Takehiko Furuta

Takehiko Furuta was a Japanese history of ideas scholar, ancient history fabricator, conspiracy theorist, and former professor at Showa Pharmaceutical University. He specialized in Shinran and other medieval Japanese philosophical history and conspiracy theory. He proposed the highly controversial Kyushu dynasty theory, to little academic acclaim.

Biography

From birth to high school teaching days

Born in Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture. Raised in Hiroshima Prefecture following the transfer of his father, an English teacher at an old junior high school. Graduated from Tohoku Imperial University in 1948.
After graduating from university, he became a public high school teacher and taught Japanese and social studies as a teacher at Matsumoto Fukashi High School in Nagano Prefecture, Kobe Mori High School, Hyogo Prefectural Minatogawa High School, and Kyoto Municipal Rakuyo Technical High School. During his tenure, he was known for his research on Shinran. He was a witness for the plaintiff in the Ienaga Textbook Trial regarding the statements about Shinran.

Activities in the study of literary history

In 1969 he published his theory of Ichibankoku in History Magazine. In 1970, he left teaching and devoted himself to research. He has presented his own unique image of ancient history centered on the Kyushu dynasty theory, and has forced academic circles to reconsider their prevailing theories.
Some of these theories, such as the theory that Emperor Jimmu actually existed, are based on trust in the contents of the Chronicles, and are therefore considered to be either Shakugaku- or right-wing. He also claims a theory denying the falsification of the Kotaiō Stele. In 1985, he conducted a field survey of the Gwanggaeto Stele to prove his theory and concluded that "there was no intentional alteration of the inscription"., to prove his theory. His active involvement earned him a certain amount of recognition from the academic community. Furuta's articles were published in Shigaku zasshi and Shirin, which attracted the attention of the academic community, and in his early years he was often mentioned by the mass media.
This has attracted a large number of supporters and endorsers, as well as a number of people who have been fighting over his theory, including Minori Yasumoto,who argued with him over his own theory. At one time, the hypothesis appeared as a footnote in high school textbooks. The "Citizens' Society for the Study of Ancient Times" was organized as a group of supporters and readers, and the magazine "Citizens' Ancient Times" was published from 1979.
He also attracted attention in Shinran studies, and in 1975 he proposed the theory of the authenticity of the Sanmu-ki, a book that had been theorized to be a fake, and which kicked off a controversy in the academic world. In 1979, he was a part-time lecturer at the Ryukoku University Faculty of Letters. From April 1984 to March 1996, he worked at Showa Pharmaceutical University as a Cultural history professor.

Beginning of research on the "History of the Three Counties Outside Tsugaru" and its impact

He encountered Wada family documents such as "" and positively evaluated their contents.。Furthermore, even after strong suspicions that the book was a forgery were raised in later years, he remained supportive of its owner, Kihachiro Wada、and actively engaged in research, including writing an article in the "Bulletin" of Showa Pharmaceutical University. This led to a split in the Citizens' Society for Ancient Research, and some members, mainly from the Kansai region, who were in charge of the management of the society, left Furuta. However, they were reluctant to deal with ancient history in general other than Jindai moji and the Wada family documents, as they needed sufficient research.
After retiring from Showa Pharmaceutical University in March 1996, he returned to Muko City, Kyoto, where he continued to write and lecture, and in May 2006 he founded and directly edited the magazine "There Was No Truth in History".
The Cultural History Laboratory at Showa Pharmaceutical University was discontinued after Furuta's retirement. The Citizens' Society for Ancient Research continued for a while as a research group independent of Furuta, but the journal was terminated and disbanded in December 2002. The people who left in support of Furuta formed several study groups, including the "Society of Furuta Historiography" and the "Society for the Study of Multidisciplinary Antiquity," and they united to publish an annual journal, "New Ancient Studies," in which Furuta refuted the claims of the Wada family document forgery group.。

