Memories of Two People (1965): Mr. Torajiro Okada (1872-1920) and Mr. Joseph Warren T. Mason (1879-1941) by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988)

Left: Torajiro Okada (1872-1920) Right: Joseph Warren T. Mason (1879-1941) in Tokyo with his wife

Memories of Two People: Mr. Torajiro Okada (1872-1920) and Mr. Joseph Warren T. Mason (1879-1941) by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988)

 Recently, I have been thinking about two people from my memories. Most of you may not be familiar with them, but let me introduce them.

One of them is Mr. Torajiro Okada, who taught the Okada method of Seiza meditation from the end of the Meiji era to the beginning of the Taisho era. Today, the 93rd anniversary of his birth will be celebrated at Hongyo-ji Temple in Nippori.  

The other person is an American named Joseph Warren T. Mason. The name Mason is well known in Japan who was a correspondent for the United Press (UP) and other news agencies in the USA and was quite famous. He visited Japan frequently from around 1932. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his death. Among those who knew Mason were Genzaburo Takada, the chief advisor to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Sadao Araki, the former Minister of the Army, and Takanobu Senge, a member of the board of directors of Kokugakuin University.

The first time I met Okada sensei was when I returned to Tokyo in 1910. After graduating from university in 1906, from the following year I worked as a pastor in Kobe for three years until 1909. However, I reached a dead end in my pastoral work and decided to quit. I returned to Tokyo and studied while working as an assistant at the religious studies department of the University of Tokyo.

Before meeting Torajiro Okada

There were many reasons why I couldn’t continue as a pastor in Kobe at that time and so I thought to myself, “I'll start over in Tokyo and I need to study more.” At that time, Nishida Tenko-san, who is still alive at the age of over 90, recommended that I learn the Okada-style seated meditation (Seiza).

Seiza Gatherings

When we talk about Seiza meditation, it is not like the lotus position in Zen; it is sitting properly on tatami mats in the Japanese style, quietly exhaling while being instructed to concentrate the energy in the tanden (the lower abdomen). At first, I received instructions at the teacher’s home near Ueno Park but, as the number of students gradually increased, we began using the living room of Hongyo-ji Temple (Nichiren sect) in Nippori, where more than 100 people attended every morning. It was held for one hour from 6am, all year round without a holiday, and I think it continued for five or six years until the teacher’s death. I lived in Oiwake-cho, Hongo at the time, so I walked there every morning, about a 30-minute walk, without taking the train like I do now. Every morning from six o’clock, for an hour, I would just sit quietly in front of Okada sensei, who was seated like the Daibutsu (Great Buddha). Sensei didn’t give sermons or lectures, he solely focused on the practice of Seiza meditation.

For those who came before the teacher to have their posture examined, appropriate guidance was given, that was all. But some people reported physical improvements in their health, while others gained mental vitality. This led to significant acclaim, and various publications were issued as a result.

People I met at the Seiza Gatherings

However, Okada-sensei himself never wrote anything. Among those who gathered, there were various individuals—some I met through this gathering, and others whom I knew previously but with whom I became close thanks to this gathering. One of them was Mr. Shozo Tanaka, who made a direct appeal during the Tochigi Prefecture arsenic poisoning incident, which was one of the most significant social issues at the time. Mr. Naoye Kinoshita was also one of the most dedicated attendees of the Seiza meditation sessions at Hongyo-ji.

I believe Mr. Kinoshita was one of the individuals who experienced the most profound influence from Seiza meditation. Although he had been active as a socialist in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, I think he might have experienced a change in his state of mind even before starting Seiza meditation. After trying various approaches, he realized that his efforts were futile and withdrew completely from social movements. It is true that Seiza meditation might not have been the sole reason for his transformation, but it undoubtedly played a significant role in encouraging his new direction.

