After the Fall: Tsuji Zennosuke and the Construction of Buddhist(ic) National History

By the early twentieth century, a self-consciously “academic” (i.e., objective and non-sectarian) study of Buddhist history had emerged at Tokyo Imperial University under the auspices of Murakami Senshô (1851-1929) and Anesaki Masaharu (1873-1949), first professors of Buddhist and Religious Studies, respectively. The general consensus, however, is that the historical work of both these figures was limited by their personal (albeit non-sectarian) commitments to Buddhist faith, and that the true “empirical” (jisshô) study of Buddhist history in Japan would only begin with Tsuji Zennosuke (1877-1955), who would go on to become the dominant figure in Buddhist historical scholarship until his death in the mid-1950s. There is no doubt that Tsuji was dedicated to the employment of a broad range of sources in order to provide a comprehensive historical analysis of the development of Buddhism throughout Asian and Japanese history. At the same time, however, he was also aware that he was writing history for the nation (kokushi)—i.e., that he was engaged in a larger project of national (and moral) contruction, of which Buddhism, or the Buddhist “spirit” (seishin), would continue to play a significant, even foundational role.

This paper situates Tsuji’s conception of Buddhist history in relation to the emergence of both National Historical Studies (kokushigaku) and State Shinto (kokka Shintô). In particular, comparisons are drawn between his thesis regarding “degenerate” (daraku) Buddhism and the earlier arguments of the so-called Daijôhibussetsuron. Can there be, should there be an objective history of religion? What is the significance of sacred history—and the history of Buddhism more particularly—to the still-emerging “modern” nation of Japan? How does Buddhism, a pan-Asian and “borrowed religion,” fit with the the “emperor-centered view of history” (kôkoku shikan)? These are some of the important questions posed by Tsuji’s work.