Tsunesuburu Makiguchi

Summary

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944)

was a reformist educator, author and philosopher who founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (the forerunner of the Soka Gakkai) in 1930. He started life as a teacher and grammar school principle who moved from Hokkaido to Tokyo, wrote a book on geography and four volumes on pedagogy.^a He was a deeply compassionate man whose life was characterized by confrontation with repressive authorities due to his sense of justice and efforts to establish something better for Japan. As a teacher known for his warmth and consideration, he developed theories of teaching pedagogy based around what he came to call his "value creation theory", and "The Geography of Human Life," these were to be collected under the concept of "Soka"(value creation)" which was to lend its name to a Nichiren Based new religion. The concept of value creation grew out of his analysis of Kant's theories of value and his seperation of universal but abstract values "Beauty, Goodness and Truth" with more "value creative" values; "Beauty, Goodness and Gain." (See my page on Soka Theory) He published a number of books, one called "The Geography of Human life, and others on his value creation theories. He also published briefly a magazine named "Kachi Soso".

Throughout his life he strove to introduce a more humanistic, student-centered approach to education, and because that was the opposite of the authoritarian tendancies of Japanese Society he was forced into early retirement on account of his ideas. This did not stop him from continuing his efforts, only now in the realm of Religion, where he founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai both to promote his unique ideas and also to implement his feeling that Nichiren's teachings and the Lotus Sutra¹ embodied a "great good" that needed to be shared with all Japan. Later, he was imprisoned for opposing the policies of the Japanese militarist regime. He died in prison from malnutrition at the age of 73, leaving behind a record of his interviews with Prison authorities, which showed his conviction in what he was teaching and belief that those ideas were more important than grasping onto his life. As leader of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, he was succeeded by Josei Toda who at one and the same time changed the direction of the organization after the war, and tried to uphold the spirit of his convictions.²

Early Years

Makiguchi was born on June 6, 1871 in a small, impoverished fishing village on the Sea of Japan, in the village of Arahama, in isolated Niigata prefecture. ³ Abandoned by his father at the age of three, he was taken to live with an uncle. The poverty of his adoptive family, and the need to work to help support them, forced him to give up his education after elementary school. At the age of fourteen Makiguchi set off by himself for Hokkaido, which was then a frontier region of Japan. Hokkaido was a center of progressive thought in Japan at that time. Several of the period�s most open, internationally oriented thinkers, among them the Christian pacifist Kanzo Uchimura (1861-1930) and Inazo Nitobe (1862-1932), who served as under-secretary-general of the League of Nations between 1920-27, sprang from that region. In Hokkaido, Makiguchi found work as an errand boy with the local police department and attempted to continue his education. Recognizing his talents, his co-workers collected enough money to enable him to enroll in the Hokkaido Normal School, a teacher�s training college. Despite the lack of interim education, he graduated in 1893 at the age of twenty-two, and was offered a post in a primary school attached to the college. He held this position for eight years, becoming known for his dedication and approachability.

Writer

In 1903, Makiguchi's published a book, Jinsei Chirigaku (The Geography of Human Life) which was so well received that it became the standard reference for Japanese students taking the government qualification exam for teachers. He began to achieve some critical acclaim as a writer of textbooks for Japanese Students. In 1912 he brought out another book, Kyodaku Kenkyu (Study of Folk Culture), which was basically a continuation of the previous work. The book was a popular success, reprinted ten times over the next twenty years.⁴

"The Geography of Human Life" ⁵ reflected the influence of Charles Darwin as well as other thinkers, reflects his feeling that all human beings are linked:

The unity of all the sciences is found in geography. The significance of geography is that it presents the earth as the enduring home of the occupations of man. The world without its relationship to human activity is less than a world⁶

They also show the influence of the Lotus Sutra and the theory of Ichinen Sanzen, although at the time he wrote this he wasn't particularly religious. And:

"The methods of humanitarian competition are not, of course, simple or unitary; all other forms of competition--military, political, economic--must be conducted within a humanitarian framework. In other words, the objective of states should not be merely the selfish pursuit of their own good, but should be to enhance the lives of other peoples as well. We must choose those methods that profit ourselves while profiting others. We must learn to engage consciously in collective life. (2:399)"

Value Creation Pedagogy

Here he also became increasingly critical of the educational practices of the day, particularly to the extent that he perceived them to be stifling, rather than developing, the creative potential of children.⁵ Inspired by the writings of Thomas Dewey he began developing his own more progressive ideas, and these in turn brought him in conflict with the Japanese Educational authorities. He sought to explore and disseminate his educational ideas, and his theory of value-creation (soka), which underlies this pedagogy.

