GLOBALIZATION IN THE

MAKING OF PEACE
NARRATIVES OF JAPANESE
BUDDHISM IN POST- WAR
JAPAN

DR. RANJANA MUKHOPADHYAYA

DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
DELHI, INDIA
Japans Pacifist Transformation
Emergence as a Pacifist nation is an important
aspect of Japans Postwar recovery :
Transformation from a militaristic, imperialistic nation to a
war-renouncing, pacifist country in Asia
Diplomacy of Non-Aggression Japanese state renounces war
as a sovereign right and bans settlement of international
disputes by use of force (Article 9 of Japanese Constitution)
Victim of Nuclear Holocaust
Postwar economic miracle and Middle class boom Image of
Achievement oriented, harmonious, homogenous and
egalitarian society.
Major Donor of International Aid / Overseas Development
Assistance (ODA) to the developing and conflict ridden
countries.
Buddhism, Globalization and Japan's
Pacifism

Role of Buddhism in re-imaging post-war Japan as a

pacifist nation and facilitating its re-integration into
international community in the post-war era.

"Sekai heiwa" i.e. World Peace became the guiding

ideology for the postwar transformation of Japanese
Buddhism.

This process is further accentuated by Globalization

Transnational networking between Buddhist
organizations of Japan and those of other countries.
Buddhism in Modern Japan
Widespread criticism and persecution
(haibutsu kishaku) of Buddhism after Meiji
Restoration (1868)

Japanese Buddhists response to modernity

initiated sectarian reforms to overcome age-
old stagnation within the Buddhist order
Enlarged their scope of social activities,
particularly in social welfare and education.
Buddhism in Modern Japan
Espoused the Imperial Ideology and
extended ideological support to the
newly emerging nation state , e.g.
Goho-gokoku - Protect the Dharma,
Protect the Nation , Just War
theory.

Buddhist missionary activities in Asia

became part of the colonial and
militaristic expansion of the prewar
Japanese state.
 Buddhism and Modernization
Role Buddhism in modernization of
Japan -
Pure Land Buddhism served as
Protestant Ethic for Japanese
capitalists (Robert Bellah)
Buddhism as passive enablement
(Wiston Davis)
 Buddhism in Postwar Japan
How did Buddhism contribute to Japans Pacifist
transformation ?

Postwar Engagements of Japanese Buddhism

Active participation in World Peace Movements -

Anti- war, anti- nuclear proliferation movements ( e.g.
Nipponzan Myohoji, Rissho Kosei-kai and other NRMs etc.)

Overseas Volunteerism and International Relief and

Aid activities - Formation of Buddhist International
NGOs (e.g. Shanti Volunteer Association, Ayus, Buddhist
NGO Network)
WORLD PEACE MOVEMENTS AND JAPANESE BUDDHISTS

Example of Nipponzan Myohoji

Founded by Nichiren Buddhist monk, Fuji

Nichidatsu in 1918 in Liaoyang ( ) in the

former Manshu state of China.
Fuji was involved in missionary activities in Korea,

China and arrived in India in 1930

Met Mahatma Gandhi in 1933 . Participated in the

yatras (walks / marches) , satyagraha movement

and supported the freedom movement against
British imperialism in India.

Nipponzan Myohoji
Fuji Nichidatsu
 Buddhism in Prewar Japan
Ideological and material support by Japanese
Buddhists to militarism and imperialism in the
prewar period
The letters exchanged between Fuji and Gandhi

reveal their difference of opinion about Japanese

imperialism in Asia.
Fuji and his disciples served as the military

chaplain in the Japanese army during the Burma

expedition and were involved in espionage in
India and in neighboring countries.
 Postwar period
Influenced by Gandhi, Fuji and Nipponzan become staunch
believer of absolute non-violence
Organize Peace Walks -
The Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life (1994-1995 )
Auschwitz to Hiroshima by way of Bosnia, Iraq, Cambodia
and other countries .
Dhammayietra of Cambodia started by Maha Ghosananda
in 1992 - inspired by Nipponzans peace walk.
2010 Walk for a Nuclear Free Future across the United
States

Peace Pagodas : Construction of Peace pagodas in Japan ,

UK, USA, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and various other places
in the world as a symbol for World Peace.
Peace Pagoda (Heiwa-to, Shanti
Stupa)
Peace Walk

