A letter from Nishida Tenkō-san (Nishida Ichitaro) to Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
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| Tenkō Nishida-san |
As I wrote to my Russian friend:
“So, your discovery is, for me anyway, a kind of return home. There is a famous line by the poet T. S. Eliot in his poem “Little Gidding” (a real place nearby that I know well) where he says: “What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” Your discovery of this letter, and your kindness in sharing it with me, feels like a beginning/end and end/beginning. Thank you!”
For those of you interested, alas, Tolstoy was not able to reply to Tankō-san’s letter. In the first instance, it was mistakenly sent to St. Petersburg rather than Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana estate. However, the postal clerks discovered Tolstoy was in Crimea and had the letter forwarded to Koreiz postal station. Tolstoy was very ill during this period and it seems that, even if Tolstoy had seen the letter at that time and been able to have it translated, he would not have been able to reply during the autumn and winter of 1901-1902. Whatever the case, Tolstoy never replied to Tankō-san’s letter, and it seems that he had no knowledge of it.
You can obtain a PDF copy of the original Russian essay, in which the letter and the story about it appears, at the following link:
And here is a draft English translation of the whole Russian essay
But below, for ease of reference, is Tenkō-san’s letter to Tolstoy translated into English, not from the Japanese original, but from the Russian translation in the paper linked to above.
—o0o—
Your Excellency, Count Tolstoy!
It is said that when one follows the Way, the seasons succeed one another in their proper order, and none is preferred above another. Yet the time when autumn frost causes grasses and leaves to wither often deeply affects the human mind.
I am a subject of the Japanese state, and this year marks my thirtieth year of life. One day, I suddenly felt that our entire people had lost their faith, and that our whole civilization now stands on a single leg. Not only do Western nations now tread the imperial path of subjugation, but they loudly proclaim: “Civilization! Civilization!” I see how, amid this, men have grown savage and devour one another in the bloody feast of the demon Ashura.
Unable to suppress my yearning to seek the Way, I immersed myself in the teachings of the Buddha and studied the Christian Gospel. Questions of good and evil matter far more to me than considerations of profit; I rely not on the power of wealth, but on the power of faith. Seeking the essence within the myriad laws of existence, I now reside in the agricultural region of Hokkaido. Great inspiration has come to me from the words of philosophers and poets such as Socrates, Luther, Milton, Cromwell, and Carlyle—those who bind Heaven and Earth together, whose vision springs from the centre of constancy and through whom glimmers of the light pervading the universe are revealed. Truly, such men are teachers for one such as myself. Though it is said that our land once had many such individuals, they are now nowhere to be found.
All this morning, I have been ceaselessly thinking of Your Excellency, and I have gathered the courage to write this letter to inquire: How do you fare? Though I cannot see or hear you directly, from newspapers and other news sources I have learned of your teachings. I treat even your individual words and phrases with the utmost seriousness, for what you speak of will endure as long as Heaven and Earth exist—and such truth is rarely encountered today.
Your Excellency lives as a true saint should, preaching to your spiritual children the virtue of husbandry. You rightly explain that civilization is doomed when it opposes nature; and when people quarrel with one another and seize each other’s possessions, that is no true civilization. When a nation adopts the newest imperialism as its policy, by morning it seizes foreign ports, and by evening raises its sword over weaker countries—all the while claiming it does so for the sake of peace and security. Your teachings could shame these petty politicians—small as mere dots—unto death, yet they are not sensitive enough to die of shame. In any case, such men are far removed from the Gospel of God.
I am profoundly convinced that world peace cannot be achieved by the sword, but must be attained through faith. If humanity ceases warring against itself, the blessings of civilization will abundantly fill all the myriad manifestations that nature provides. Through labour in harmony with nature, humankind will lack nothing.
Yet, contrary to this truth, people repeatedly commit follies—year after year perfecting weapons, building warships, and glaring at one another with envy. O twentieth century! This twentieth century will ultimately become the realm of the demon Ashura.
My voice may never be heard throughout the world, even if my tongue burns and my lips char—but my convictions will surely spread among people; of this I am certain!
Count, Your Excellency: though your deeds may not be visible to the whole world, your teachings have filled the universe, and there is no person who has not heard of them.
When I sit in my room facing west in meditation, the moment I think of you, you always appear beside me and show me the path. Fools believe they can see your face and hear your teachings only when near you—but no, even standing close to Your Excellency, they cannot truly understand you! Only I clearly see you in every aspect of the cosmos—Your Excellency surely understands what I mean. Though we are citizens of different lands, on the true Way there are no barriers; the entire universe is our home, and all beings are one. I pray together with you to the divine being who loves peace.
From my heart, I humbly offer prayers for your health. And if fortune smiles upon me and your hand should touch this letter, I earnestly beg you to send me a reply.
Hokkaido, Ishikari, Sorachi County, Kurisawa Village, Kiyomappu.
Nishida Ichitaro
To His Excellency Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Comments
- Vince I.
For those of you interested, alas, Tolstoy was not able to reply to Tankō-san’s letter. In the first instance, it was mistakenly sent to St Petersberg rather than Tolstoy’s Yasnaya Polyana estate. However, the postal clerks discovered Tolstoy was in Crimea and had the letter forwarded to Koreiz postal station. Alas, Tolstoy was very ill during this period and it seems that, even if Tolstoy had seen the letter at that time and been able to have it translated, Tolstoy would not have been able to reply during the autumn and winter of 1901-1902. In all cases, Tolstoy never replied to Tankō-san’s letter, and it seems that he had no knowledge of it.
I think it's worth adding that it's only through the online Kiitsu Kyōkai gatherings that these long-lost free-religious connections have been rediscovered. Without the networking and friendship between Japanese, Russian, Filipino, and British free-religionists that's developed in these gatherings, none of this would have come to light. The internet has clearly brought some pretty dark stuff into our world, but this shows that it can also bring some creative and liberative light into our fractious world, and remind us of our shared humanity. And that is something worthy of celebration!