Empire of the Dharma: Korean and Japanese Buddhism, 1877–1912 by Hwansoo Ilmee Kim (review)

Even casual followers of Buddhist history are aware that the diverse roles assumed by monastics went beyond simply fasting and meditating in search of a more righteous path. Empire of the Dharma reveals that while the military activity in which they engaged in ancient times did not necessarily disappear, the monks’ political activity became more prominent around 1876, when Japan began to extend its influence across the Korean peninsula. Hwansoo Ilmee Kim portrays Buddhists in both Japan and Korea as observing a relationship that, while appearing colonial, carried the intention of serving the interests of both parties. Ironically, the Japanese administration in Korea dashed these aspirations soon after Japan’s political annexation of Korea as it sought leverage over religious groups by promulgating the 1911 Temple Ordinance. Kim’s efforts make an important contribution to Korean colonial studies by addressing the hitherto neglected area of religious studies during this period.¹

Japanese began to enter Korea soon after the two countries signed the Perryesque 1876 Kanghwa Treaty that granted Japanese settlers residence on the peninsula. Japanese Buddhists also arrived carrying aspirations to merge with Korean Buddhist sects, who welcomed these overtures, as they hoped to use Japanese influence to gain entrance to Seoul proper from which they had remained banned by the Neo-Confucius-centered Chosŏn administration. Japanese Buddhists also faced discrimination as the new Meiji administration initially favored Shintoism over the Buddhism supported by the Tokugawa family in Edo Japan (pp. 50–51). The Japanese missionaries saw their work as part of a grander state project: extending their influence across Northeast Asia could demonstrate their support for Japan’s overseas adventures, which might reap benefits for the expansion of their sect back home (p. 67).

Kim is critical of the approach Japanese missionaries adopted in Korea. Mistakes led to their ultimate failure in attaining their goals in Korea. He questions their engaging their Korean monk counterparts rather than directly seeking to convert Korean commoners. He suggests the following influences that led to this decision: the vast Korean Buddhist infrastructure already in place gave this direct approach greater chance for success; forging ties with their Korean counterparts would facilitate their reaching the Korean people, most probably because so many Japanese missionaries could not adequately handle the Korean language; and by joining with Korean Buddhists, the Japanese missionaries hoped to demonstrate to their government their transnational character. To these positive reasons Kim adds a negative reason: by strengthening Buddhism in Korea, they hoped to prevent the growth of Korean Christianity. Failure to do so, they imagined, would set off a domino effect that would open the door for the Christian invasion of Japan (pp. 80–81).

Colorful and controversial Japanese and Korean personalities assume a central position in Empire of the Dharma. The Nichiren missionary Katō Bunkyō (no dates given), a resident of Pusan from 1891–1900, saw Japanese Buddhism as “the center of world Buddhism.” Yet, fearing the Christian threat, he saw his mission in Korea as strengthening Korean Buddhism to prevent the peninsula from becoming “another symbolic conquering of the world ‘by the Crucifix’” (pp. 89–96). Takeda Hanshi (1863–1911) was one of the more controversial Buddhist personalities to cross over to the peninsula. He carried “perhaps the most enduring impact on modern Korean Buddhism” but also was considered among the “most despised figures of the period” due to his involvement in the murder of Queen Min in 1895. A member of the Sōtōshu sect, Takeda followed his zeal in promoting Japan’s political annexation of the peninsula with the idea of promoting a religious annexation of Korea with Japanese Buddhism (p. 186). On the Korean side, Kim introduces Yi Hoe-gwang (1862–1933), a monk notorious for his extreme pro-Japanese sentiments. Yi gained this reputation when, as head of the Wŏnjong sect in 1910, he led a failed effort to form an alliance with...