VI.

In the Commoners Society were Kotoku, Sakai, Nishikawa Kojiro, and Ishikawa Sanshiro.^[15] Of the four, only Ishikawa did not despise religion. But there were outsiders who supported the society who were enthusiastic Christians like Ishikawa: that is, Abe Isoo and Kinoshita Yoko.^[16] Moreover, the majority of the youths who came were Christians. After all, Christian ideas were the most progressive in the intellectual world of the day. Or, at least, Christianity contained the most numerous elements in rebellion against the ideas of loyalty and patriotism then dominant.

Kotoku and Sakai sneered at and made scathing attacks on religion. They often brought up religious issues at the study group meetings. Nonetheless both Kotoku and Sakai accepted the resolution of the German Social Democratic party, which held that religion was an individual's private concern, and they did not actually interfere with their comrades' religion.

Ishikawa was my senior at the Hongo church. About that time, however, he seemed to lose all interest in church and stopped going entirely. After I began going to the Commoners Society, under its influence I too became increasingly skeptical—first about religious people and then about religion itself. The war between Russia and Japan cleanly severed my ties with religion.

I had believed, as Ebina Danjo taught, that religion had a cosmopolitanism that transcended national boundaries and a libertarianism

[15] Nishikawa Mitsujiro (1876-1940) and Ishikawa Sanshiro (Kyokuzan, 1876-1956) were both important left-wing militants.

[16] Abe (1865-1959) and Kinoshita Naoe (1869-1937) were prominent Christian socialists who opposed the war and who influenced Osugi (see chapter 5 part 3). Abe was a professor at Waseda University, where he also became known as the father of Japanese baseball. Kinoshita, a graduate of Waseda, gained a reputation as a journalist for his 1899-1900 reports on the Ashio Copper pollution case and as a novelist with his 1904 Hi no Hashira (Pillar of fire).

that recognized no temporal authority.^[17] Tolstoy's views on religion, which had come into vogue in intellectual circles at the time, strengthened my beliefs on this. Moreover, after reading about the origins of Christianity in Ebina Danjo's Life of Christ and in The Life of Buddha written by a doctor of Buddhism, I had thought it was as Tolstoy had said: primitive religion—in other words, real religion—was a variety of communist movement attempting to escape the insecurity in society that stems from the gulf between the rich and the poor.

But the attitude that religious individuals took toward the war—especially the attitude of Ebina in whom I believed—thoroughly betrayed my faith. The fact that Ebina's Christianity was one of nationalism and the Japanese spirit was now clearly exposed to my sight. He held prayer meetings for victory. He sang hymns that seemed like military songs. He gave sermons on loyalty and patriotism. And he quoted Christ completely out of context, as in "I came not to bring peace."^[18]

I grew thoroughly disgusted. After several arguments with Ebina and with Kato Yokushi, who had translated a great many of Tolstoy's works, I turned my back on churches once and for all. Simultaneously I came to doubt the principle of nonresistance, the "turn the other cheek" that is an essential quality of religion and that I had begun unconsciously to embrace. Thus I could now embrace pure socialism and the class struggle.

When the war broke out, my father was immediately made a battalion commander in one of the mixed brigades of a reserve division and was dispatched to the Liaotung Peninsula. I went to meet him when his brigade passed through Ueno Station and stayed overnight with him at his inn.

When I saw Father on horseback directing his troops, the first time that he had cut such a heroic figure, the sight almost moved even me to tears. But there was also something ridiculous to me about it when I thought to myself, What is the purpose [of going courageously to

[17] The words in italics are foreign in the original.

[18] See Matt. 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword."

war ]?^[19] Rather than feel sorry for Father, I felt that the scene was ludicrous.

Once we entered the inn my father and the old-timers among the of-ricers in his command went about in high spirits cheerfully telling everyone they met, "This is our last campaign."

Father had very little to say to me that night except "Study hard." It seemed to be enough for him to have me sitting by his side and to see my face.

[19] The words in brackets were censored in the 1930 Kaizo edition.