Dhammayietra of Cambodia
WORLD PEACE MOVEMENTS AND JAPANESE NEW RELIGIOUSMOVEMENTS

Proliferation of New Religious Movements and their

social activisms - Significant socio-religious
phenomenon of Modern Japan.
Many NRMs suffered state persecution, violation of

religious freedom in the prewar period, hence became

proponents of freedom, human rights and world peace
in the postwar era.
Pacifism and Peace activities important aspect of

its social activism

Japanese NRMs have worldwide network of branch-
churches and members of Japanese as well as
foreign origin
World Peace movements of New Religious
Movements of Japan
Soka Gakkai and its international outfit Soka Gakkai
Internationa (SGI) 12 million members in 192 countries
Mission is to promote Peace, Education and Culture.

President Ikeda Daisaku is involved in peace dialogue with

world leaders. Registered as an NGO in UN, actively involved
in humanitarian aid in disaster / war affected places.
Rissho Kosei-kai : World Peace and Inter -Faith Dialogue

The Founder President Late Nikkyo Niwano was one of the

founders of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP

) established in 1970
Humanitarian Activities : Supports UNICEF since 1979,

Donate One Meal Campaign started in 1974 , Little Bags of

Dreams Campaign started in 1999.
International Aid as Peace Activities
of Japanese Buddhists
Transnational Voluntarism of Japanese Buddhism -
numbers of Buddhist voluntary associations in Japan that
are involved in overseas relief and aid activities.
Japanese Buddhists also perceive these international aid
activities as heiwa katsudo i.e. peace activities

Relief Activities for Cambodian refugees in later 1970s -80s

and the emergence of Buddhist International NGOs in
Japan
Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) , Rinzai Asia Center Kobe
(RACK), Association for Rengein Tanjoji International Cooperation
(ARTIC),Buddhists NGO Network (BNN), Buddhist Aid Center
(BAC), Ayus
 Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA)
1980 Japan Sotoshu Relief Committee (JSRC), forerunner of
SVA, was established by group of young Soto-Zen sect priests
after their visit to Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand.
Educational and relief activities in the refugee camps, later
shifted to slums and rural areas of Cambodia, Thailand and
Laos .
Operating mobile and permanent libraries in refugee camps
and slums.
Shift from relief activities in the refugee camps to
reconstruction and development activities in post-conflict
Cambodia and Laos.
Preservation of Buddhist culture by re-printing of Buddhist
text , supporting education and training of Buddhist monks,.
Promoting Buddhist model of Development - Empowering
Buddhist monks and temples to become agents of
development at the grassroots level.
International Aid of SVA
Buddhist Pacifism and Globalization
TRANSNATIONALISM :Transnational Networking
among Buddhist organizations of various countries
Support Buddhist social movements, and Buddhist
monks, revival and preservation of Buddhist culture.
-Transnationalism was vital for re-imaging of Japan as

a Pacifist country in postwar period and Japanese

Buddhist contributed to it.

MULTICULTURALISM : Acceptance of multiculturalism

and diverse traditions within the Buddhist world as well
as those from different religious or ethnic background
- Go beyond Japanese ethno-centricism
 Buddhist Pacifism & Globalization
CROSS BORDER flow of information and resources :
Japanese Buddhist NGOs, as non-state actors , transferring
funds and resources to developing nations.
- Augmenting Japans role as a major donor nation

GLOCALISM Local and global Interactions -

International / Japanese Buddhist NGOs as harbingers of
globalization at the grassroots (recipient country ) level.

Buddhist Peace Movements as a transnational space for

multi-cultural, multi-national and cross border interactions,
assimilating local and global elements and factors.
Buddhists Peace Narratives and Globalization

Peace activism of Japanese Buddhists is

not just a natural expressions of pacifist
ideologies intrinsic to Buddhism.
Rather, these peace narratives should be
understood as having developed out of the
historical experiences of war and
militarism by Japanese Buddhists, followed
by their the exposure to global cultures of
pacifism, transnationalism and
multiculturalism.


How far do the reverberations of the dharma drum travel?

It is said to encompass the three-thousand-great-thousandfold
world.

By Fuji Nichidatsu

September 12, 1927 Numazu, Japan

Nipponzan Myohojis prewar slogan in support of imperialism, now

a slogan used for spreading peace