Quote:
Charles Hill wrote:
Morihei Ueshiba got his agricultural ideas from Omoto-kyo (I'm like a broken record these days!  ) They didn't keep animals and had to develop sophisticated composting systems After the war, Ueshiba used to hold farming technique "seminars" for the local people in Iwama. |
Yes. And Omoto got their ideas from the
kokugaku nativists like Hirata Atsutane, who wanted to return to a pure Japan, uncorrupted by Chinese and especially western ideas. Good sources for those who cannot read Hirata in Japanese are Peter Nosco's
Remembering Paradise; H A Harootunian's
Things Seen and Unseen: Discourse and Ideology in Tokugawa Nativism (a little difficult, because of his writing style); and Mark McNally's
Proving the Way: Conflict and Practice in the History of Japanese Nativism. Shimazaki Toson's novel,
Before the Dawn, is a fictional depiction of Shimazaki's own father, who was a largely misunderstood follower of Hirata.
Once again, all the best for 2010.
PAG