The image of the Prophet Muhammad in the context of understanding Islam in Japan in the first half of the 20th century

Размещено на http://allbest.ru

2

Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University

UDC 327(4/9)

DOI: 10.21847/1728-9343.2018.3(155). 139762

Philosophy Department

Vinnytsia

Introduction

Formulization the problem. The development of Islam in Japan in the late XIX-early XX century was closely linked with the broad context of the country's political and cultural life. The translation of the Quran into Japanese and appearing the first research works are one of the key stages for the expansion of Islam in non-authentic areas of its distribution.

The beginning of Islamic texts' translation in Japan was accompanied with the efforts of each of the translators to explain the foreign religion and make it understandable in Japanese terms.

These efforts led to development of different theories about Muslim philosophy and religion, key concepts, and figures of Islam.

The article is devoted to highlighting the understanding of Islam in the writings of the Japanese scholars, the Muslims, the followers of Pan-Asian ideology and the translators at the beginning of the XX century.

The object of the article is Islam in Japan. The subject is the understanding of Islam and the image of the Prophet Muhammad in Japan in the first half of the XX century.

The purpose of the article is to determine the understanding of Islam and the image of Prophet Muhammad in Japan in the first half of the XX century. In accordance with the purpose of the article, the following tasks had defined: to study the historiography of the given topic; to identify understanding of Islam in Japan; to outline the variety of the image of Prophet Muhammad as one of his key figures of Islam in the works of Japanese Muslims and Islamic scholars.

Research analysis and research publication on this issue. The studying of the problem of the dynamic of the development of Islam in Japan is at an early stage. Works of O. Sharafanenko and Kawamuro Mitsura are devoted to the history of Islam. The context of appearing Islam in Japan and the local peculiarities of this religion had been analyzed in writings of Nobuo Misawa.

Studying life and works of translators and the Muslim scholars (such as Tanaka Ippei, Okawa Shumei, Toshihiko Izutsu) had engaged in: S.V. Kapranov, Shimamoto Takamitsu, Eysuke Wakamatsu, Takeuchi Yoshimi, Usuki Akira. The political and ideological component of the formation of Islam in Japan had been considered in the works of G.M. Kramer,

S.Esenbel, C. Aydin. Kramer explored the Islamic component of the Pan-Asian movement in Japan in the first half of the XX century. The works of S. Esenbel and C. Aydin are devoted to the analysis of the influence Islam on of the politics, ideology, and diplomacy in the Japanese Empire.

Presenting main material

The first scientific works in Japanese about Islam that have become well-known after publishing is the recorded information about Islam in the work of Arai Hakuseki, "Rumors from the West" that was written in 1715 [Kawamura, 1987]. The first biography of Muhammad - "The Life of Magomed", was written by Hamfri Pridoks in 1697 and translated into Japanese in 1876. Studies of the Prophet's life in Japan began to appear only in the first half of the XX century [Aydin, 2008]. At the same time, Japanese scientists and intellectuals began to show interest in Western cultural heritage.

There are different points of view regarding the reasons for the conversion of the Japanese to Islam. Japanese researcher Misawa Nobuo (НК#Ж) while looking at the formation of Islam in Japan, sets up two types of Muslims: "bogus Muslims" and "genuine Muslims".

Under "bogus Muslims" she means Japanese warriors and ideologues of Pan-Asianism who tried to use Islam for the development of Japanese nationalism. Among such Muslims, the researcher first names Takehoshi Ohara and Mitsutaro Yamaoka (1880 - 1959). As the second category of the followers of Islam Nobuo Misawa defines "those who tried to be true Muslims".

She said that in their beliefs they tended to syncretize Islam with Shinto or Buddhism. In this context are considered views of Ippei Tanaka (1882 - 1934) and Ahmad Bunpachiro Ariga (1868 - 1946). S. Esenbel, while exploring the influence of Islam on the development of Japanese politics and ideology emphasizes that after the 1930s, the Japanese relied on "purely political views on Asian awakening" and were not interested in Islam as in a new religion. Analysing the evolution of Pan-Asianism in Japan C. Aydin also emphasizes that the Asian awakening was more based on the historical experience of Western expansion than on religious foundations [Lach, 1965].

