The Nichiren Shoshu Kenshokai

The Kenshokai began as a lay group of Nichiren Shoshu known as the Myoshinko. After its excommunication in the 70's, it renamed itself the Kenshokai in 1982. The Kenshokai is an outgrowth of the nationalist interpretation of Nichiren Shoshu Doctrines. It is a bitter enemy and rival of the group known as Sokagakkai headed by Daisaku Ikeda. Recently it has been a major factor in Japan and in the evolution of Japanese politics. This is because a kind of "rejectionism" is growing among Japanese as they seek to reassert their national identity and excuse themselves for the attrocities they committed during World War II. The Kenshokai represents a Nationalistic approach to Nichiren Buddhism. It is currently growing faster than it's rival the Sokagakkai.¹

Prior to World War II

In the period before World War II the various Buddhist Sects vied with each other to please the Japanese Authorities and demonstrate their love of country. The teacher Chigaku Tanaka(see tanaka.html), a Nichiren Shoshu Priest named Jimon Ogasawara (See ogasawara.html") all were devoted as much to Japanese Nationalism as they were to Nichiren's teachings. These teachers taught people from various Nichiren denominations, who subsequently founded their own groups.

Shoei Asai

One of those nationalist students who became a teacher was Shoei Asai, who founded the radical Nationalist group known as the Myoshinko prior to World War II. His group called for the conversion of the Emperor, whereupon the temple Taiseki-ji would be renamed "Honmon-ji" and a "Grand Ordination Platform" would be built as called for in the "Three Great Secret Laws"(Sandai Hiho) Gosho. After World War II they continued to exist, but had to revise their teachings due to some of their previous doctrines being discredited by Japans loosing the war. They were profoundly influenced by the ideas of Chigaku Tanaka, and Japan's World War II forced them into an all too brief period of introspection.

Rivalry with Sokagakkai

This group predated but was in bitter opposition to another Nichiren Shoshu Laygroup known as the Sokagakkai. The founder of the Sokagakkai, Tsunesuburu Makiguchi and his disciple Toda, advanced completely different theories about Buddhism from Tanaka, Ogasawara, or the Myoshinko/Kenshokai. They clashed over basic issues from the beginning and they clashed over one specific symbolic issue in the fifties and sixties. This clash was over the naming of a new building at Taisekiji that Daisaku Ikeda and the High Priest Nittatsu wanted to name the "Sho Hondo". The Myoshinko were unwilling to take no for an answer and insisted that the sanctuary for the Dai-Gohonzon could not be named "Sho Hondo" without the express conversion and approval of the Emperor of Japan. The Gakkai argued powerfully that in this day and age it was the will of the people that counted and not that of the Emperors. The Myoshinkai tried to use violence and refused to give into the High Priests admonitions and they were excommunicated.²

Kenshokai now

The now renamed "Kenshokai" was certified as a religious corporation in 1982. As of this writing they are approximately 750,000 strong and are second in wealth only to the Sokagakkai. They are led by Shoei Asai. A December 1999 article "Radical Buddhism's Bewitching Message of Apocalypse"³ says that Asai "promotes a sense of crisis with statements like 'Japan is certain to be destroyed in a matter of years.'" They also engage in cultlike behavior and efforts to convert people that

The Sokagakkai started as a group that disagreed with theories like those of Tanaka and was in competition and antagonism with Asai's Myoshinko and later the Kenshokai. For more on this early dispute see shohondo.html and it's sequel shohondod.html.

In recent years the Kenshokai is on the "make." It's self confidence is appealing to people. For example the times article states:

...Asai's Nichiren Kenshokai sect, which drew throngs to the Kawaguchi civic center, claims to have 881,865 followers. "Kenshokai is the biggest of the new religions," says Taro Takimoto, a lawyer who helped in 1995 to organize a group comprising family members trying to rescue relatives from cults. "There are many high school students quitting school, people quitting their jobs, to join Kenshokai." Kenshokai's nationalistic appeal is particularly popular among young men, including members of Japan's Self-Defense Force. The cult claims to have attracted 11,000 new adherents in June alone.

