Suzuki Daisetsu’s and Hisamatsu Shin’ichi’s discussions on East Asian arts, dramatic art and ‘Zen’

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn recent history, Suzuki Daisetsu’s Zen to Nihon bunka and Hisamatsu Shin’ichi’s Zen to bijutsu have defined the East Asian cultural complex as ‘Zen.’ However, the basic characteristics they attributed to ‘Zen’ may not be able to be associated with Zen 禪 (Ch. Chan) in history. From a historical perspective, the specific examples of artworks and performing arts, such as the paintings from Song-Yuan China and Japanese Nō performances, cannot be regarded as Zen. Suzuki also stated that ‘Zen’ is equivalent to ‘Japanese culture,’ a statement which lacks historical validity. At the same time, he used the concepts of ‘Japan’ and ‘the East’ to study the Chinese-made artworks he quoted as examples, making his arguments ambiguous and self-contradictory. On the other hand, although Hisamatsu’s arguments were more aligned with facts when he saw China, Korea and Japan as three distinct geographic entities, he also exhibited a tendency to associate the cultures that match his preferences with ‘Zen.’ Thus, it is hard to view his arguments from an academic perspective. Nevertheless, both works have served as primers through which readers can understand Zen and East Asian culture. Therefore, nowadays we must discuss their arguments from an academic standpoint and offer objective critiques of their arguments.KEYWORDS: Suzuki DaisetsuHisamatsu Shin’ichiJapanese culturediscussions on Zen (Chan)discussions on the East and Japan Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. See, for example, the following studies: MacCarthy, ‘Dewey, Suzuki, and the Elimination of Dichotomies’; Iijima, ‘Suzuki Daisetsu no Zen Shisō-shi Kan wo Saikō Suru Shiza’; Ogawa, Zen shisō-shi kōgi, Chapter Four ‘‘Mu’ to ‘Kindai’: Suzuki Daisetsu to 20 Seiki no Zen’ ‘無’ と’ 近代’:鈴木大拙と二 〇 世紀の禅 [D. T. Suzuki and the Chan of the Twentieth Century].2. The English edition of Suzuki Daisetsu’s Zen to Nihon bunka is Suzuki, Zen Buddhism and its Influence on Japanese Culture (1938). And below is the information about the publication of its Japanese translation: (1) Part One of the original work (the first half) was in Suzuki, Kitagawa, trans., Zen to Nihon bunka (Iwanami shinsho, September 1940). The second edition was published in March 1964; (2) Part Two of the original work (the second half) was in Suzuki, Kitagawa, trans., Zoku Zen to Nihon Bunka (Iwanami shinsho, October 1942). Moreover, the Iwanami shinsho edition of Zen to Nihon bunka has been printed 94 times, from the first edition in 1940 before World War II to the last edition printed in 2022. The second edition published in 1964 was actually the 21st time the book was printed. Additionally, the first edition of Zoku Zen to Nihon Bunka was printed in 1942, while the most updated edition published in 1989 was the eighth time the book was printed.3. When published by Bokubisha in 1957, Zen to bijutsu was a large volume with a cloth hardcover. The book was reprinted by Shibunkaku 思文閣 in 1976. The book includes approximately 300 photos of artworks and Nō plays on coated paper. In addition, Kodansha International published Tokiwa Gishin’s 常盤義伸 English translation Zen and the Fine Arts in 1971.4. Suzuki, trans. Kitagawa, Zen to Nihon bunka, 2.5. Ibid.6. Ibid, 7–8.7. Ibid, 9–108. Ibid, 9–109. Ibid, 13–21.10. Ibid, 13–15.11. Suzuki 15–16.12. Suzuki, Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture, 16.13. Ibid, 18.14. Suzuki 19–20.15. Hisamatsu, Tōyō teki mu. The book was republished by Kōdansha gakujutsu bunko 講談社学術文庫 in 1987.16. Hisamatsu, Zen to bijutsu, 11 (the bottom lines were added by the quoter, sic passim).17. Hisamatsu, Zen to bijutsu, ‘Zen geitsu no seikaku’ 禅芸術の性格, 24-39.18. Hisamatsu, Zen to bijutsu, 54–59.19. Ibid, 59.20. Ibuki, ‘“Zengeijutsu” towa Nanika’.21. Hisamatsu, ‘Sadou bunka no seikaku’.22. Hisamatsu, Zen to bijutsu, 105.23. Ibid, 105–106.24. See Omote and Itō, eds., Komparu Kodensho Shūsei, 215–220, for the content of the secret book.25. Suzuki, Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture, 17.26. Translator’s note: for the Chinese translation of both waka poems, see Suzuki, Chan yu Riben wenhua, 19–20.27. Suzuki, Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture, 18.28. Ibid, 19.29. The Nanbo roku 南坊錄 [Record of Nanbō Sōkei 南坊宗啟] was a tea book in which Nanbō Sōkei 南坊宗啟 (sixteenth–seventeenth century) recorded the speeches and actions of Sen no Rikyū 千利休 (1522–1591). However, it was Tachibana Jitsuzan 立花実山 (1655–1708) who engaged in the composition of the book. See Nishiyama, ‘Nanbo roku ni tsuite’.30. For ‘Not a single thing’, according to the ‘Xingyou’ 行由 [Experience] chapter of the Zen text Liuzu dashi fabao tanjing 六祖大師法寶壇經 [The Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch]:身是菩提樹 The body is a bodhi tree,心如明鏡台 The mind like a bright mirror stand.時時勤拂拭 Time and again brush it clean,莫使惹塵埃 And let no dust alight.English translator’s note: For the English translation, see The Buddhist Text Translation Society, trans., The Sixth Patriarch’s Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra, 67. For the Chinese edition, see T no. 2008, 48: 348b24-25.31. For ‘the same collection’: The waka poem ‘Hana o nomi’ 花をのみ was not included in the same collection (Shin Kokin Waka shū 新古今和歌集 [New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern]), but was included in collections such as Roppyakuban Utaawase 六百番歌合 [Six Hundred Sets of Poetry Matches].32. Nanbō roku, 18.33. The text of this section has been omitted in the English translation for reasons of space limitation.34. For the chapter of ‘Zen Kōi’ 禅行為 [Act of Practices] in Zen no shisō, see Hisamatsu, Yamaguchi, and Yoshida, eds., Suzuki Daisetsu zenshū, vol. 13: 97–98.35. Suzuki, Zen to Nihon bunka,8–9.36. Suzuki, Zen to Nihon-jin no kishitsu, 1–2.37. See 1.2.1.38. Hisamatsu, Zen to bijutsu, 36.39. Ibid, 23.40. Suzuki, Zen to Nihon-jin no kishitsu, 41–42.41. Here, Professor Anesaki refers to Anesaki Masaharu 姉崎正治 (1873–1949). For the communications between Suzuki, Sansom, and Anesaki, see Gramlich-Oka, Sanders, and Tanaka, eds., Monumenta Nipponica, 24–27.42. Sansom, Japan, 385.43. Suzuki, Zen Buddhism and its Influence on Japanese Culture, 228–29; Hisamatsu, Yamaguchi, and Yoshida, eds., Suzuki Daisetsu Zenshū, vol. 11, 197–198.44. Hisamatsu, Zen to bijutsu, 38–39.45. Ibid, 39.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the JSPS [20K00328].