古田武彦著作集 親鸞・思想史研究編１ 親鸞--人と思想
親鸞・思想史研究編 親鸞思想
親鸞・思想史研究編３ わたしひとりの親鸞
『神の運命 -- 歴史の導くところへ』 古田武彦
人間の認識 古田武彦（古田史学論集 『古代に真実を求めて』 第三集 一九九六年 明石書店）
寛政原本と学問の方法２ -- 越後の親鸞 古田武彦 (『古代に真実を求めて』 （明石書店）第十一集)
真宗研究５２号 「親鸞思想と日本海」 古田武彦
人間の認識 古田武彦（古田史学論集 『古代に真実を求めて』 第三集 一九九六年 明石書店）
Recognition of Human Beings Takehiko Furuta
"This document was created and outputted using the generative AI 'NotebookLM' based solely on the material mentioned above.
2026.02.21
Takehiko Furuta's research on Shinran is based on a thorough criticism of historical sources. He strictly rejected biographies idealized by the religious order in later generations (such as the Godensho) and traditional sectarian interpretations. Instead, he adopted only "Shinran's own handwritten letters" and "contemporary testimonies (especially the documents of his wife, Eshinni)" as first-class historical materials. Furuta attempted to strip away the decorated mask of a "saint" and restore Shinran as a living, breathing human being. This article explains his main arguments.
Furuta found the decisive motive for the young Shinran to descend from Mount Hiei not in an abstract Buddhist seeking of truth, but in the concrete and physical "issue of sexuality (nyobon: violating the vow of celibacy)." This occupies an extremely important position as the starting point of Shinran's thought.
The Verse of Nyobon (Sanmuki): Right before descending Mount Hiei, Shinran received a dream revelation from the Bodhisattva Kannon at Rokkakudo ("Even if a practitioner, due to past karma, is destined to violate celibacy..."). Furuta deciphered this as a public declaration affirming sexuality (nyobon) and meat-eating: "Even if a practitioner were to have relations with a woman due to past karma, I will become a beautiful woman (Gyokujo) and be violated." This was not merely an answer to a personal dilemma, but a presentation of a revolutionary way of living in the age of Mappo (the Latter Day of the Law)—namely, "living as a married monk" ("Shogai Shogon").
The "Complicit Relationship" with Eshinni: This dream revelation was also a strong declaration to spend his life with his wife, Eshinni. Furuta noted the fact that after her husband's death, Eshinni wrote down the contents of this vivid dream revelation in a letter to her daughter (Kakushinni). Furuta found deep meaning in the fact that she conveyed, "Herein lies your father's character." Eshinni was not merely an obedient wife, but an indispensable "accomplice" and comrade in the new Buddhist movement who shared Shinran's true intentions for fleeing Mount Hiei and continued to support his life as "neither monk nor layperson."
Regarding Shinran's main work, the Kyogyoshinsho, Furuta interpreted it not simply as a systematic book of religious dogma, but as a soul-staking "book of protest" against the state power that carried out unjust suppression.
The Book of the Living Juren and Anraku: Shinran's senior fellow disciples, Juren and Anraku, were executed during the Jogen Persecution. Shinran defined himself, having survived, as "a Juren and Anraku who failed to die." It is said that Shinran spent his entire life writing and revising this book to prove how unjust their executions were as false accusations, and that the exclusive practice of the Nembutsu (Senshu Nembutsu) was the ultimate truth.
The Accusation in the Postscript and the "Jogen Petition": The vehement passage in the postscript of the Kyogyoshinsho, stating "The Emperor and his ministers act against the Dharma and violate righteousness...," directly impeaches the highest authorities of the time, such as Retired Emperor Gotoba and Emperor Tsuchimikado. Furuta argued that this part was a portion of the phantom "Jogen Petition (letter of protest)" submitted to the Imperial Court during his exile, which was later incorporated into the Kyogyoshinsho. For Shinran, the suppression of the Nembutsu was not a past event but a lifelong unforgivable "act against the Dharma and righteousness," and his anger never faded until his death at the age of ninety.
Furuta's interpretation of the famous passage in the postscript of the Tannisho—"When I deeply consider the Vow of Amida's five kalpas of contemplation, I realize that it was entirely for Shinran alone"—is unique and existential.
The Survivor's Guilt and the Depth of Karma: While many comrades were killed or forced to recant, why did he alone survive and face death on a tatami mat? Furuta captured this statement not as mere religious humility or gratitude, but as stemming from the painful realization (the depth of karma) that "I myself am the most sinful, wicked person." The phrase "for someone with such deep karma" contains an unfathomable self-scrutiny and the cry of an isolated soul, beyond the imagination of an ordinary person.
"Alone" (Toku/Hitori): Focusing on the expression "alone" (Toku/Hitori) found in his confession of the "Turning through the Three Vows" in the Kyogyoshinsho and in the Tannisho, Furuta emphasized that Shinran did not rely on groups or organizations, but always faced the truth in absolute solitude as an "individual." This demonstrates the establishment of a robust subjectivity that connects to modern individualism.
Furuta also conducted an empirical re-verification of the reality of Shinran's exile, based on the legal system and geographical conditions of the time.
Echigo or Sado?: He pointed out the contradiction between the description of "distant exile" (onru) written in the postscript of the Kyogyoshinsho and the exile regulations in the ritsuryo legal codes of the time (such as the Engishiki), where Sado was the only location for distant exile in the Hokurikudo region. Against the conventional theory (exile to Echigo), Furuta developed a precise argument regarding the possibility that it was initially perceived as a distant exile to "Sado," and the discrepancy in perception between the authorities (Echigo as a near exile) and Shinran's side (perceiving it as a distant exile).
Shinran as a Criminal: Shinran was not elegantly exiled as a high-ranking monk. He was stripped of his priesthood, given the secular name "Fujii Yoshinobu," and treated as a "criminal guilty of treason against the state." Furuta pointed out that the mud-covered humiliation and his anger toward unjust authority were the driving forces that forged his philosophy.
The foundation of Furuta's research attitude lies in scraping away the embellishments attached by later generations to face the bare facts.
Rejection of the Godensho and Historical Source Criticism: Furuta took an extremely cautious or negative stance on recognizing historical facts from the Godensho, written by Kakunyo, the third head of the Honganji, viewing it as propaganda beautified to maintain the religious order and worship the founder. His attitude of thoroughly pointing out contradictions without blindly accepting traditions can be said to be the true essence of Furuta's historical study.
Emphasis on the Eshinni Documents: Instead, he positioned the letters written by his wife, Eshinni, to their daughter (the Eshinni Documents) as the absolute best primary sources that convey the unadorned, true face of Shinran. Recorded there is the life-sized "Shinran as an everyday person," who suffered from illness, shivered in the cold, and worried about his family amid financial hardship.
The Shinran depicted by Takehiko Furuta is not a static "saint" enshrined on an altar. He is a "human Shinran" with an extremely strong will, who continued to walk through the mud seeking only the "truth," while agonizing over lust, trembling with anger at authority, and bearing a deep sense of guilt toward his comrades who died before him.
"Speak a profound truth. Then, human beings will have nothing to fear." (From Watashi hitori no Shinran [My Own Shinran])
For Furuta, Shinran was not an object of religious worship, but a contemporary of the soul who transcends time to ask, "How should humans live?" and "How should we confront the state and authority?"
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