The Discovery of the "Kansei Original" and Its Aftermath

In 2007, Furuta claimed to have discovered the "Kansei Genbunshi" of "" and published a photographic version of it the following year. The book includes an expert opinion piece by Kazuhiko Kasaya. On the other hand, the claim that the handwriting matches that of Kihachiro Wada and others claim that the cover is in Wada Kihachiro's handwriting and the contents are a memorandum for a monk to create a Chinese poem.
In 2009, he claimed to have found quotations from the Kokki and Tennōki in the Wada family documents. At the same time, he ceased publication of "It never happened".
Since 2010, he has been republishing "There was no 'Yamataikoku'", "The Lost Kyushu Dynasty", "Stolen Myths", and other works on ancient history as "Takehiko Furuta: Collection of Ancient History" from Minerva Shobo. In addition, on September 10, 2011, he published "Himika Himika: Demons on the Road, Few Who See Them" as part of Minerva's selection of Japanese biographies.
He died on October 14, 2015, at a hospital in Nishikyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan.

Hypothesis and its evaluation

Hypothetical

The name of the country in "Wajinden" should not be Yamatai, but rather "Yamai" should be written correctly as in the original text of the "Wajinden" handed down today. The location is assumed to be on the shore of Hakata Bay.
Assumes that short ri was officially used by the Wei Jin dynasty as well as in "Wajinden".
The bare country and the black tooth country mentioned in "Wajinden" are located in the northern half of the South American continent. See History of Ecuador.
Consistently, Wakoku is assumed to be the Kyushu Dynasty, from which the Japanese nation received the Golden Seal. The Battle of Baekgang caused its rapid decline, and it was absorbed into the Imperial House of Japan, which was a branch of the Kinki Dynasty.
The Yayoi royal tombs at the Suku Okamoto site are dated back to the third century.
Criticizes the commonly accepted theory of Wei mirrors and advocates the theory of domestic production of triangular-rimmed animal and animal mirrors.
He proposed the multidimensional view of ancient history that there were kingdoms in various parts of the archipelago, including the theory of the Kyushu Dynasty. Based on an analysis of the Inariyama Kofun Inariyama Sword inscription and other evidence, he believes that there was a great king in the Kanto region as well.
Fukuzawa Yukichi, in his "Gakumon no Susume", states that the first sentence "Heaven does not create a man above another man nor a man below another man".
The rubbings of the Gwanggaeto Stele brought back by Keishin Sako were not tampered with.

Research style

Evaluation

The initial publication of the "Yamai" theory was covered in the "Retrospect and Prospect" section of the Journal of Historical Studies.
The "" uproar has taken its toll on the boom that once existed. However, he denied the theory that the Gwanggaeto Stele text was falsified, and he is still highly regarded in Shinran studies.
According to Shunitsu Nakaji, his most significant contribution is his rejection of the "unification concept" of ancient Japanese history, which holds that "the royal power of the Emperor Yamato was the sole central power in the Japanese archipelago from the seventh century onward. He argues that the unification concept has not been through argumentation, and that Japanese and Chinese documents and archaeological artifacts can be understood without difficulty through a pluralistic view of ancient history.
Harada Minoru, who studied under Furuta at Showa Pharmaceutical University, described Furuta's attitude toward "Tsugaru soto sangunshi" after his death as "adhering to fallacies" and "being in the realm of sophistry". He also said that his mentor Furuta's devotion to the theory of the authenticity of the "Tsugaru soto sangunshi" had a great influence on Harada's current stance against pseudographs.