Translations and researches on Islam in Japan during this period had been serving such goals as to get familiar with the Western world or to find allies in the field of Pan-Asianism. All of these reflected the understanding of Islam.

Sakamoto Ken'ichi (1930) - the historian who graduated from the Historical Faculty of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1898 - was the first well-known Japanese researcher of the Muslim religion and the Prophet's life. Sakamoto did not know the Arabic language and did not study this culture. Instead, he became the first translator of the Quran meanings in Japanese from the English text of the authorship of J. M. Rod- well (1808-1900). The translation was published in 1920 in Tokyo in the 14 and 15 volumes of the "World Sacred Scriptures" (гsekai seiten dzenshu:) collection. Analyzing the activities of Sakamoto, G.M. Kramer notes that the purpose of publishing this collection was to familiarize the middle class, which had a good education, with world religions. The collection provided the fundamental texts of Asian and European religions and presented Muhammad as an outstanding historical figure.

The image of Muhammad as a historical person had been penetrating in Japan through the books of the Scottish philosopher and agnostic Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) [Kramer, 2014]. In "The Heroes and Their Worship" that was written in 1840, Muhammad was described as the hero who brought worldwide success to his religion. On the other hand, the author of this book criticizes Islam [Palme, 2010]. This work was quite known in Japan at the end of the XIX-early XX century. In the main Sakamoto's research work - the collection "World History" (## І - sekai shi), which was published in 1903-1905, the focus was made on the main events and figures of the history of the world [Sarifu-Mahdy, 2009]. Among such figures, the author settled up Muhammad, along with other figures of European and Middle Asian history. In a biography from 1899, Sakamoto describes Muhammad as a hero who wears the Quran in his left hand and the sword in his right hand. Thus the emphasis made on his historicity and heroism rather than on the religious side of the image of the Prophet.

The tendency to secularize interpretation of religious concepts passes through all the works of Sakamoto. We can see that in the lexical peculiarities of his translation of the meanings of the Qur'an, where "grace" translated as "tokusha" (#й "amnesty") and "the God" as "jo:tei" (± "emperor"). Sakamoto tries to avoid fixed concepts and concepts of Japanese religions and to explain Islam in non-religious terms and make it possible to be understood by the average Japanese reader. The word "Allah" in the writings of Sakamoto translated as "kami" (#) - a term, meaning the spirits or deities of the Japanese religion of the Sinto. Sakamoto universally centralizes Islamic religious concepts by translating it into a language understandable to the general public. His translations of Islamic texts, and first and foremost, the translation of the Quran, are not widely used among Muslims and should be considered to be a Japanese interpretation or adaptation of the well-known Muslim texts into Japanese thinking. But it should be noted that it is because of the works of Sakamoto Kenichi the Japanese readers first get acquaints with Islam.

Okawa Shumei (1886-1957) - a philosopher, political figure, and a follower of Pan-Asianism developed another interpretation of Islam. Analysing the place of Islam in Okawa's life, S.V. Capranov writes that Islam, the interest of which had risen in student years of Okawa's life and didn't disappear later, became the main issue of the creativity of the scientist and philosopher in the last period of life. However, there are different points of view among researchers regarding Okawa's relation to Islam: G.M. Kramer tries to prove the religious motives of the philosopher's interest in this religion. Shimamoto Takamitsu, S. Esenbel, and others believe that Okawa saw Islam as a political phenomenon. As a follower of the Pan- Asianism ideas, he sought that this was a religion that would resolve the conflict between internal and external, political and religious conflicts. He considered the division of internal and external ideas as one of the consequences of the colonization of India and especially emphasized that bypassing such a division is one of the main tasks of Asia in the present period [Tanhka, 2007].

