, any acts or even thought that demeaned the dignity of the Emperor or of State Shinto. The act became a pretext for the government to oppress religious organizations, especially newly established groups and Christian denominations.
The government also pressured the various Nichiren schools to delete passages from the Daishonin’s writings it viewed as disrespectful toward the emperor and the Shinto deity. In June 1941, the Nichiren School decided to delete 208 phrases and passages from about seventy of the Daishonin’s writings.
Following the lead of the Nichiren School, the Nichiren Shoshu administrative office issued a notice (#2177), dated August 24, 1941, stating that because the Daishonin’s works were written more than 700 years ago in accordance with the social conditions of the Kamakura period, people of the present age in reading his writings might “doubt the Daishonin’s desire to respect the emperor and protect his empire.” Thus the priesthood decided to stop publication of the Daishonin’s writings.
Notice # 2177, on stopping the publication of the Gosho
The notice also states: “The doctrine that the Buddha is true while deities are transient is a vulgar belief in Buddhism….This school, therefore, shall not rely on this doctrine as it has been previously interpreted.” Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism views the positive and nurturing workings of the environment as “Buddhist deities” and regards them as ephemeral manifestations of the Mystic Law to which Buddhas are enlightened. In this sense, his teaching subordinates “deities” to “Buddhas.” Fearing oppression from the government, the priesthood thus abandoned one of the core teachings of its founder.
Furthermore, on September 29, the Nichiren Shoshu Study Department issued a notice (Gaku dai 8 go) that instructed the deletion of the 14 passages from the Daishonin’s writings especially where the nation’s sovereignty, symbolized by the Sun Goddess—which Shinto considers to be the supreme deity and origin of Japan’s imperial lineage—is described as inferior or subordinate to the Buddha. For example, the priesthood deleted the passage where the Daishonin states, “I, Nichiren, am the foremost sage in Jambudvipa” (WND,p.642).
Notice (Gaku dai 8 go) on the deletion of Gosho passages.
The notice from the priesthood’s Study Department also prohibited the use of the deleted passages in sermons or lectures. The priesthood’s decision to delete key passages of the Daishonin’s writings and ban their usage was a serious doctrinal compromise.
Notice #2176,on revision of silent prayers
In addition, Nichiren Shoshu revised the silent prayers of its liturgy to appease the military regime. Published in an August 22, 1941, notice (#2176), the new silent prayers extolled the nationalistic ideals of the military regime and promoted state Shinto. For example, the revised first silent prayer read in part, “I humbly thank the Sun Goddess, the ancestor of the emperor, and all emperors of the successive reigns since the time of first Emperor Jimmu for the great debt of gratitude I owe to them.” In the fourth silent prayer, a prayer for the spread of the Daishonin’s Buddhism, the priesthood inserted nationalistic expression such as “the unity of government and people” and “the increase of the nation’s majesty.”
Sources: SGI-USA Study Department.ed. The Untold History of the Fuji School: The True Story of Nichiren Shoshu.(Santa Monica: World Tribune Press), 2000. pp.109-112.
Yu, Fuwa. Jiyu kara no tsushin bekkan: ?Shiryo-hen. (Tokyo: Hamano Shuppan), 1993. pp.158-163. (in Japanese)