Rebuke insolent nations with confidence, Japan!

 

‘Rebuking’ Evil Is Proof of Being a Leading Nation

“Katsu!” (See note below) When the Mongol Empire (Gen) launched its second invasion, Tokimune Hojo, then head of the Kamakura Shogunate, said this word to his tutor monk, and thereby expressed his determination to defend the nation. Japan threw its all into this struggle with one victory after another, and repelled the invasion.
It is quite appropriate for a leading nation to see through an opponent’s evil, and rebuke it on behalf of global justice.

For example, when the Argentine military government occupied the British territory of the Falkland Islands in order to deflect domestic discontent, the British Prime Minister, the “Iron Lady” Thatcher, declared that “any attack or aggression can change the fact (that the Falkland Islands are British)”. She decided to fight back valiantly, and defended the territory.

In addition, US President Reagan called the Soviet Union ‘the evil empire’, and appealed that “One shouldn’t run away from the battle of good vs. evil”. As America tackled her national defense in earnest, the Soviet Union failed to keep up financially, and eventually the ‘evil empire’ that oppressed its citizens with dictatorship ultimately collapsed.

Note: “Katsu!” :exclamation used to scold practitioners in Zen

 

Wake Up, Land of the Samurai

Japan is entitled to rebuke insolent nations and to lead them. In Japan, the imperial family has been the spiritual authority. Even shoguns such as Yoritomo Minamoto and Ieyasu Tokugawa could not deny their authority in the country. As a result, Japan has been like ‘miracle in the world’ with a history that has been free of tyrants and massacres. During the Heian period, there was no capital punishment, and after the Warring States period, guns with the best performance and quality in the world were discarded, and in the Edo period, the cultural golden age was achieved during a time of peace.

The peaceful national character, thus nurtured, is still alive today. Many of the American soldiers who participated in ‘Operation Tomodachi’ were surprised by the politeness of Japanese people who thanked them reverently with the word ‘Arigato’ in the devastated areas hit by the Tohoku Earthquake as well as by the calm way people handled the aftermath without any incidents of looting. The historical fact that Japanese people have been lovers of peace is one of the pieces of evidence to support the premise that the accounts of the ‘Nanjing Massacre’ and the ‘forced drafting of comfort women’ are fictitious. The concepts of genocide and slavery do not emanate from Japanese culture.

However, we must remember that we are the proud ‘land of the samurai’ while at the same time loving peace. During the Russo-Japanese War, General Maresuke Nogi, who narrowly won the battle of the 203 Highland, once turned down a photo session with the opposing general Stoessel as ‘it is against the precepts of Bushido to record and leave a photo that shames the opponent’. However, he relented as long as Stoessel was allowed to arm himself with a sword, and General Nogi was photographed as his equal and friend.

General Nogi’s generosity and humility were to be praised worldwide. The Japanese had behaved in accordance with their honorable land of the samurai on the modern, international, political stage.

There is no better time for Japan to express the ‘Samurai spirit’ in diplomacy. The ‘history card’, that China and South Korea are playing, is nothing but a tool of aggression used in order to force spiritual obedience on Japan. Japan should refute such accusations fairly and squarely.

The ‘clash of civilizations’, entailing difficulty in mutual understanding, has begun. If Japan were to become the prey of hegemonic China, not only would Japan’s native language be prohibited, but purges would also be repeated, and the highly spiritual Japanese civilization itself might perish. Japan should rebuke Chinese and South Korean boorish behavior, and teach and lead those countries.

Noble land of the samurai, wake up. Japan should proudly rebuke insolent countries. It is the role the world is waiting for Japan to play.