In Islam Okawa saw "a potential that can be used to fight against the West". He considered Islam as a vivid example of a religion, where spiritual and political issues had considered as one whole. Comparing Islam with other religions he wrote: "Among the founder-centred religions, the most typical religions are Buddhism and Christianity. We have no difficulty to categorize Islam and Confucianism as the same religion. However, there is a difference between the two categories: in Buddhism and Christianity, the founder is worshiped as the Deity by followers, while in Islam and Confucianism the founder is respected as a messenger or a mediator.

Going into detail, in Buddhism and Christianity, the founder is not only a respected man but also the venerated Deity since the followers believe that the Deity transcends the world as the origin of all things in the world and the object of faith, at the same time the founder doesn't embody part of divinity but perfectly all divinity. Veneration of the founder gives us the Divine's force and salvation. On the contrary, in Islam and Confucianism, the founder is the only man to the utmost and respected as an ideal character, but he don't fit in the same category as God. This is strictly forbidden in Islam" [Shimamoto, 2008].

According to the materials of the International Prosecution Section, being in a mental hospital after the arrest on the 12 of December 1945, Okawa periodically saw the image of the Prophet Muhammad: "Muhammad dressed in a green cloak and white turban ... He proclaims that there is only one God, and Muhammad, and Christ, and Buddha is the Prophets of the One God" [Shimamoto, 2008:8]. It was these teachings that led the scientist to the new wave of interest in Islam and led to the translation of the Quran, which Okawa made during his stay in a mental hospital. The translation, which was published in 1950 at the Iwasaki Shoten Publishing House in Tokyo under the name "Quran", is one of the most famous translations of this text into Japanese. Okawa Shumei, who was brought up in Confucian traditions, found common points between Islam and Confucianism in honoring the founder as a person with an ideal character. He saw in Muhammad the example of the Confucian "nobleman" and tried to achieve this ideal by himself. In such views, we could see a different approach to explaining Islam in the Japanese language. This approach provides philosophical and Confucian terms as a fundament for the interpretation. The author of many scientific works on Islamic and Buddhist philosophy, a famous philosopher and scholar Toshiko Izutsu (%-ШЩ.Ш, 1914-1993), assumes another interpretation of Islamic doctrine and philosophy.

Toshiko had graduated from the Private University of Keyo: - keyo: gijuku daigaku) where he studied economics and English literature [Nakamura, 2007]. He knew about 30 languages, including Russian, Ancient Greek, Arabic and Latin. His translation of the Quran named "koran" that he completed in 1945 have been published in the publishing house Iwasaki Shoten. The peculiarity of this translation was the usage of the colloquial Japanese style of "ko:go" (PS), instead of the literary "bungo" (&S), which was commonly used while translating sacred texts. But the translation of Toshihiro Izutsu is also considered as one of the most well-known Japanese translations of the Quran.

The main purpose of the Izutsu's works was the synthesis of various religious traditions which he united under the term "Oriental philosophy". In his studies of Islam, he gives special regard to Sufism, practices of which coincided with the Zen meditation and with Taoism in his later works.

Ikeuchi Satoshi criticizing the views of Izutsu noticed that Islam itself was paid rare attention, while the Quran was called one of the leading books in the whole world only because it was recorded by Muhammad. Explaining his views, Izutsa calls the Prophet "... the noblest man of all who lived in this world" emphasizing on his humanity [Albayrak and, 2012]. Such an interpretation of the figure of the Prophet regards as a mesial interpretation a mesial interpretation between Sakamoto Ken'ichi view, who saw Muhammad as a historical hero, and the views of Okawa Shumei, who compared the image of the Prophet with the Confucian conception of a "nobleman".