In 1930, he published his ideas in his book the "Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei" (Value-Creating Pedagogical System). He received critical acclaim but no support for actually implementing these ideas. A statement of recognition and support was printed in the ninth issue of Kankyo (Environment) on the 20th of Nov. 1930, in it were the personal endorsements of many public figures including the then Prime Minister Inuaki Tsuyoshi (1855 - 1932), the Minister of Justice Watanabe Chifuyu, Supreme Court Judge Miyake Shotaru, Imperial navy Admiral Nomaguchi Kaneo and many other well known leaders in politics and business.

These ideas as they matured contradicted the logic of the militarist government and the authoritarian habits of Japanese society, which sought to use education to mold obedient, unquestioning servants of the state. They represented the rebirth of Buddhist thinking in his heart, and this in turn led him back to formal profession of religion.

Josei Toda

During this early period, while Makiguchi was still involved in struggling to teach his educational theories he met a man who would become his enthusiastic disciple and lifelong friend. This man was named Josei Toda. A friend writes me:

Dayle Bethel, author of Makiguchi, the Value Creator, states that he has never found any evidence that Makiguchi abandoned his philosophy of pragmatism, which he and other scholars found to be similar to John Dewey�s philosophy. It was only in the reissued volume 2 of System of Value-Creation Philosophy edited by Toda after Makiguchi�s death that the influence of Nichiren Shoshu is seen. While it�s possible that Makiguchi would have approved of these changes, I�m not convinced. Earlier in his book, Bethel includes a statement of Makiguchi�s about Toda:

�Without the help of other people, particularly [Josei] Toda, who used my methods in his school and found them helpful, the work would have never been done. In fact, Mr. Toda became so enthusiastic that it seems as if he were the initiator and I the follower (quoted in Bethel, p. 41).

In any case Josei Toda became Makiguchi's right hand man, and reappeared later when Makiguchi converted to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.

For more on Josei Toda visit this link:

toda.html

Conversion to Nichiren Shoshu

As a consequence of his publishing activities the State forced him into early retirement. He wasn't going to starve, he had royalties from his prior publications. Ikonclasm of his type was like a "nail" which had to be hammered down, and people of his kind were not to be kept down anyway. He resisted retirement in a variety of ways (such as teaching private school and tutoring), but in the end, this retirement blessed him with the opportunity, like people often do, to turn his attention to religion and religious organizing. He was converted to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism by a layperson. The author of the Makiguchi Paper writes:

"Against this background, his late-life (age 57) conversion to Nichiren Buddhism (Nichiren Shoshu) may seem anomalous."

In 1928, Makiguchi met Sotei Mitani, the principal of a vocational school and a lay practitioner of Nichiren Shoshu. Years earlier Makiguchi had attended a lecture on Nichiren Buddhism by the nationalist Chigaku Tanaka, but had been unimpressed by him.⁷ His encounter with Mitani had a completely different effect on him though. He was deeply impressed with Mitani�s explanation of how religion is integrated and concerned with the daily reality of people�s lives. Mitani explained Buddhism from Nichiren Daishonin�s perspective that,

��no affairs of life or work are in any way different from the ultimate reality.� A person of wisdom is not one who practices Buddhism apart from worldly affairs...�(A Kalpa of Decrease Gosho

He explained the existence of an ultimate �law� that is neither transcendent nor anthropomorphic, which does not exist above or beyond reality, but within it...

Makiguchi had met a school supply sailsman in 1928 who suggested this meeting with Sotei Mitano.

