Kunihiko Terasawa, PhD

寺澤邦彦教授による日韓和解に関する講演の日本語版です。古代に百済など朝鮮半島から日本へ仏教や文化が伝えられた歴史から出発し、明治国家の形成、国家神道、天皇制イデオロギー、日本による1910年から1945年までの朝鮮統治へと話を進めます。植民地期の同化政策、言語・宗教・文化への圧力、強制労働や「慰安婦」問題、そして1919年の三・一独立運動などを、宗教と国家主義の関係から考察します。

講演の中心的な問いは、日本の仏教徒やキリスト教徒が国家神道と帝国主義に十分抵抗できなかったのはなぜか、そして今日その失敗から何を学べるかというものです。内村鑑三、吉野作造、妹尾義郎、賀川豊彦などを取り上げ、宗教の自由を守るための宗派を超えた連帯の可能性を検討します。戦後の日韓条約や政府声明だけでは和解は完成せず、歴史的自己検証、草の根の謝罪と赦し、教育と継続的交流が必要だと論じ、宗教間協力を東アジアの平和と人権の基盤として位置づけます。

Kunihiko Terasawa examines Japanese-Korean reconciliation through the intertwined religious and political history of the two countries. He begins with older exchanges in which Korean kingdoms transmitted Buddhism, learning and culture to Japan, then traces the rise of Meiji nationalism, State Shinto and imperial ideology that culminated in Japan’s annexation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. The colonial period brought forced assimilation, compulsory shrine attendance, suppression of Korean language and identity, forced labour and the system of “comfort women,” while the March First Movement of 1919 became a major nonviolent independence movement involving Christians, Buddhists and Cheondogyo.

Terasawa pays particular attention to missed opportunities for religious solidarity. He discusses Uchimura Kanzō, Yoshino Sakuzō, Buddhist reformer Senoo Girō and Christian social activist Toyohiko Kagawa, arguing that Japanese Buddhists and Christians might have resisted State Shinto and imperial aggression more effectively by defending religious freedom together and building transnational ties with Korean and Chinese reformers. Turning to unresolved post-war disputes, he argues that treaties and governmental statements are insufficient without historical self-examination, grassroots repentance, forgiveness and sustained exchange. He proposes religious cooperation, education and public remembrance as foundations for a future Japan-Korea relationship based on human rights and religious freedom.