Hideaki Takizawa’s Vision for World Transformation and His Attraction to Radical Ideologies

The Roots of ‘Abnormal Passion’.

Further, there is the Manchurian Incident of September 1931. The Kwantung Army blew up railroad tracks at the Liutiaohu in the Republic of China, which led to the occupation of all of Manchuria. The leaders of this were military staff officers Seishiro Itagaki and Kanji Ishihara.

 

By the way, the world-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa, who passed away this February, was born in Manchuria and was named after the characters “Sei” from Itagaki Seishiro and “Ji” from Ishihara Kanji. As depicted in the film The Last Emperor, Manchukuo was a dream state created by those who had left Japan.

In other words, Hideaki Takizawa’s sudden departure from Johnny’s is like the February 26 Incident, and TOBE is the equivalent of Manchukuo—this is the interpretation.

What could connect the young officers of the early Showa era and Hideaki Takizawa of the early Reiwa era? Let’s read The History of Showa in the Castle of Demons by Daikichi Terauchi (Mainichi Newspapers, 1988).

“What Was the Manchurian Incident? My long-standing question eventually became a major concern as I learned about the presence of Nichiren nationalists who began to appear throughout the formation process of Japanese fascism, from the May 15 Incident to the February 26 Incident.”

The subtitle of the book is “The Path to the February 26 Incident and Nichiren Nationalists.”

The leaders of the Manchurian Incident, such as Kanji Ishihara, and the young officers of the February 26 Incident were ardent followers of Nichiren ideology. Nichiren was a distinctive Buddhist monk whose teachings were feared as a harsh ideology (he was exiled to Sado).

At the foundation of the revolutionary thoughts of the young officers that shook the Showa era was Nichiren ideology. It is often heard that Hideaki Takizawa is a member of Japan’s largest religious organization that worships Nichiren’s teachings.

Comedian Hidekazu Nagai confessed about the time he met with the honorary chairman of the organization along with Takizawa.

“In January 2005, at a headquarters executive meeting held at the Tokyo Makiguchi Memorial Hall in Hachioji, I had the opportunity to receive encouragement from Mr. Ikeda in front of about a thousand members of the organization. At that time, Takizawa was chosen to star in the NHK historical drama Yoshitsune, so Mr. Ikeda, who loved historical dramas, looked very pleased on stage. Speaking of Takizawa, he was also favored by Johnny Kitagawa and then Daisaku Ikeda. I thought it was amazing that he received the favor of such strong-willed figures from the Showa era” (Daily Shincho, November 21, 2023).

Hearing this, it’s clear that the issue of Takizawa’s faith is not a gag of Hidekazu Nagai’s but is certainly true.

That said, I am not particularly interested in the fact that he is one of the many celebrity members of a secularized religious organization. Rather, I feel that Hideaki Takizawa embodies the same kind of passion that flows through the veins of the young officers of the Showa era who devoted themselves to Nichiren’s radical ideology, known as Nichirenism.

Takizawa’s intense stoicism and strong inclination towards the transcendent are often discussed. It is said that in his youth, he admired the professional wrestler Atsushi Onita and covered his bedroom bed with barbed wire, turning it into a ring, and fought alone every night. Furthermore, he even had a match against Antonio Inoki in the Yokohama Arena.

Additionally, he had an unexpected face as a volcano explorer. He has conquered four out of the five major lava lakes in the world and achieved a feat accomplished by only five people in human history. It is an extraordinary passion that goes far beyond mere hobby.