Hiratsuka Raichō (1886–1971) worked hard to acquire women’s rights in modern Japan. In her thought and actions, we can see the influence of the Rinzai Zen that Raichō learned when she was young, but in this paper, examining her critiques of Pure Land thought, I try to elucidate her attitude and view about not only Zen but all of Buddhism. In 1935, she published an essay defending the interpretation of Pure Land of Muramatsu Entai, a monk and Buddhist scholar. Raichō agrees with Entai’s assertion that “Pure Land is to make this world an ideal society.” In the background, there is the idea that “Pure Land is not outside of us, but in our heart,” which has been talked about in Zen and elsewhere. In addition, Raichō universalized the mysterious experiences in Zen and thought that the root of all religions had something in common. Not only Zen but her unique view of religion is reflected in her view on all of Buddhism.
