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Kokuchūkai

Kokuchūkai Headquarters

The Kokuchūkai (国柱会; "Pillar of the Nation Society") is a lay-oriented Nichiren Buddhist group. It was founded by Tanaka Chigaku in 1880 as Rengekai (蓮華会; "Lotus Blossom Society") and renamed Risshō Ankokukai (立正安国会) in 1884 before adopting its current name in 1914.

History

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The lay Nichiren Buddhist organization[1] now known as the Kokuchūkai was founded by Tanaka Chigaku in 1880 as Rengekai ("Lotus Blossom Society") and renamed Risshō Ankokukai in 1884 before adopting its current name in 1914.[1][2] The group's modern name is derived from a passage in the Kaimoku-shō [ja], a writing of the founder of Nichiren Buddhism, the 13th-century monk Nichiren, which reads "I will be the pillar of Japan" (われ日本の柱とならん, ware nihon no hashira to naran).[3]

Originally based in Yokohama, the group shifted its head office to Tokyo, Kyoto-Osaka, Kamakura and Miho, Shizuoka Prefecture before finally moving back to Tokyo.[1][4] The group is currently based in Ichinoe, Edogawa-ku.[1]

Teachings

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Among the group's principal teachings are to return to the teachings Nichiren and unite the various sects of Nichiren Buddhism.[1] The group's teachings are characterized by a strong form of Nichirenism.[1]

The group's sacred text is the Lotus Sutra[1] and their main object of reverence is the Sado Shigen Myō Mandara (佐渡始原妙曼荼羅), a mandala supposedly made by Nichiren on the island of Sado.[1][5]

Membership

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At its height in 1924, the group's membership was estimated at over 7000.[4] The literary figures Takayama Chogyū and Kenji Miyazawa[6] were members of the Kokuchūkai for a time. The group's official website continues to claim them,[7][8] but they ultimately rejected Tanaka's nationalistic views.[4]

Publications

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The group's publications include the monthly magazines Nichiren-shugi (日蓮主義; "Nichirenism") and Shin-sekai (真世界; "True World").[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Britannica Kokusai Dai-hyakkajiten article "Kokuchūkai". 2007. Britannica Japan Co.
  2. ^ Eiichi Ōtani, Ajia no Bukkyō-nashonarizumu no Hikaku-bunseki Archived 2018-04-20 at the Wayback Machine ("A Comparative Analysis of Buddhist Nationalism in Asia"). International Research Center for Japanese Studies. p. 115.
  3. ^ Nakahira 1994.
  4. ^ a b c Jacqueline I. Stone, "By Imperial Edict and Shogunal Decree: Politics and the Issue of the Ordination Platform in Modern Lay Nichiren Buddhism". In: Steven Heine; Charles S. Prebish (ed.) Buddhism in the Modern World. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003. ISBN 0195146972. pp. 197-198.
  5. ^ Risshō Ankoku no jitsugen e on the Kokuchūkai's official website.
  6. ^ Keene, Donald (1999), A History of Japanese Literature: Volume 4: Dawn to the West — Japanese Literature of the Modern Era (Poetry, Drama, Criticism), New York: Columbia University Press, p. 285, ISBN 978-0-2311-1439-4.
  7. ^ "Takayama Chogyū" on the Kokuchūkai's official website.
  8. ^ "Kenji Miyazawa" on the Kokuchūkai's official website.

Works cited

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