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was a Japanese nationalist and Pan-Asianist writer, known for his publications on Japanese history,
philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...
,
Indian philosophy Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśan ...
, and
colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
. Ōkawa advocated a form of
Pan-Asianism file:Asia satellite orthographic.jpg , Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection. Pan-Asianism (also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism) is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian people, Asian peo ...
which promoted Asian solidarity as a cover for Japanese imperialism and beliefs in Japanese racial supremacy. He co-founded the Japanese radical nationalist group '' Yūzonsha'', and in 1926 he published his most influential work: , which was so popular that it would be reprinted 46 times by the end of World War II. Ōkawa was also involved in a number of attempted coups d'état by the Japanese military, including the March Incident. After his arrest following the March incident, Ōkawa was protected by the intervention of General Kazushige Ugaki, and received a sentence of five years in prison, of which he served two years. He continued to publish numerous books and articles, helping popularize the idea that a " clash of civilizations" between the East and West was inevitable, and that Japan was destined to be the liberator and protector of Asia against the United States and other Western nations. In the
Tokyo tribunal The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their crimes against peace ...
after the end of World War II, Ōkawa was prosecuted as a class-A war criminal based on his role as an ideologue. The Allies described him as the "Japanese Goebbels", and of the twenty-eight people indicted with this charge, he was the only one not a military officer or government official. The case against him was dropped when he was found mentally unfit to stand trial. Ōkawa's writings were used in the final verdict as part of the evidence for the crime of conspiracy to commit
aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...
.


Early life

Ōkawa was born in Sakata, Yamagata, Japan in 1886. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1911, where he had studied
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
literature and classical Indian philosophy. After graduation, Ōkawa worked for the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff doing translation work. He had a sound knowledge of Arabic, German, French, English,
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and
Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...
. He briefly flirted with
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
in his college years, but in the summer of 1913 he read a copy of Sir Henry Cotton's ''New India, or India in Transition'' (1886, revised 1905) which dealt with the contemporary political situation. After reading this book, Ōkawa abandoned "complete cosmopolitanism" (''sekaijin'') for Pan-Asianism. Later that year articles by Anagarika Dharmapala and Maulavi Barkatullah appeared in the magazine ''Michi'', published by Dōkai, a religious organization in which Ōkawa was later to play a prominent part. While he studied, he briefly housed the Indian independence leader Rash Behari Bose. After years of study of foreign philosophies, he became increasingly convinced that the solution to Japan's social and political problems lay in an alliance with Asian independence movements, a revival of pre-modern Japanese philosophy, and a renewed emphasis on the '' kokutai'' principles.


Nationalist ideologue

In 1918, Ōkawa went to work for the South Manchurian Railway Company, under its East Asian Research Bureau. Together with Ikki Kita he founded the nationalist discussion group and political club '' Yūzonsha''. In the 1920s, he became an instructor of history and colonial policy at Takushoku University, where he was also active in the creation of
anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...
and nationalist student groups. Meanwhile, he introduced Rudolf Steiner's theory of social threefolding to Japan. He developed a friendship with
Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...
founder Morihei Ueshiba during this time period. In 1922, he published ''Fukkô Ajia no Shomondai'' in 1922. Ōkawa hailed the movements started by
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
in India and Mustafa Kemal in Turkey as new types of Asian revival. Ōkawa believed in a narrative of history based on a dichotomy between Eastern and
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
civilizations, writing that "world history, in its true sense of the word, is nothing but a chronicle of antagonism, struggle and unification between the Orient and the Occident." Ōkawa advocated a form of
Pan-Asianism file:Asia satellite orthographic.jpg , Satellite photograph of Asia in orthographic projection. Pan-Asianism (also known as Asianism or Greater Asianism) is an ideology aimed at creating a political and economic unity among Asian people, Asian peo ...
which promoted Asian solidarity as a cover for Japanese imperialism and beliefs in Japanese racial supremacy. He wrote that there would be a war "for the establishment of a new world" between Japan and the United States. In 1926, Ōkawa published his most influential work: , which was so popular that it was reprinted 46 times by the end of World War II. He continued to publish numerous books and articles, helping popularize the idea that a " clash of civilizations" between the East and West was inevitable, and that Japan was destined to be the liberator and protector of Asia against the United States and other Western nations.Wakabayashi, Modern Japanese Thought, pp. 226–227.