The article goes on to say:

Little has been written about this religion in the mainstream media, and its leader, Asai, has never talked with the press. His eldest son, 39-year-old Katsue Asai, serves as a kind of general manager for the group and does agree to meet�the first time, he says, he has given an interview to a journalist. A serious man in a business suit, he explains how the movement was started by his grandfather in 1957, when he and his acolytes splintered from the centuries-old Nichiren sect of Buddhism⁴. Kenshokai differs from other Nichiren sects�especially the politically powerful Soka Gakkai �in that its practitioners see it as destined to become the national religion of Japan. "We still believe that," says Katsue Asai.

Indeed, the two groups were once rival "Hokkeko" groups within Nichiren Shoshu. But the arrogance of Shoei Asai led him to offend the 66th High Priest Nittatsu Shonin in the context of a dispute over building a building that Ikeda had wanted to name the "Sho Hondo" and that the Kenshokai didn't believe should be named so until that time (when all Japanese are converted) arrived. This is what led to their expulsion. They forced Nittatsu to chose between them and the Sokagakkai.

Indeed, the leader's son talks of ultimately attracting every living Japanese soul�all 130 million of them�to the fold.

"I'm sure it will happen," says Katsue Asai, matter-of-factly.

How long will it take?

"A bit more than 10 years. At the most, 20 years. This might sound strange,"

he says,

"but we think this is not only about Japan, but the whole universe. A huge power is coming, sometime soon. Society is getting really confused these days. There are problems with education, all the political scandals. Then there will be a big natural disaster, like an earthquake. Then China will come to invade us, to take advantage of our problems. When that happens, people will feel that whatever it was they believed in is inadequate. That's when they'll come to us."

What looks like salvation to believers can scare the bejeesies out of outsiders. Mr. Asai is literally interpreting the Rissho Ankoku Ron and applying it to a modern context. He, like born again Christians, or Moslem fundamentalists, fairly drools at the prospect of apocalyptic happenings -- because they would "prove" his beliefs.

Adulation and Devotion

The article then talks about Aum Shinryu, but then it returns to the Kenshokai:

So many people flock to see Shoei Asai in Kawaguchi that dozens of latecomers must wait outside in the lobby because there isn't room for them in the auditorium. Black-suited men with walkie-talkies and earplugs roam through the crowd, reminding people to turn off their cell phones. Two of these guards, surprised to see a foreign visitor, stop me from entering before another explains that I was invited. It's the first time a journalist has been allowed to witness a Nichiren Kenshokai meeting.

On the stage, there are 11 rows of chairs, with 24 people per row, each person sitting straight-backed, hands neatly placed on their legs. The men all wear black suits with white shirts and ties. They all sit silently, until Asai himself appears, walking briskly across the platform to his chair, front and center. He says not a word and sits down. Moments later, one of the men onstage stands up, removes his jacket and walks forward. His legs positioned in a kendo stance, he whisks out a golden fan emblazoned with the red circle of the Japanese flag. He briskly waves the fan in deliberate downward strokes as a militaristic march plays in the background. The audience claps along, one solid clap every three seconds, while they sing in unison:

The sound of footsteps roar the earth

A grand marching of the missionaries

In the midst of evil and eternal damnation

Buddha's army rises to save the suffering

Over the next two-and-a-quarter hours, a dozen or so members of this Buddha's army rise to deliver emotional testimonials to the power of their religion and their leader. A young woman describes a litany of health woes�debilitating skin disease, a broken leg suffered while snowboarding, stomach problems�that all miraculously disappeared one month after joining Kenshokai. Another woman speaks of how her son was born with a hole in his heart but was cured by the powers of Kenshokai. She adds exultantly:

"We must all help Asai for the rest of our lives."

I practice Nichiren Buddhism, and have seen people apply the power of faith to their daily lives with excellent results. You do hear stories like this. You also hear them if you visit almost any "charismatic" religious group. Nichiren said that "inconspicuous benefits" were the most important. Inconspicuous benefits are things like gaining wisdom or waking up to falsehood.

The article continues:

Finally, it is Asai sensei's time to talk. He wears a gray business suit and glasses and has thinning gray hair. He doesn't quote scriptures or recite Buddhist chants. His short speech is delivered in warm, avuncular, soothing tones. Yet his words conjure up pictures of doom as he talks about last year's terrorist attacks on the U.S., about al-Qaeda and the threat of dirty bombs.

"A big country like America couldn't even crush al-Qaeda completely," he says. "Because of this technology, these dirty bombs, even a small group can ruin America."