Various experiences during Seiza meditation

Various types of people attended the Seiza sessions in Nippori held from 6 am to 7 am. When practising Seiza meditation, many individuals started moving. The hands often start moving while sitting. Especially, they move up, down, left, and right. In regular Zazen, movements are not allowed, but Okada sensei permitted them if they occurred naturally. As ordinary participants, when our hands started moving or trembling, we felt that something was working and were delighted. Personally, I didn’t experience any movements for the first year or even the second year, so I became a little disheartened. However, around the third year, my hands suddenly started moving, and I still remember the joy and excitement that day, which made it impossible for me to focus on any work for half a day.

Mr. Naoye Kinoshita was one of the most active in moving. Even when he sat in one corner of the venue, he would start moving and go all the way to the opposite corner. Some people even made strange sounds or whistling noises while doing Seiza meditation. After about an hour, Okada sensei would turn to the people sitting with their eyes closed and say, “It’s time to open your eyes,” and then everyone would leave without saying a word.

Almost every day and all day long, Okada sensei led Seiza sessions in the city and other areas. When the sessions in Nippori ended, he visited my home once a week for a Seiza session. During the thirty-minute walk from Nippori to my home, it was the only opportunity to have a dialogue with him about his thoughts and beliefs, and it was very beneficial.

Sensei repeatedly said, “Seiza is exactly the same as the Zazen described in Dogen’s Fukan Zazengi, and he also said, “Seiza is like the Quakers in Christianity.” It’s also worth noting that Okada sensei was interested in biology and entomology.

Regarding the effects of Seiza

At that time, the Okada-style Seiza method had a tremendous reputation. A young person who had never experienced any sense of smell was suddenly able to smell. He went to the toilet and was suddenly able to smell. That was the beginning of it, and there are also examples of people who initially found it difficult but gradually got used to it.

Sitting with a proper posture undoubtedly improves blood circulation. With improved blood circulation and regulated breathing, it is only natural that one’s physical condition improves. Moreover, when one maintains a correct posture, cold hands become warm. Even on a cold winter morning, hands that were initially cold start to warm up while sitting. After the Seiza, we used to shake hands with each other to compare if they were warm or cold. This reminds me of Mrs. Kokko Soma, a woman from Nakamuraya in Shinjuku. When she was suffering from an illness and unable to sit, she heard about Okada sensei and became one of his followers. She joined the silent sitting sessions and even attended the sessions at my house. After the session, being a straightforward person, she would ask for a handshake and sometimes I felt a bit troubled when my hands weren’t warm enough.

Okada sensei’s legacy 

Thanks to my eight years of learning from Okada sensei, sitting in silent meditation has become a habit for me. Whenever I visit someone and have to wait for about 30 minutes, I do Seiza meditation there. I don’t feel bothered by the waiting anymore, and I have let go of attachment to various things. It feels like I have adopted a certain type of attitude towards life.

Nowadays, I don’t necessarily sit at fixed times as Okada sensei suggested. However, I make it a point to do Seiza sitting for five or ten minutes whenever I remember.
When I catch a cold and feel like I might have a fever, I take some medicine but, after sitting properly for about an hour, my cold hands become warm and I think it might be the most effective remedy for something like a minor cold.

About Mr. Mason 

Mason became a newspaper reporter around the time of the Russo-Japanese War in Meiji 37-38 (1904-1905). He went to London and reported on the Russo-Japanese War, which initially sparked his interest in Japan. It seems that the fact that a small country like Japan could win a war against the large country of Russia greatly moved the young newspaper reporter.

He first came to Japan in 1932 and, after retiring that year, around the age of 55, he devoted himself to the study of Japan for the rest of his life. Although he did not neglect Japanese studies during his thirty-year career as a newspaper reporter, it was only a sideline for him. Therefore, after retiring, he came to Japan to stay and fully engaged in research about Japan. He made various preparations during his active years to come to Japan in 1932, but I had no knowledge of him until then.

