浄土真宗本願寺派=Buddhist organization, Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji-ha; インドネシア=Indonesia; バタビヤ（バタビア） 、ジャカルタ=Batavia(Jakarta); 外務省=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; ＧＨＱ=General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP)
摘要
The Buddhist monk KOTANI Tan’un (1898–1965) was a disciple of ŌTANI Kōzui,the head of Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji-ha. KOTANI received guidance from ŌTANI until ŌTANI retired from the head of the Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji-ha in 1914 as part of a bribery scandal. Influenced by ŌTANI’s ideas of Pan-Asianism, KOTANI was active in various places in Southeast Asia.
KOTANI was born at Shōzenji Temple in Ogawa, Kumamoto. His elder brother and famous monk, KOTANI Tokusui (1887–1971) was a missionary in Hawai’i and was instrumental in the international exchange of Japanese Buddhism. KOTANI studied at the Muko Buddhist Middle School in Kōbe. This school was presided over by ŌTANI who gathered a large number of promising young people and instructed them as gifted students. After graduating from middle school, KOTANI studied at the Peradenian Tropical Agriculture School in Kandy, Ceylon. KOTANI worked on ŌTANI’s farms in Singapore and Celebes,using agricultural techniques he had studied in Ceylon. ŌTANI maintained farms in various parts of Asia, but his goal was to make Japan rich through farming.
Nanyō Kyōkai (Southern Pacific Association) was an organization that influenced the formation of a modern Japanese ideology of southern expansion.When Nanyō Kyōkai was established in mainland Japan, a Java branch was also established. KOTANI was involved in the research activities at this branch.
KOTANI’s knowledge and linguistic skills were recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. He became a diplomat and acted as a consular agent of the Consulate General of Batavia in Dutch East Indies. He was very active in diplomatic negotiations between the Netherlands and Japan. After World War II,he worked in the Religious Resources and Culture Division of General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP).
Though a Buddhist monk, KOTANI worked outside of Buddhist organizations, which resulted in his having been forgotten in the study of modern Japanese Buddhist history. By looking at the history of KOTANI’s activities, we can see the range of human resource development that was the aim of ŌTANI.
