(former) Soviet Union

Takahiro UedaDiary of a Monk

Welcome to our website. For those of you who are visiting our blog for the first time. First of all, please click here.

Nice to meet you. My name is Takahiro Ueda, the administrator of this blog. This blog started as my attempt to look at various things in my daily life and write words with the motto of asking myself questions, as you can see in the title of the blog.

This article will give you a general guide within our blog. If you are new to our blog or wondering what to read, please read this article first.
Yukio MishimaYukio Mishima and Japanese Literature

Yukio Mishima, Masahiko Akuta, and others, "Yukio Mishima vs. the University of Tokyo Zenkyoto 1969-2000" - What was that legendary debate? A recommended work to learn about the students' thoughts and relationships with each other!

After all, what was that Tokyo University Zenkyoto...what was the difference from the students who holed up in the Yasuda Auditorium and threw Molotov cocktails, or the sects who repeatedly engaged in internal rebellions...?

I could not for the life of me figure this out. Who were these people who debated with Yukio Mishima? Were they also engaged in internal strife and violence...?

This book has been too gratifying for me to have such questions.

This is an amazing book. This book is the text of 15 hours of intense discussion. This book is the best resource to learn what the Zenkyoto of Tokyo University was all about and what the discussion with Yukio Mishima was about. I highly recommend this book to get a feel for the atmosphere of this era.
end of timeBuddhism in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asia

M. Wickramasinghe's "The End of Time" Synopsis and Comments - A masterful film about Sri Lanka, a country shaken by Marxism and class struggle!

His son Merlin strongly rebels against Sawiman, a big capitalist who has risen by exploiting the workers. He says, "Those two are already mentally corrupt. There is no one around who can make their parents' hearts repent after all this time! he confides to his best friend, doctor Alawinda. His rebellion is no longer a domestic issue, but develops into a political movement involving the citizens of Colombo.

The film also depicts these struggles and riots between capitalists and workers. This novel embodies the story of what was happening in Colombo at that time by Wickramasinghe, who used to be a journalist. As we have seen in his trilogy, Wickramasinghe's sensitive psychological portrayal is also evident in this work.

Wickramasinghe's novels are the best guide to the picture of Sri Lanka.
Faith in Modern ChinaChinese Buddhism, Thought and History

Ian Johnson, Faith in Modern China - A look at the reality of religious life under the Communist regime! A non-fiction book that questions what faith is all about!

The book is a work that follows the situation of religion in Communist China, where it was forbidden.

It was very interesting to learn about the current religious situation in China.

However, as was mentioned in this book, it was very scary to know that we do not know what will happen in the future because of the tight control that the Communist authorities have been exercising in recent years.

This book will give you an eye-opening glimpse of a China we never knew existed. It is full of information because the author actually did long-term, in-depth interviews. I highly recommend this book to learn about the religious situation in modern China. Why not pick up a copy?
World History from a Nomadic PerspectiveChinese Buddhism, Thought and History

Masaaki Sugiyama, "World History from a Nomadic Perspective" - An exciting book that shatters our preconceptions! To gain a multifaceted view of history

This book is a work that overturns the image of nomads that we vaguely imagine. It is also a terrifying work that questions not only the existence of nomads, but also our very understanding of history.

And when I wrote "shattering preconceived notions" in the title of this article, that is exactly what I meant. At least, I was shattered to my heart's content.

This is despite the fact that I have been reading a variety of genres and trying to look at things from as many different perspectives as possible. I am extremely embarrassed by this fact.

I am sure many of you will feel the same way as I do after reading this book. Well, it was a painful book.
Stalin's LibraryHistory of the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin

Jeffrey Roberts, "Stalin's Library" - A novel biography of Stalin from the perspective of reading. How did he view Dostoevsky?

Hating him doesn't explain why and how he went to such lengths."

This is a very important point made by the author. If we put Stalin away as just a big bad man, that is where our thinking ends.

This is a very stimulating book that looks at Stalin from the perspective of "reading" to find out why he was able to become a dictator and what was behind his success. The author's courage to attack from a minor angle, "reading," which in a sense is not easily associated with dictatorships, is nothing short of amazing. It is very innovative.
Dostoevskyism

T.G. Masaryk, "Russia and Europe I," a valuable discussion of Russia by the philosophical president of the Czech Republic!

Russian Dostoevsky by Masaryk, who was born to a serf father and a cook mother, from whom he struggled to become a philosophy professor and even the first president of the Czech Republic.

To begin with, he is a top-notch philosopher. Masaryk was also a politician with experience in world affairs, politics, and economics. He was also a great personality who was respected not only by the Czech people but also by people all over the world.

The Russian history and Dostoevsky theory told by such a grown-up was extremely stimulating.
Portrait of TolstoyTolstoy, the Russian Giant

Episode of the production of Kramskoy's "Portrait of Tolstoy" - This is how Tolstoy's piercing gaze was depicted!

The sharpness of Tolstoy's gaze in this portrait is astonishing.

Tolstoy is often associated with the white beard of his later years, but 1873, the year this portrait was painted, was Tolstoy's 45th year. 4 years earlier, he had completed the serialization of "War and Peace" and it was a huge hit. And in the same year, he wrote "Anna Karenina. In other words, it was a period when he was in full force as a writer. The sharp look in his eyes at that time is depicted in this portrait.

And interestingly, Tolstoy's encounter with Kramskoy also influenced the writing of Anna Karenina.