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{{Translation Review}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Uchiyama Gudō, “Postcard to Itō Shōshin”}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Uchiyama Gudō, postcard to Itō Shōshin}}


Postcard sent by [[Uchiyama Gudo|Uchiyama Gudō]] to Itō Shōshin (伊藤証信), 1 January 1908. ([[UG08ISH|Original Japanese here]].)
Postcard sent by [[Uchiyama Gudo|Uchiyama Gudō]] to Itō Shōshin 伊藤証信, 1 January 1908. ([[UG08ISH|Original Japanese here]].)


<hr>
<hr>


:'''To:''' Itō Shōshin (伊藤証信)<br>
:'''To:''' Itō Shōshin 伊藤証信<br>
:'''Address:''' Tokuyama Girls' School, Tokuyama-chō, Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県徳山町徳山女学校)<br>
:'''Address:''' Tokuyama Girls' School, Tokuyama-chō, Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県徳山町徳山女学校)<br>
:'''Date:''' Written January 1, Meiji 41 [1908]<br>
:'''Date:''' 1 January 1908<br>
:'''From:''' Ōhiradai, Hakone (箱根大平台)<br>
:'''From:''' Ōhiradai, Hakone (箱根大平台)<br>
::''[Marginal note affixed to the postcard:]'' Ise-inabe, Kume-mura (receiving post office stamp dated the 12th)<ref>"Ise-inabe" is shorthand for the Inabe (員弁) district in Ise (伊勢) province (present day Mie prefecture). "Kume-mura" is the name of the village where this post office was located.</ref>
:'''Affixed note:''' Ise-Inabe, Kume-mura (receiving post office stamp dated the 12th)<ref>“Ise-Inabe” refers to Inabe 員弁 in the former province of Ise 伊勢, in present-day Mie Prefecture. Kume-mura 久米村 was the village in which the receiving post office was located.</ref>


How quickly the days and months pass — this very morning it has already become January 1st of Meiji 41. You, as ever, find the days insufficient for your spiritual cultivation, and it is splendid that you are especially under the guidance of good teachers and friends.<ref>The original reads 「結好」 (''kekkō''), which is not a standard word. The intended word is almost certainly 「結構」 (''kekkō'', "splendid," "excellent"), which fits both the sound and the sense.</ref>
How quickly the days and months pass—this very morning it has already become 1 January, Meiji 41. You, as ever, find even the days insufficient for your spiritual cultivation, and it is splendid that you are especially under the guidance of good teachers and friends.


I, on the contrary, have recently undergone a change in my thinking. The ways of religionists who claim to be allies of the weak now strike me as utterly foolish, unbearably so. At the end of last year, Oda (小田) sent me a work on Tolstoy's (ト翁)<ref>「ト翁」 (literally "Old Master Tō") is a period honorific abbreviation for Tolstoy (トルストイ), commonly used in Meiji-era Japanese writing.</ref> humanitarianism, so I examined Tolstoy's approach carefully as well, but while I am in full agreement with boycotting an oppressive government, I am, somehow, not fully satisfied with his individualism.<ref>The original reads 「壓き足らぬ」, which is not a standard construction. The intended phrase is almost certainly the set expression 「飽き足らぬ」 ("not fully satisfied with"), which matches both the grammar and the sense of the passage.</ref>
I, on the contrary, have recently undergone a change in my thinking.


I have come, in any case, to want to build a society in which no one stands above another. At present I am wrestling with just how to bring this about; as a result, I have not yet decided whether the weapon will be a bomb or a pistol. Of all things, there is nothing so violent and evil as government.<ref>The original repeats 「政府」 (''seifu'', "government") back-to-back: 「いづれの政府も政府ほど暴悪な者はない」. It is likely intentional emphatic repetition for rhetorical effect, though the possibility of an unintentional slip by the writer cannot be ruled out.</ref> Government holds weapons, oppressing the common people while extracting taxes from them. To restrain this violence and evil, the power of religionists is useless. If today's religionists were truly determined in their hearts to build the Kingdom of Heaven (天国), they would have no choice but to overthrow this government.<ref>The original reads 「天国の作造に心がくるならば」. 「作造」 is not a standard word; 「創造」 ("creation") is almost certainly intended. 「心がくる」 is not grammatical; 「心がける」 ("to make it one's intent, to resolve to") is almost certainly intended, with け apparently misread or misremembered as く.</ref> The very hand that tells the prayer beads must always be carrying a bomb as well.<ref>The original reads 「珠数つまくる」. 「珠数」 is a character transposition of the standard 「数珠」 (''juzu'', Buddhist prayer beads); 「つまくる」 lacks the expected ''dakuten'' and is almost certainly meant as 「つまぐる」 ("to finger, to tell [beads]").</ref>
The ways of religionists who claim to be allies of the weak now strike me as utterly foolish, unbearably so. At the end of last year, Oda sent me a work on Tolstoy's humanitarianism,<ref>Gudō refers to Tolstoy as ''Tō-ō'' ト翁, literally “Old Master Tō,” a respectful abbreviated form of Tolstoy's name.</ref> so I examined Tolstoy's approach carefully as well. While I am in full agreement with boycotting an oppressive government, I am simply not satisfied with his individualism.


As for what I should take up in place of the sutras I am casting aside, that remains a question I am still studying, and I have not yet decided. Thank you very much for the [...].<ref>The original reads 「時習どうもありがたう」. 「時習」 does not combine intelligibly with the closing expression of thanks that follows it. It may refer to a specific item, custom, or previous exchange between the correspondents that is not otherwise recoverable from context.</ref>
I have come, in any case, to want to build a society in which no one stands above another.
 