Coup attempts

In the early 1930s, Ōkawa was involved in a number of attempted coups d'état by the Japanese military. During the March Incident, Ōkawa was a leader in attempting to foment a riot outside the Diet Building in Tokyo, which was intended to initiate the coup. When the riot failed to occur, Ōkawa wrote a letter to General Kazushige Ugaki explaining the plot and asking for his cooperation. Ugaki declined, but when the plotters were arrested after making another attempt at the riot, he intervened to hush up the whole collapsed affair and ensured that the plotters received very mild punishments.Harries, ''Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army'', p. 147. For his role in the March incident, Ōkawa was sentenced to five years in prison in 1935.Jansen, ''The Making of Modern Japan'', p. 572. Released after only two years, he briefly re-joined the South Manchurian Railway Company before accepting a post as a professor at Hosei University in 1939.


Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal

In the
Tokyo tribunal The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their crimes against peace ...
after the end of World War II, Ōkawa was prosecuted as a class-A war criminal based on his role as an ideologue.15 March 1946 Tavenner Papers & IMTFE Official Records Files on Defendants; Okawa, Oshima 1946 University of Virginia Law Library
Of the twenty-eight people indicted with this charge, he was the only one not a military officer or government official. The Allies described him as the "Japanese Goebbels" and said he had long agitated for a war between Japan and the West. For example, in his 1924 book ''Asia, Europe, and Japan'', he had predicted an inevitable war to be fought between Eastern and Western civilizations, with Japan and the United States as the respective leaders, and discussed what he later described as "the sublime mission of Japan in the coming world war". In pre-trial hearings, Ōkawa said that his 1924 writings were merely a translation and commentary on Vladimir Solovyov's geopolitical philosophy, and "did not necessarily constitute a plan for a Japanese attack." During the trial, Ōkawa behaved erratically, including dressing in pajamas, sitting barefoot, and slapping the head of former prime minister Hideki Tōjō while shouting in German "''Inder! Kommen Sie!''" (Come, Indian!). He also at one point shouted "This is act one of the comedy!" U.S. Army psychiatrist Daniel Jaffe examined him and reported that he was unfit to stand trial. The presiding judge Sir William Webb concluded that he was mentally ill and dropped the case against him. Some thought he was feigning madness. Because of the diagnosis, he was able to avoid potentially sharing the fate of the other defendants, of whom seven were hanged and the rest imprisoned. (review of book by Eric Jaffe) Ōkawa's writings were used by the prosecution and the final verdict as evidence for the crime of conspiracy to commit
aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...
.


Post war

Ōkawa was transferred from jail to a US Army hospital in Japan, which confirmed his mental illness caused by
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
. Later, he was transferred to Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital, a mental hospital, where he completed the third Japanese translation of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
. He was released from hospital in 1948, shortly after the end of the trial. He spent the final years of his life writing a memoir, ''Anraku no Mon''. In October 1957,
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
requested to meet with him during a brief visit to Japan. The invitation was delivered to Ōkawa's house by an Indian Embassy official, who found that Ōkawa was already on his deathbed and was unable to leave the house. He died on 24 December 1957.Sekioka Hideyuki. ''Ōkawa Shūmei no Dai-Ajia-Shugi''. Tokyo:
Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
, 2007. p. 203.


Major publications

* Some Issues in Re-Emerging Asia (復興亜細亜の諸問題), 1922. * A Study of the Japanese Spirit (日本精神研究), 1924. * A Study of Chartered Colonisation Companies (特許植民会社制度研究), 1927. * National History (国史読本), 1931. * 2600 Years of the Japanese History (日本二千六百年史), 1939. * History of Anglo-American Aggression in East Asia (米英東亜侵略史), 1941. :* Best-seller in Japan during WW2 * Introduction to Islam (回教概論), 1942. * Quran (Japanese translation), 1950.


Notes

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * *


Further reading

* *


External links


Ōkawa hitting Tojo
illustration. {{DEFAULTSORT:Okawa, Shumei 1886 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Japanese historians 20th-century Japanese translators Deaths from asthma Historians of Japan Japanese anti-capitalists Japanese far-right politicians Japanese fascists Japanese nationalists Japanese non-fiction writers Kokkashugi Japanese prisoners and detainees Academic staff of Hosei University Pan-Asianists People acquitted by reason of insanity People from Yamagata Prefecture People indicted for war crimes Academic staff of Takushoku University Translators of the Quran into Japanese University of Tokyo alumni Prisoners and detainees of Japan