The question of the synthesis Islam with other Japanese religions, in particular, with Confucianism, has developed by Tanaka Ippei (ШФ^Т, 1884-1934) - a Japanese philosopher, scholar, religious and political activist. As Nobuo Mori emphasize, from the childhood Tanaka grow up in an atmosphere of religious synthesis - his family belonged to the Zen Buddhism of the Rinzai school and he studied the Sinto of the school of Misogi-kyo:. Followers of the school of Misogi-kyo: honored Misogi-oshie-no-kami as the main kami. In 1900, Tanaka entered the Taiwan Association of Schools (Takushoku University) to learn Chinese language and Confucianism. In 1904 he travelled to China as a translator. After the war, he remained extreme independent researcher. Looking for the possibility to sync different religious traditions, Tanaka writes: "When I thought about the view of the universe, which was the core idea of the old Chinese belief system, I could not help but see how the divinity of Muhammad resembled that of Kami (God) in Japan. I found a relationship between Confucianism and Islam as well as a relationship between Confucianism and Zen Buddhism; as a result, I discovered the connection between Islam and Shintoism" [Sarifu- Мahdy, 2009].

Exploring Tanaka's ideas, Nobuo Misawa emphasizes the fact that the scientist perceived Islam through the prism of Chinese beliefs, that is through the teachings of Hueiru (# ), which is also called "Islamic Confucianism". Recognizing the affinity of Confucianism and Islam, Tanaka writes: "The Chinese people admitted that there was no difference between the way of Muhammad and the way of Confucius and Mencius. The old Chinese faith is equal to the old Arabian faith. So some Chinese intellectuals began to convert to Islam [...] Although Islam is difficult to compromise and assimilate with other religions, this case suggests that it was possible to syncretize Islam with the Chinese belief system, Confucianism" [Sarifu-Маhdy, 2009]. islamic japan muhammad izutsu

Trying to formulate a Japanese version of the synthesis of Islam with a local religion - Shinto, Tanaka likens the religious role of Muhammad with the role of the Japanese emperor: "Our sacred Mikado syncretized Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity on the policy, "Absorb them, and do not abandon them". This process recognizes the truth of our faith. But there was no chance of encountering Islam, which had been introduced by the sacred Muhammad in the West, and which contained a truth equal to our truth of the way of Kami (God)" [Aydin, 2008]. While developing these ideas Tanaka traces the parallel between the Muslim Hajj and the Japanese pilgrimage to Mount Fuji and promotes the idea of the necessity to unite Asia under the leadership of the Japanese emperor. But a religious community organized by them - Go Ichi Kai, called to expand and disseminate these ideas, did not succeed.

Another variant of the synthesis of Sinto with Islam had provided by Ahmad Bunpachiro Ariga (1868-1946) - a Japanese missionary, businessman and religious activist. At the beginning of his missionary work, Ariga accepted Christianity and for some time had been travelling as a Christian prophet. The interest in Islam came to Ariga after the acquaintance with the Indian merchant Hedarali, during a business trip to India in 1892. Then, in 1932, Ariga decided to leave the trade and business, accept Islam and to engage missionary activity.

He criticizes Buddhism as "the religion of ancestors", Christianity as pseudo-monotheism. Instead of that, he explored a relationship between Shinto and Islam: "Assuming Shintoism to be ancestor worship or hero worship,I agree to show respect for the tombs of our ancestors and heroes, but I cannot admit Shintoism as a religion.... Ame- no-naka-nushi is the only Kami (God) [among the various Kamis of Shintoism] equal to Allah of Islam. So I suppose that belief in Ame-no-naka-nushi equals belief in Allah" [Sarifu-Маhdy, 2009]. That way he recalls the previous religious experience that has influenced him.

His version of the translation of the meanings of the Qur'an was published in 1934. He published the translation of the biography of Prophet Muhammad in 1938. Then, in 1937, he began to publish a small pamphlet which was entitled as "An Explanation of Japanese Islam". In this pamphlet were presented the following sections: "the purpose of the missionary activities of Great Japanese Islam", "Islamic faith", "Islamic morality", "What is Islam?". The Islamic faith was explained as follows: "We believe in one God (Allah), we respect the Prophet, Muhammad... We respect Tenno: (Mikado), Ko:go: the: (Empress) and the Royal Family". Like Tanaka Ippei while his attempts to create "Japanese Islam", Ariga draws a parallel between the Japanese emperor and the figure of the Prophet. Unlike Tanaka, Aria emphasizes not on the religious role of Muhammad, but rather on the general significance of the figure of the Prophet and the symbolic meaning of this figure for Muslims.