Makiguchi had been struck by the meaning of the Lotus Sutra, the key text of Mahayana Buddhism, and Nichiren�s interpretation of it, Makiguchi was struck by how fully these accorded with his rationalist principles. Mitani had given 10 lectures ⁸ He also was encouraged by two priests of Nichiren Shoshu. One Priest Horigome was later to become a high priest. The other was an Ikonclastic former High Priest named Reverend Nichiko Hori. Both were throwbacks to an earlier model of Fuji School Buddhist Monks who took Nichiren's message very seriously. Makiguchi seems to have found his way back to Buddhism without feeling the need to abandon any of his educational ideas.

�When, however, I reached the point of encountering the Lotus Sutra, I was astonished to discover that it in no way contradicted the scientific and philosophical principles which form the basis for our daily lives, and that it differed fundamentally from all religious and moral practices which I had studied to date. And just as I found myself moved by this discovery, I experienced a number of inexplicable phenomena in my daily life, which accorded precisely with the teachings of the Lotus Sutra... With a joy that is beyond the power of words to express, I have completely renewed the way of life I had pursued for almost sixty years.� (Makiguchi, 5:36).

Fawning Priests and Nationalism

The Japanese Government had been gradually pushing shinto notions. These notions were at the heart of the "Emperor System" which treated the Emperor as a divine descendent of the Sun Goddess and Japan as a sacred land protected by the "Shinto" gods as long as they kept Japan undefiled by foreigners. These notions also endorsed the hierarchy and made life easier for the privelaged few related to the Emperor or other "Powerful Interests".

With the encouragement of teachers like the before mentioned Tanaka, Shoei Asai, and Jiko Ogasawara the Government began to enforce Shinto as the state religion. They saw Nichiren's Buddhism as an adjunct to state power that needed to be controlled and channelled. This involved the suppression of unruly Buddhist Sects, and the consolidation of the remaining schools under fawning and obsequious religious leaders. When the war came the government became increasingly intolerant of dissent.

Nichiren Shoshu was also not unified on the subject of the war. Some of the priests of Nichiren Shoshu went along with this effort, for instance:

The 55th high priest of Nichiren Shoshu, Nippu, welcomed leaders of the National Pillar Society to Taisekiji and joined them in worshipping the Dai-Gohonzon.

And other Priests published articles praising the war effort and saying that Nichiren's teachings would spread through Japanese Hegemony. The spirit of the Rissho Ankoku Ron seems to have been forgotten. For more on this see pages on tanaka.html, ogasawara.html, and Josei Toda's Essay "History and Conviction of the Sokagakkai. Also this website On the Successive High Priests was generated to document these sorts of things.

At the same time, Makiguchi had been converted with the help of humble priests such as Nichiko Hori and the later to be high priest, Reverend Horigome who had a much different and far more progressive idea of what Nichiren Buddhism was about. For them, these kind of nationalists and syncretists (mixing Buddhism and Shinto) were people who failed to understand what Buddhism is truly about. Other Nichiren monks and people were beginning to understand this as well, but they were a minority. Monks like Nichidatsu Fujii of the mainstream "Nichirenshugi" movement found these discrepancies so strong that they rebelled against their schools Japan-Centrism. Nichidatsu Fujii went to India. Even so, the jury is still out on how much even Nichidatsu Fuji opposed the war. His monks had led the way into Nanking.

One Fuji School monk went to jail and died there. The cost for openly opposing the war effort would be high. But few Japanese were willing to pay that cost.

However, Makiguchi may not have been a complete pacifist. For instance he is quoted in 1933 as saying:

Regardless of social class, everyone should be conscious of the nation's destiny, harmonizing their lives with that destiny and, at all times, prepared to share that destiny. It is for this reason that the work of national education is to prepare ourselves to do exactly this, omitting nothing in the process. . . . However, in order to do this, and prior to placing ourselves in service to the state, we should first contribute to the local area that has nurtured us and with which we share common interests (Makiguchi 1933:460-461).

