"War is wrong." No one denies this. But once a country has becomeinvolved in a war, its views might change. During the Japanesemodern era, wars occurred at various times. Each time, peopleargued about whether it was right to fight and they reached thesame conclusion: "War is wrong." Nevertheless, wars still occur, becauseto the people who are involved in an actual war, the words"war is wrong" are meaningless. However, they typically say, "Ourpresent situation differs from that of other times anyway. We mustfight. "Thus, when they collide with the realities of war, they createtheir own arguments to justify the act of war. The idea of righteousness,such as humanity and justice or a religious cause often becomesa principal pillar of their thinking.
Many Japanese Buddhists took a chauvinistic position during theRusso-Japanese War. Although Buddhism teaches that we should notkill any living creature, they have sometimes adopted improper behavior.How about Russian Orthodox Church? The Bible says, "Thou shall not kill." However, it has led Russian people into war for positivereasons. On a superficial level, many religions preach peace, yettheir teachings themselves may contain a logic that advocates war.I would like to clarify Japanese Buddhist logic by examining theviews of Rinzai Zen master Shaku Sōen (Kōgaku Sōen). Section Icriticizes ordinary ideas that are generally related to the ethics ofwar, and Section II presents an overview of the meaning of the Russo-Japanese War in Japanese society. Section III shows Sōen's figurein the Meiji era of Japan, and Section IV discusses his views on theRusso-Japanese War, which were published in the magazine TheSun (Taiyo). Sections V and VI examine the logic that supports hisopinions on war in his other writings. In this study, the special featureof the war logic of Japan—the obligation of egolessness—is revealedin considerable detail.
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