Thus, Islam obtains an important position in Japan in the first half of the XX century. It influences the development of Japanese ideology, religiosity, and political relations. Among the Japanese Muslims and Islamic scholars, it is possible to outline both those who were interested in Islam from the political point of view and those who tried to explain Islam and adopted the Muslim conceptions under Japanese thinking. One of the most influential issues of Islam phenomena in Japan during this period was the development of the Pan-Asianism ideoogy.

Among the interpretations of the image of the Prophet Muhammad could be distinguished two types. The first one concerns the concepts of the historical understanding of the figure of the Prophet. The second one concerns the concepts explaining the Muhammad in terms of Sinto and Buddhism religions. Each of these concepts is part of the Japanese understanding of Islam as a whole, and each concept plays a significant role and reflects the possibilities of integration the Islam into the Japanese thinking and society. Further consideration of the presented topic will take place through a more detailed analysis of these concepts and the study of linguistic peculiarities of the translation of the Islamic text into Japanese.

References

1. Lach, Donald F. 1965. Asia in the Making of Europe. In : T he Century of Discovery. The University of Chicago Press, 543 p.

2. Kramer, Hans Martin. 2014. Pan-Asianism's Religious Undercurrents: The Reception of Islam and Translation of the Qur'an in Twentieth Century Japan. The Journal of Asian Studies, p. 619-640. Available at: http://journals.cambridge.org/ abstract_S0021911814000989

3. Aydin, Cemil. 2008. Japan's Pan-Asianism and the Legitimacy of Imperial World Order, 1931-1945. The Asia Pacific Journal. Vol. 6, Issue 3. Available at: http://apjjf.org/-Cemil-Aydin/ 2695/article.html

4. Kawamura, Mitsuro. 1987. The pre-war history of Islam. The Japanese Association for the Study of the Near East, p. 409-439.

5. Nakamura, K. 2007. The Significance of Toshihiko Izutsu's Legacy for Comparative Religion. Journal Intellectual Discourse, vol.17, № 2., p. 14-158.

6. Palme, Louis, 2010. Revisiting Thomas Carlyle and his Hero Muhammad. Annaqed ("The Critice"). Available at: http:// www.annaqed.com/en/islam-under-the-microscope/revisiting- thomas-carlyle-and-his-hero-muhammad

7. Samir, A. Nouh. 2012. Muslims in Japan with the comparison of those in Europe. Available at: http://web.cla.kobe-u.ac.jp/group/ IReC/pdf/2012_nouh.pdf

8. Tanhka, Brij, ed. 2007. Okakura Tenshin and Pan-Asianism: Shadows of the Past. New Delhi: Sampark, 189 p.

9. Albayrak, Ismail 2012. The Reception of Toshihiko Izutsu's Qur'anic Studies in the Muslim World: With Special Reference to Turkish Qur'anic Scholarship/Journal of Qur'anic Studies 14, no. 1: 73-106. Available at: //www.jstor.org/stable/41719816.

Література

1. Lach, Donald F. Asia in the Making of Europe. / The Century of Discovery. The University of Chicago Press, 1965. 543 p.

2. Kramer, Hans Martin. Pan-Asianism's Religious Undercurrents: The Reception of Islam and Translation of the Qur'an in Twentieth Century Japan. The Journal of Asian Studies, 2014: 619-640. Available at: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0021911814000989

3. Aydin, Cemil. Japan's Pan-Asianism and the Legitimacy of Imperial World Order, 1931-1945. The Asia Pacific Journal. 2008. Vol. 6, Issue 3. Available at: http://apjjf.org/-Cemil-Aydin/2695/article.html

4. Kawamura, Mitsuro. The pre-war history of Islam in the Near East The Japanese Association for the Study of the Near East 0ФФЖ^ = , 1987. p. 409-439.