Another reason that Makiguchi had been able to retire was that he had made some money from selling educational books, including "The Geography of Human life." He was not a pacifist. When he came to oppose the Government it would be on religious grounds but not purely pacifist ones

Soka Kyoiku Gakkai

Two years later, he and his colleague Josei Toda founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Society for Value-creating Education), the predecessor to the modern day Soka Gakkai. Makiguchi had been a Nichiren Shu believer as a child, but the Nichiren Shu had not been interested in fostering his style of lay movement. On the other hand the priests Nichiko Hori was a retired high priest who had retired on account of disgust with the focus on rank and religious politics of some of his fellow priests. The local priest in his area was Reverend Horigome who shared some of his iconclastic views of Buddhism and felt a peaceful lay group would be key to spreading Buddhism in the world (for more see horigome.html). These people were disgusted by and seeking a counter to the extreme nationalistic groups such as those founded by Tanaka or Ogasawara or by the Myoshinko under Shoei Asai. They wanted a movement that would genuinely embody the religious democratic ideas of Nichiren who had insisted on "follow the law" not Emperors or High Priests.

Originally a small group of educators dedicated to educational reform, the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai gradually developed into an organization with a broad-based membership focusing on the propagation of Buddhism among educators. It reached a peak at about 2000 members just as World War II's storms were reaching a crescendo. Makiguchi and Toda became increasingly convinced that Nichiren's philosophy, with its focus on the transformation of society through the individual's transformation, was the means to achieving the fundamental social reform that they had been trying to accomplish through their educational efforts. This notion of "human revolution" was later to become a vehicle for propagation by Toda as his successor.

Makiguchi's arrest

This sort of thing led Makiguchi became increasingly convinced that Nichiren's "Rissho Ankoku Ron" applied as much to his day as it had to Nichiren's own day. He could see the obvious concordance between it's warnings and what the Japanese were doing in his own time. That document warns of the consequences of "slander of the Dharma" and Makiguchi's own theories explained some of the mechanisms of that. He began to see his own teachings as directly relevent to those of the Daishonin and became more and more convinced that the Daishonin's Buddhism held the keys to the underlying problems of Japanese Society.

But he didn't speak out formally until he was forced to by circumstances. In the early 1940's, some priests of the ogasawara.html. Almost all of them were turning Nichiren's teachings on their head and turning themselves into synchophants and cheerleaders for the Militarists and Nationalists. (See Tanaka.html. And also see The History and Conviction of the SGI

When these priests took action to get the government to enforce state Shinto by requiring every member to enshrine a Shinto Talisman, Makiguchi staunchly opposed those repressive actions and also warned of the punishment that Japan would incur if it didn't -- at last -- listen to Nichiren's message. Most members and the priests advised accepting the Talismen and then discarding them or ignoring them. He was first ordered to accept the Talisman by the priests and then barred from the Head Temple for not accepting them.

In July 1943, Makiguchi and Toda, along with 19 other leaders of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai were arrested and imprisoned. Someone had denounced them for not accepting the Talismen. Later the High Priest Nikkyo was to bitterly regret supporting the government on this issue, when efforts were started to merge all the sects into one school forcibly, and troops were quartered at the Head Temple. He eventually committed suicide within the Treasury Temple when it caught fire in a freak accident, by immolating himself in it's flames.

But meanwhile, as reported in the Makiguchi Essay, Makiguchi was charged with expressing such opinions as:

�The emperor is a common mortal (bompu)�;

�The emperor should not demand [people�s] loyalty�;

and �There is no need to worship the Grand Shrine of Ise� --a site with close ties to the imperial household. (Tokko Geppo, July 1943:27-28)

He didn't deny the charges and was convicted.

In jail he exchanged letters with his family, and at the same time argued staunchly and reasonably with his jailors without "breaking" "confessing" and being pardoned, which was their preferred way to deal with "thought criminals." He expressed a fiercely independent attitude, as the author of the Makiguchi Essay says:

He first describes the religious practice of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai as a fusion of the teachings of Nichiren transmitted within Nichiren Shoshu and of his own theory of value. He then explains why he chose not to become a priest of Nichiren Shoshu but remain a lay believer.

