Rude Awakenings: Zen, the Kyoto School, and the Question of Nationalism

Can Zen tell us whether particular wars are right or wrong? What role did D. T. Suzuki and other Zen figures play in the Japanese nationalism that fueled World War II? What are we to make of nationalistic elements in the thought of Nishida Kitaro, Tanabe Hajime, Nishitani Keiji, and other philosophers of the Kyoto School? What connection was there between the Japanese project of overcoming the modernity of the West and the militarism of its 15-year war in Asia? In a collection of carefully documented essays, 15 Japanese and Western scholars take up these and other questions about the political responsibility of Japanese Buddhist intellectuals. This well-indexed and meticulously edited volume offers a variety of critical perspectives and a wealth of information for those interested in prewar and wartime history, Zen, Japanese philosophy, and the problem of nationalism today. Nanzan Library of Asian Religion and Culture Published in association with the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nanzan University To Many Scholars In The World Of Religious Studies, Zen Is A World Apart From The World Of Politics, And The Philosophy Of The Kyoto School Is A Politically Neutral Blend Of Intellectual Traditions East And West, Buddhist And Christian. This Volume Challenges Those Assumptions By Focusing On The Question Of Nationalism In The Work Of Japanese Buddhist Thinkers During And After The Pacific War. Fifteen Japanese And Western Scholars Offer A Variety Of Critical Perspectives Concerning The Political Responsibility Of Intellectuals And The Concrete Historical Consequences Of Working Within A Religious Or Philosophical Tradition. The First Group Of Essays Debates The Role Of Zen Buddhism In Wartime Japan. A Second Group Of Essays Examines The Political Thought And Activities Of Nishida Kitaro, The Doyen Of The Kyoto School. A Third Group Of Essays Questions The Complicity Of Other Philosophers Of The Kyoto School In The Wartime Spirit Of Nationalism And Analyzes The Ideas Of Modernity And The Modern Nation-state Then Current In Japan. This Carefully Documented Volume Offers A Wealth Of Information And Reflection For Those Interested In Prewar And Wartime History, Zen, Japanese Philosophy, And The Problem Of Nationalism Today.--jacket. Zen Buddhist Attitudes To War / Hirata Seikō -- Ethical Pitfalls In Imperial Zen And Nishida Philosophy / Christopher Ives -- Whose Zen? Zen Nationalism Revisited / Robert H. Sharf -- D.t. Suzuki On Society And The State / Kirita Kiyohide -- Nishida, Nationalism, And The War In Question / Ueda Shizuteru -- Nishida And Totalitarianism / Yusa Michiko -- Return Of The Past / Agustín Jacinto Z. -- Problem Of Modernity In The Philosophy Of Nishida / Andrew Feenberg -- Nationalism As Dialectics / Kevin M. Doak -- Symposium On Overcoming Modernity / Minamoto Ryōen -- Kyoto Philosophy, Intrinsically Nationalistic? / Jan Van Bragt -- Tanabe's Logic Of The Specific And The Spirit Of Nationalism / James W. Heisig -- Chūōkōron Discussions, Their Background And Meaning / Horio Tsutomu -- Nishitani Keiji And The Question Of Nationalism / Mori Tetsurō -- Questioning Nationalism Now And Then / John C. Maraldo. Edited By James W. Heisig & John C. Maraldo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.