Salvation in the teachings is also elevation of the leader?

The article continues:

It is somehow proof, he suggests, that salvation can be found only in the teachings of his religion.

"The most important thing is to teach all Japanese people, seriously and strongly. Even if they don't believe in the beginning, it is important that they know."

After Asai leaves the stage, the crowd disperses. The black-suited guards swoop down on me as I try to introduce myself to members. Outside, a middle-aged woman clutching a tape recorder offers to explain her beliefs.

"There will be a big disaster in Japan, and Asai sensei will become the leader,"

she says.

"You never know from one year to the next who will be the Prime Minister," she adds. "It is always uncertain. But Asai sensei is always with us. He is the only one who talks about Buddhism for the nation. He is the only one who can save us."⁴

If you aren't Japanese, you can only hope that their version of Nichirenism never comes to dominate the country again or that if it does, it will have moderated by the time it does.

Person Centered Groups

A look at such groups shows just how "person centered" many Japanese (and non-Japanese for that matter) religious groups are. These people raise the stature of their leaders to that of demi-gods. What they don't really understand is the true nature of the mentor/disciple relationship or the difficulty and pitfalls of religious transmission. (See kechimyaku.html. Tanaka, Ogasawara, and the issues between the Gakkai and NST all point to fact that we are all human beings, and that there are pitfalls as well as great benefits to be had from studying and learning about Buddhism from teachers, texts, and inner introspection. The main problem with religion, is indeed religious teachers who teach their students what to think and not how to think, what to believe, but not how to come to a deep and honest faith on their own.

Nichiren Shoshu and Kenshokai

Nichiren Shoshu blames the Gakkai for the behavior of the Myoshinko, even though what happened was basically their own fault. Nittatsu excommunicated Myoshinko. I read recently that Nikken would probably take them back, but as you can see, they too are dominated by a charismatic leader at the top of a hierarchy which sees him as an infallible sage and never questions him in public.⁵ If you look at the examples of the Reiyukai and the Koseikei, you'll see this is a pattern in Japan. The Gosho states⁶:

"The third part that begins: 'Or there will be forest-dwelling monks,' deals with members of the clergy who [pretend to be ." sages and use their positions so that they can] act as leaders of all the other evil people"

Inevitably people see this as applying to their opponants in general society and they see their own teacher as an infallible master (sensei).

links

Also see Nittatsu.html for more on Nittatsu's relationship with the Kenshokai and the Sokagakkai
Ikeda | Nikken | Sho Hondo Link

Footnotes and Sources

I've done my best with this. I first heard of the Kenshokai in a cryptic reference posted by the "anonymous" poster "Kachiyuke" to ARBN years ago (see bottom notes)

source for first paragraph

Source for second paragraph

The article doesn't mention the 1970's excommunication from Nichiren Shoshu

"Radical Buddhism's Bewitching Message of Apocalypse"

I preserved the article out offear it would disapear, since then it has been replicated, so I now have fooled with the formating to make it easier to read.

http://www.cebunet.com/sgi/histsplit.htm

Bottom Notes

For a detailed examination of the ideas behind the Myoshinko, and also an insight on why they would be natural enemies of the Sokagakkai, follow these links:

to a scholarly article:

http://www.iop.or.jp/0010s/sato.pdf

Tanka, Makiguchi, Ogasawara

Other sources that mention the Myoshinko:

http://campross.crosswinds.net/Ryuei/SokaGakkai-03.html

Other sources that mention the Kenshokai:

http://www.bvalphaserver.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3067

These articles:

http://www.fpcj.jp/e/shiryo/vfj/99/4_12.html
http://www.rickross.com/reference/jpsects/jpsects78.html
Arbn references:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Kenshokai+Shoei+Asai+group:alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren.*&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren.*&safe=off&selm=6ho0dj%24qsq%241%40nnrp1.dejanews.com&rnum=1

and, my first hearing of them:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&threadm=1998081603002000.XAA01443%40ladder03.news.aol.com&rnum=4&prev=/groups%3Fq%3DKenshokai%2BShoei%2BAsai%2Bgroup:alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren.*%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26group%3Dalt.religion.buddhism.nichiren.*%26safe%3Doff%26selm%3D1998081603002000.XAA01443%2540ladder03.news.aol.com%26rnum%3D4

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