Zen War Stories with Brian Daizen Victoria

In this powerful and far-reaching conversation, we sit down with Brian Daizen Victoria, Zen priest, historian, and author of the landmark work Zen War Stories. Internationally recognized for exposing the entanglement of Japanese Buddhism with wartime ideology, Victoria has spent decades examining the darker, more complicated intersections of religion, nationalism, and violence. But his scholarship extends far beyond Zen. In this episode, he offers a sweeping, context-rich look at the political, cultural, and economic forces that drove the United States and Japan into conflict—forces often flattened or ignored in mainstream narratives.

Together, we dig into some of the most contested and emotionally charged historical questions of the 20th century: Japan’s imperial expansion across Asia, the atrocities committed on the mainland, the debates surrounding the Rape of Nanking, the truth behind Unit 731, the Pearl Harbor attack, the atomic bombings, the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, and the complex legacy of the U.S. Occupation. Victoria brings nuance, moral clarity, and a willingness to challenge deeply embedded assumptions—both Western and Japanese—that have shaped public memory for generations.

Along the way, Victoria highlights the groundbreaking work of his wife, Aimee Tsujimoto, whose books Memories of “Furusato” in Tenri Village, Manchuria (2018) and The Truth About Unit 731’s “Youth Corps” (2025) shed new light on Unit 731, survivor testimony, and the lived experience of civilians in Manchuria—crucial pieces of history often overlooked in English-language scholarship.

If you’re seeking deeper context, uncomfortable truths, and a clearer, more historically grounded understanding of the war that reshaped modern Japan and the Pacific world, look no further. This conversation challenges easy answers, confronts painful realities, and invites a more honest reckoning with the past.

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And do check out the outro: 弾き語りカバー(コードは説明欄へ) SAMPO くるり

Thanks for listening, fellow treveler of the ear.

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