�If I were to become ordained and have a temple, I would be confined in my actions to the teachings of Nichiren Shoshu. It would hardly be appropriate for me to promote my theory of value at a temple. I believe that my real purpose is fulfilled in remaining a lay believer and introducing my theory of value into the faith principles of Nichiren Shoshu. This is where the unique characteristics of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai are to be found.� (Tokko Geppo, August 1943:140).⁷

And:

As Makiguchi makes clear in the record, the Buddhist Law or dharma is not something that can be �owned� by any individual or sect. For him, it is first and foremost a universal law of causality.

�Buddhism is not something invented or created by Shakyamuni. Without beginning or end, it is a law governing and giving vitality to the constant flow of all phenomena since time without beginning. What is called Buddhism are simply acts and practices that accord with this already existing law or principle.� (Tokko Geppo, August 1943:145).¹⁰

All of these interviews show that he not only didn't deny the crimes he was charged with, but reaffirmed them in the face of interrogation and torture. About the Emperor he says:

He describes the on-going war as a �national disaster� brought about by adherence to mistaken ideologies. (At the time, the war was almost universally described as a �holy war� (seisen)). Makiguchi also repeated his assertion that the Emperor is a common mortal and not infallible. He also declared that the Emperor must obey the law of cause and effect and that if he would embrace Buddhism,

�His Majesty would naturally develop the kind of wisdom that would enable him to carry out political policies without error.�

(Tokko Geppo, August 1943:152,156).¹¹

His last letter was written on October 15th 1944. It was in response to a letter from his daughter in law Sadako, informing him of the death of his son in combat. One month later Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition. In his last letter he writes:

�I was shocked by this blow. But even more I was concerned how the two of you [Sadako and Makiguchi�s wife, Kuma] were bearing up. I was relieved to learn that you are taking this with a firm determination.... Please inform only those who were close to him, not forgetting his aunt in Hokkaido.� After encouraging them to take comfort in their faith, he concludes with a statement of confidence in his accomplishment and the validity of Buddhist teachings."

Theory of Value

In that same last letter, Makiguchi writes:

�I have been carefully rereading Kant�s philosophy. It is clear I have been able to develop a theory of value that philosophers for the past hundred years have sought without success. At the same time I have linked this to the faith of the Lotus Sutra, the truth of which has been proven by the experiences of several thousand practitioners. At the risk of sounding boastful, I find myself astonished at this. In this sense, it is no wonder that the three obstacles and four devils (sansho shima) have arisen to oppose us. It is just as the sutra teaches.� (Makiguchi, 10:301).¹⁰

Makiguchi's theory of value was based somewhat on Kant's philosophy. He replaced Beauty, Goodness and Truth, with Beauty Goodness and Gain (Ri). He did this because to him "Truth" was an objective thing. Things are either true or not true. If its truth is not known then you must make a "value" judgment. That is, truth cannot be created nor destroyed, this is why it is not a value. Of course, the importance of this observation is that "truth" doesn't disapear as something to value (which is how some interpret this observation) but rather "truth" becomes all the more important, because "reality" determines whether something is "really" beautiful, really good, or really "true" enough to bring gain by acknowledging it. This theory of Value has been much abused and misinterpreted. Some taking it as an excuse to lie, cheat, or practice moral relativism. But that is not the meaning of it at all. (See soka.html for more discussion.

The founder Nichiren Daishonin had stressed the importance of literal proof (making sure that beliefs are based on things that have substantiation [usually in the form of written doctrines]), Theoretical proof, which is the use of reason and good logic, and "proof of actual fact." He had said that "proof of actual fact" was the most important thing of all. Makiguchi was impressed by this attitude.

Conclusion and Inpact

In refusing to the end to compromise his beliefs Makiguchi laid a philosophical foundation for the future Soka Gakkai. Josei Toda would take the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai in a completely different direction after the war based on the notions of Nichirenism that Makiguchi upheld along with his "value creation" ideas up until the last moment of his life. This would also lead the Sokagakkai also to inherited the legacy of an ongoing dialectic with the hierarchical, authoritarian, nationalistic, chauvinist and literalist elements of Japanese Religious and lay society that led him to be imprisoned in the first place. In later issues to surface, from the Ogasawara incident, to the much later to surface with the Sho Hondo and temple Issue" and other disputes that would later arise between the Gakkai, Nichiren Shoshu and other elements of Japans society, how this legacy was to be interpreted would play an important role. Josei Toda would set forth his ideas on this in his essay "The History and Conviction of the Sokagakkai."

