Books in my war chest.

Here are a few books that have been really helpful lately in my understanding of Japanese Buddhist involvement during WWII.

Brian Daizen Victoria exposes institutional Buddhism's unconditional support of the war-time government in great depth in Zen at War (Second Edition, 2006). It's a fascinating look at how heads of all sects fully endorsed the totalitarian regime, giving soldiers and generals alike religious justification in going to war.

The second book, Sengo goju nen: Nenbutsusha no Heiwa he no Koe (Fifty years after the War: The voices of prayers for peace)(1995), is a collection of recounts from the war by Pure Land Buddhist priests from Kumamoto. Unlike Victoria's focus on institutional Buddhism, this book provides narrative to ordinary priests living through a devastating situation back home. I'm hoping to combine these stories with interviews of priests in Kumamoto alive during that period as the foundation for my paper.