5. Nakamura, K.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kojiro_Nakamura The Significance of Toshihiko Izutsu's Legacy for Comparative Religion. Journal Intellectual Discourse. 2007. Vol.17, № 2., p. 14-158

6. Palme, Louis. Revisiting Thomas Carlyle and his Hero Muhammad. Annaqed ("The Critice"). 2010. Available at: http:// www.annaqed.com/en/islam-under-the-microscope/revisiting-thomas-carlyle-and-his-hero-muhammad

7. Samir, A. Nouh. Muslims in Japan with the comparison of those in Europe. 2012. Available at: http://web.cla.kobe-u.ac.jp/group/ IReC/pdf/2012_nouh.pdf

8. Tanhka, Brij, ed. Okakura Tenshin and Pan-Asianism: Shadows of the Past. New Delhi: Sampark, 2007.189 p.

9. Albayrak, Ismail. The Reception of Toshihiko Izutsu's Qur'anic Studies in the Muslim World: With Special Reference to Turkish Qur'anic Scholarship Journal of Qur'anic Studiesю 2012. 14, no. 1: 73-106. Available at: //www.jstor.org/stable/41719816.

Annotation

UDC 327(4/9)

DOI: 10.21847/1728-9343.2018.3(155). 139762

The image of the prophet muhammad in the context of understanding islam in japan in the first half of the 20th century. Bibik Oleksandra, Postgraduate Student, Philosophy Department, Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia

The article is devoted to the analysis of the different variations of the image of the Prophet Muhammad and the elucidation of the features and understanding Islam in Japan in the first half of the 20th century. Islam is considered in the context of the religious, political and cultural environment. This religion makes attempts to synthesize Muslim teaching with Japanese religious traditions. On the other hand, Islam was applied for the development of pan-Asian ideology. The study of the perception of this religion in Japan will help understand the nature of the phenomenon that played a significant role in the development of the country at the turn of the century. As a result of the research have been established the features of the historical perception of Muhammad as a hero and the religious interpretation of the prophet as the founder and leader of Islam. Also, in this research have been found that the main feature of Islam is the tendency to syncretize various religious traditions - Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism with Muslim teaching. The article is showing how this understanding of Islam in Japan was formed and what factors influenced its development.

Key words: Islam; Pan-Asianism; Pan-Islamism; Prophet Muhammad; Japanese translations of the Quran.

Анотація

Особливості розуміння ісламу та образ Пророка Мухаммада в Японії першої половини XX ст. Бібік Олександра, аспірант кафедри філософії, Донецький національний університет імені Василя Стуса, м. Вінниця

Становлення ісламу та переклад мусульманських текстів японською супроводжувався намаганням кожного з перекладачів дати власну інтерпретацію основних ісламських понять, термінів та діячів.

Це спричинило появу низки оригінальних концепцій не тільки щодо ісламу як такого, але й міркувань про роль та місце, яке може посісти іслам в розвитку японської ідеології, релігій, політичних та дипломатичних відносин. Одним з центральних питань формування японського погляду на іслам було розуміння постаті Пророка Мухаммада.

Стаття присвячена аналізу варіацій образу Пророка Мухаммада та з'ясуванню особливостей розуміння ісламу в Японії першої половини XX ст.

До статті були поставлені наступні завдання: вивчити історіографію проблеми, виявити особливості розуміння ісламу в Японії та окреслити різновиди образу Пророка Мухаммада через аналіз праць японських мусульман та ісламознавців.

У результаті дослідження були встановлені особливості історичного сприйняття Мухаммада як героя та релігійної інтерпретації Пророка як засновника та лідера ісламу.

Також дослідження японського погляду на іслам встановило, що головною його особливістю є тенденція до утворення синтезу різних релігійних традиції - сінто, буддизму та конфуціанства з ісламом. У статті показано, як формувалося розуміння ісламу в Японії та що саме вплинуло на його розвиток.

Ключові слова: іслам; паназіатизм; панісламізм; Пророк Мухаммад; японські переклади Корану.

Размещено на Allbest.ru