南清日本仏教布教者のシャム華僑布教渡航：20世紀初頭の中国・タイにおける日本仏教布教の共通性と布教権問題

抄録

Both Higashi Honganji (Otani) sect and Nishi Honganji sect of Shin Buddhism in Japan started to send their preachers to the interior of south China in the late 1890s. By getting the announcement of permission by local authorities in Fujian province, both sects of preachers hired the local Chinese as directors (董事) to persuade Chinese inhabitants to participate in their sects. Accordingly they succeed in increasing the number of Chinese participants rapidly. However the main purpose of Chinese particpants who were living in unstable and disorder areas, was not faith in Japanese Buddhism, but the expectation of protection by Japanse preachers and Japanese government. They paid large sums of money to Japanese preachers and Chinese directors in order to become members.

In the late year of 1904, Chinese central government started to suppress Japanese Budhhist preachers in the inner south China in the midist of burgeoning Chinese nationalism. Japanese preachers faced difficulties.

Some of them, such as Takeda Ekyo of Otani sect in Amoy (Xiamen), Miyamoto Eiryu of Nishi Honganji sect in Swatow (Shantou) moved to Siam in 1907 in search of overseas Chinese who were immigrants from south China. Siamese Minister of Interior, Prince Damrong declined to write a letter of introduction to local authorities, but allowed Japanese Buddhist propagation by citing the freedom of religion in Siam. Japanese preachers used the same method employed in south China to propagate Japanese Buddhism. They hired the local Chinese dirctors and advertised Japanese protection as saling point to persuade overseas Chinese, who have no one to rely on in Siam. They succeeded to gain a large number of participants and to collect a good amount of cash.

These Japanese activities were known to King Chulalongkorn (Rama Ⅴ) in February 1908. He ordered to extinguish Japanese Buddhist propagation as he was suspicious that the Japanese would gain the support of oversea Chinese contray to Siamese interest. Within one year and half Japanese Buddhist propagation in Siam was exterminated.