At present I am wrestling with how to bring this about; as a result, I have not yet decided whether the weapon will be a bomb or a pistol.
 
Of all things, there is nothing so violent and evil as government. Government holds weapons, oppressing the common people while extracting taxes from them. The power of religionists is useless for restraining this violence and evil. If today's religionists truly set their hearts on building the Kingdom of Heaven, they must overthrow this government.<ref>The Japanese at this point is textually irregular: 「真個に天国の作造に心がくるならば」. The translation renders the apparent sense without silently regularizing the Japanese transcription.</ref> The very hand that tells the prayer beads must always carry a bomb as well.<ref>The original has the unusual expression 「珠数つまくる」. The translation renders the apparent sense in context while preserving the source reading in the Japanese transcription.</ref>
 
As for what I should take up after casting aside the sutras, that remains a question I am presently studying, and I have not yet decided.
 
Thank you very much for the ''jishū''.<ref>The meaning of ''jishū'' 時習 in this closing sentence is uncertain. It may refer to something previously exchanged between Gudō and Itō, but the postcard itself provides insufficient context to identify it securely.</ref>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
<references />
<references />
== Source Note ==
Uchiyama Gudō 内山愚童, postcard to Itō Shōshin 伊藤証信, 1 January 1908. Reproduced as 「書翰十四　伊藤証信君〔はがき〕」 in Kashiwagi Ryūhō 柏木隆法, ''Taigyaku jiken to Uchiyama Gudō'' 大逆事件と内山愚童 [The High Treason Incident and Uchiyama Gudō] (Tokyo: JCA Shuppan, 1979), 239. Kashiwagi identifies the reproduced postcard as held in his own collection (筆者所蔵).
== How to Cite this Text ==
<!-- AUTHORSHIP CHANGE LOG
First version, 2026. Translation and annotation: Brons, Lajos.-->
Uchiyama Gudō (1908). “Postcard to Itō Shōshin” (1 January). Translated and annotated by Lajos Brons. ''The Radical Buddhism Project''. Version of {{#time: j F Y | {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY}} }}. <nowiki>http://radicalbuddhism.net/wiki/UG08ISH-T</nowiki>.


[[category:Uchiyama Gudo]]
[[category:Uchiyama Gudo]]
[[category:Translations from Japanese]]
[[category:Translations from Japanese]]

Latest revision as of 19:23, 7 October 2026


Postcard sent by Uchiyama Gudō to Itō Shōshin 伊藤証信, 1 January 1908. (Original Japanese here.)

To: Itō Shōshin 伊藤証信
Address: Tokuyama Girls' School, Tokuyama-chō, Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県徳山町徳山女学校)
Date: 1 January 1908
From: Ōhiradai, Hakone (箱根大平台)
Affixed note: Ise-Inabe, Kume-mura (receiving post office stamp dated the 12th)[1]

How quickly the days and months pass—this very morning it has already become 1 January, Meiji 41. You, as ever, find even the days insufficient for your spiritual cultivation, and it is splendid that you are especially under the guidance of good teachers and friends.

I, on the contrary, have recently undergone a change in my thinking.

The ways of religionists who claim to be allies of the weak now strike me as utterly foolish, unbearably so. At the end of last year, Oda sent me a work on Tolstoy's humanitarianism,[2] so I examined Tolstoy's approach carefully as well. While I am in full agreement with boycotting an oppressive government, I am simply not satisfied with his individualism.

I have come, in any case, to want to build a society in which no one stands above another.

At present I am wrestling with how to bring this about; as a result, I have not yet decided whether the weapon will be a bomb or a pistol.

Of all things, there is nothing so violent and evil as government. Government holds weapons, oppressing the common people while extracting taxes from them. The power of religionists is useless for restraining this violence and evil. If today's religionists truly set their hearts on building the Kingdom of Heaven, they must overthrow this government.[3] The very hand that tells the prayer beads must always carry a bomb as well.[4]

As for what I should take up after casting aside the sutras, that remains a question I am presently studying, and I have not yet decided.

Thank you very much for the jishū.[5]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ “Ise-Inabe” refers to Inabe 員弁 in the former province of Ise 伊勢, in present-day Mie Prefecture. Kume-mura 久米村 was the village in which the receiving post office was located.
  2. ↑ Gudō refers to Tolstoy as Tō-ō ト翁, literally “Old Master Tō,” a respectful abbreviated form of Tolstoy's name.
  3. ↑ The Japanese at this point is textually irregular: 「真個に天国の作造に心がくるならば」. The translation renders the apparent sense without silently regularizing the Japanese transcription.
  4. ↑ The original has the unusual expression 「珠数つまくる」. The translation renders the apparent sense in context while preserving the source reading in the Japanese transcription.
  5. ↑ The meaning of jishū 時習 in this closing sentence is uncertain. It may refer to something previously exchanged between Gudō and Itō, but the postcard itself provides insufficient context to identify it securely.

Source Note

[edit]

Uchiyama Gudō 内山愚童, postcard to Itō Shōshin 伊藤証信, 1 January 1908. Reproduced as 「書翰十四　伊藤証信君〔はがき〕」 in Kashiwagi Ryūhō 柏木隆法, Taigyaku jiken to Uchiyama Gudō 大逆事件と内山愚童 [The High Treason Incident and Uchiyama Gudō] (Tokyo: JCA Shuppan, 1979), 239. Kashiwagi identifies the reproduced postcard as held in his own collection (筆者所蔵).

How to Cite this Text

[edit]

Uchiyama Gudō (1908). “Postcard to Itō Shōshin” (1 January). Translated and annotated by Lajos Brons. The Radical Buddhism Project. Version of 7 October 2026. http://radicalbuddhism.net/wiki/UG08ISH-T.

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