During his time in New York, Mason took good care of the correspondents of major Japanese newspapers and so when he came to Japan, those Japanese he had helped were delighted to welcome him. The Asahi and Mainichi newspapers, in particular, were very supportive and introduced him to various people.

Shinto studies and the connection with me

He believed that the true spirit of Japan undoubtedly lay in Shinto, and he continued to study what Shinto really was while working as a newspaper reporter. Over the course of thirty years, he read a considerable amount of English-translated literature on Shinto, including the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, as well as most of the English materials available. Consequently, with this background, he came to Japan well-prepared and he wanted to meet people involved in Shinto and other religions. That’s where our connection began.

It was the Director General of the Religious Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Mr Juichi Shimomura, who introduced me to Mr. Mason and suggested that I take care of him as much as possible, considering my own interest in researching Shinto-related topics. I gladly accepted and, whenever Mr. Mason gave a lecture, I ended up being his interpreter most of the time.

Thanks to the Ministry of Education’s introduction, the two of us embarked on a month-long trip, visiting and giving lectures at shrines in the Tokaido, Kinki, Chugoku, and Kyushu regions. Since I didn’t have much knowledge about Japanese shrines, this journey proved to be highly beneficial for me personally.
Mr. Mason worshipped Emperor Sujin (c. 97 BCE–30 BCE) and advocated the establishment of shrines dedicated to him, which had a significant influence on people involved in Shinto. While I may not have completely agreed with Mr. Mason’s ideas, he, being a Shinto believer himself, took an interest in shrine rituals. He even happily dressed up as a Shinto priest and took pictures when we visited Izumo Taisha.
At that time, leftist ideologies were gaining popularity, and Mr. Mason’s praise for Shinto and his anti-communist remarks, as well as his claim that the philosophy of Henri Bergson and Shinto were the same, gained him a warm reception among the top figures in education, politics, and business circles.As a result, distinguished figures like Mr. Haruhiro Minagawa, who was then Undersecretary of Justice, General Sadao Araki, the Minister of the Army, and Mr. Kiichiro Hiranuma, President of the Privy Council, enthusiastically supported Mr. Mason.

Friendships with Mr. Mason and its influence

I had had some interactions with foreigners in the past, but most of them were Christian missionaries or university professors, and our relationships were rather superficial. However, my friendship with Mr. Mason was different, and it had a considerable impact on me. I had not known anyone like Mr. Mason within my own circle of friends and acquaintances. However, thanks to him, I came to know an entirely different kind of foreigner—a newspaperman, not a missionary or scholar who had a broad knowledge of worldly matters and a wide range of friendships. Naturally, being an American, he was brought up in Christianity and was an ordinary member of the Methodist Church.

He stayed at the Imperial Hotel, and almost every day, people from all walks of life gathered around Mason in one corner of the hotel. This provided me with an opportunity to interact with Westerners and learn about their general attitudes, which I had never encountered before. Mr. Mason, needing assistants for his research, wanted to publish two books in English during his stay in Japan, along with Japanese translations and I ended up translating both books for him. Through this collaboration, we became even closer, as if we were of one heart and mind. [A modern reprint of Mason’s The Meaning of Shinto can be found at this link].

It has been twenty-five years since his passing, but today, scholars of religion like Mr. Yoshido Toda, who is now a professor at Kokugakuin University, say that there is still much to learn from Mason’s Shinto studies. I believe that Mason’s work significantly contributes to attempts at answering the question as to whether Shinto will remain as an ethnic religion indefinitely or have the potential for international development and modern relevance.

Mason himself grew to love Japan deeply, and when he passed away on May 13th, the year the war began, he left a will stating that his remains should be buried in Japan. The following year, on the last ship returning to Japan, Ichitaro Takada from the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper brought Mason’s remains with him. His grave was then built and was laid to rest in 1942. His widow passed away a few years later and was buried beside her husband and now Mr. and Mrs. Mason rest in Tama Cemetery.

(From “Creation” magazine, July 1965)