Buddhist attitudes toward the war were mainly shaped by unquestioned adherence to state ideology and policies. It seems to me that most of the Buddhist world in Japan from 1868 to 1945 was engaged in a rhetorical exercise to adjust traditional Buddhist concepts and doctrines to dominant political ideas. Almost never was Buddhism capable of an original, innovative contribution to politics; all it did was to follow supinely the lead of the regime and give the dominant ideology the support of Buddhist exegesis. Paramount was the justification of war, perhaps because it was the least justifiable action in Buddhist terms. We find statements like the following: "[Buddhism] vigorously supports such wars [fought for good purposes] to the point of being a war enthusiast," wrote Hayashiya Tomojiroo and Shimakage Chikai (p. 88); "without plunging into the war arena, it is totally impossible to know the Buddha Dharma," wrote the well-known Zen master Harada Daiun Soogaku (p.137).
Traditional notions were deployed for the politico-theological purpose of justifying state policies in Buddhist terms. Particularly important in this respect were Buddhism's historical role as a protector of the country (chingo kokka or gokoku bukkyoo), the Zen connections to the samuraii deals (and here the newly invented notion of bushidoo played an important role) and its related spirit of self-sacrifice, in turn glossed as a result of the traditional Buddhist idea of selflessness (muga). Even the notion of compassion was mobilized. Lieutenant colonel Sugimoto Goroo, a famous Zen follower, wrote: "The wars of the empire . . . are the [Buddhist]practice (gyoo) of great compassion (daijihishin)" (quoted on p. 119). Even the style at times resembled that typical of a Zen kooan (perhaps mediated by fascist Futurism): "[If ordered to] march: tramp,tramp, or shoot: bang, bang. This is the manifestation of the highest Wisdom[of Enlightenment]," wrote again Daiun (quoted on p. 137). It is interesting to notice how the apparent variety of the Buddhist ideological discourse (in which each sect mobilized its own vocabulary to reaffirm the same dominant positions), actually hid its stunning simplicity, as a mere commentary to a few sonorous state slogans. full: http://jbe.gold.ac.uk/5/rambell.htm