Ironically Daisaku Ikeda would take this interpretation in new directions, actually making Makiguchi the embodiement of the "ideal" of Nichiren school teachings and setting up a "Three Presidents" basis for making the Sokagakkai its own school independent of Nichiren Shoshu. The idea of "soka" would also be put to various and diverse uses by these people. For all the theories about "island people"/ "village people" universalism versus parochialism, Makiguchi reduced it to its most simple formula when he wrote:

What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it is better to start by looking to the lovely child who sits on your knee and ask yourself: What can I do to assure that this child will be able to lead the happiest life possible?¹¹

That is hardly the philosophy of someone who lacked ethics or had a Machievellian attitude.

Footnotes

Fire in the Lotus page 181

Lotus Sutra, work of Mahayana Buddhism.

For the official biography of Tsunesuburu Makiguchi see:http://www.sgi.org/english/keys/makiguchi.htm

The name of his village, Arahama (�desolate beach�) suggests the harshness of his early environment. The source says that his stern countenance might have come from such a harsh origins. He is said to have had a warm heart.Makiguchi Paper by Andrew Gebert and Anthony George

Ibid, Same source. Author is quoting from a Book by Bethel and another one by Yamashita.

Brian Rahilly did some research to try to "debunk" Gakkai legends about Makiguchi, and this filled in some information gaps, as he is usually an accurate translator(if biased): http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=72592491.0308200411.7dfa360f%40posting.google.com

I got some information from this website. http://www.siu.edu/~deweyctr/makiguchi.html. This article is penned in the name of Daisaku Ikeda.

From the Dewey Essay by Ikeda http://www.siu.edu/~deweyctr/makiguchi.html.

I should hope Makiguchi would have been unimpressed with Tanaka. Tanaka was the theorist behind the notion that Japans mission was to conquer the world in the name of Nichiren. Tanaka's theories caused such misery for East Asia that most East Asians equated Nichirenism with the worst of Japanese Militarism. See tanaka.html for more on Tanaka.

This was from a report of a study meeting:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SGI-USA_Reform/message/1920

Makiguchi Essay

Makiguchi Essay

Makiguchi Essay

Ibid

(see :http://www.sgi.org/english/keys/makiguchi.htm at the SGI USA website biography)

More references, sources and further readings:

Paper:
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi - Founder of Soka: Value-Creating Education by Andrew Gebert and Anthony George
http://www.iop.or.jp/0010s/start0010s.htm
Nichiren Thought in Modern Japan -- Two Perspectives -- by Hiroo Sato Is a wonderful source for more information on the issues between Tanaka and Makiguchi

Two views on his war views:

One that he supported Japans role in World War II:

http://www.globalbuddhism.org/2/victoria011.pdf

One that rebuts the above and makes the case that he was a true pacifist:

http://www.globalbuddhism.org/3/miyata021.pdf

More Biography (almost hagiography):

Bethel, Dayle M. Makiguchi The Value Creator: Revolutionary Japanese Educator and Founder of Soka Gakkai. 1973.New York, Weatherhill, 1994.

http://www.toda.org/about_toda/about.html

http://www.soka.edu/calabasas/History.html

http://en.sokagakkai.or.jp/html3/sg_today3/history3/makiguchi3.html

http://en.sokagakkai.or.jp/html3/sg_today3/history3/toda3.html

http://www.columbia.edu/~mh30/sgi/model_un_faq.html

Here are books:

Bethel, Dayle, M., ed. and Alfred Birnbaum, trans. Education for Creative Living: Ideas and Proposals of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. 4th ed. U.S.A.: Iowa State University Press/AMES, 1989.

For more on Josei Toda visit:

toda.html

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