Views

An article by a denier of the "Tsugaru soto sangunshi" was also published in the anti-communist magazine "Zembo. The biggest opponent of the argument was Yasumoto Yoshinori, a supporter of the Association for Creating New History Textbooks. On the other hand, Furuta once published an article in Bunka Hyoron, a Communist Party-affiliated magazine. Tomoharu Fujita, a close friend of Furuta, was also an ideologue of the "Philosophy Section of the Osaka Materialism Society. However, some believe that Furuta is not a so-called leftist thinker.
Kazuhiko Kasaya, who defended Furuta by stating that the Wada family's "Kansei-genbara" documents "are all recognized as documents created during the Edo period" and "there is no one who does not consider these to be early modern documents", is a member of the Association for Textbook Improvement, a conservative group that is one of the successor organizations of the Association for Creating New History Textbooks.
Regarding World War II, which Japan fought in, he states that the Greater East Asia War, not the Pacific War or the Fifteen Years' War, is "the actual name in history. This is because, "Despite the 'name' of 'Greater East Asia Co-prosperity,' Japan invaded China and either 'insulted' the people of Asia or the people of other parts of the world who were in Asia, or 'insulted' the people of other parts of the world who were in Asia. and "slaughtered". As evidence of this, I would like to use this historical term without error or forgetting." but for examples of Furuta's use of the term, he refers to the Second Sino-Japanese War as the Japan-China Incident, In his conversation with Hisanosuke Yasukawa, he used the terms "Pacific War " and "Greater East Asia War" together thorough.
He claims that Emperor Jimmu is real, which is often regarded as Taboo in the academic world. This is the same view as that of his opponent, Yasumoto Yoshinori. In Furuta's case, Emperor Jinmu is regarded as a local Gōzoku, an offshoot of the Kyushu dynasty.
He was close to conservative politicians such as Sadao Hirano and was once considered an "anti-Koreanist. He also supports the enshrinement of Class A war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine. However, he also says that the war dead who fought on the side of Saigo's army in the Satsuma Rebellion and American soldiers who died in the Greater East Asia War should also be enshrined.
Kimigayo is a hymn to the Kyushu Dynasty, while Hinomaru is a song of praise for the Japanese archipelago, "a volcanic island in the sea" or "a rocky island in the sea". The history of the Hinomaru in Japan is too far and too long," and in response to the claim that the Hinomaru is a symbol of Japan's past aggression, "From the 18th to the 20th century, European powers together violated Asia," "The Hinomaru is a symbol of Japan's past aggression. Those who call for the "replacement" of "all the flags of the powers" should, if they have the same "conscience", demand the "replacement" of "all the flags of the powers". The "line" of the movement would not make sense without a strong demand for the "replacement" of the "Japanese" flag.

Others

Member of the Historical Society, the Japanese Society for the History of Ideas, and the Gakushikai.
1964, "The Logic of Modern Law and the Fate of Religion", received the Kanazawa University Gyotori Prize.
Hitoshi Takeuchi, the founder and chief editor of the scientific magazine "Newton", published a commentary in support of Furuta's theory in "Newton". Newton" September 1989 issue, special feature "Great Feature: The Yamatai Ichibankoku Was in Kyushu! See also. Furuta also contributed to the same magazine. However, in the October 1993 issue of "Newton," the special feature "Thorough Examination of the Yamatai Empire Mystery," the term "Yamatai Empire" is used instead of "Yamatai Ichibankoku," and the issue is devoted to the Yamatai Empire controversy.
Mineo Nakajima was a student at Matsumoto Fukashi High School. On September 24, 2005, a separate organization of supporters, the New Eastern History Society, was established with Nakajima as president.
Philosopher Muneyoshi Yamada has written books on ancient history based on Furuta's theory, such as "The World of Wei Shiwa Jinten: 邪馬台国と卑弥呼".
Interacts with Member of the House of Councillors, including Eiichi Matsumoto and Sadao Hirano, who are associated with his research area.
Former TV personality Ryutaro Ueoka is an avid reader and was sometimes mentioned in "Tsurubei Ueoka Papepo TV". He has been a panelist at symposiums presided over by Furuta, and is a close friend of Furuta's in conversation with him.
A well-known supporter of Furuta's theory is Shunichi Nishimura. Shunichiro Kawabata has written in support of Furuta's theory. Michio Morishima has spoken with Furuta. Hisanosuke Yasukawa also supported Furuta's theory for a while and had an interview with him in 2006. According to Hiroshi Hirayama, in 2007, Yasukawa withdrew his support for Furuta's theory. Furthermore, Yasukawa officially withdrew his support for Furuta's theory in a list of errata published in a KOKBUNKEN book.。Note that Furuta does not claim plagiarism, but rather citation.
Furuta's book "There was no 'Yamataikoku'" includes a review by Sakyo Komatsu, and his book "A Guidepost to the Yamatai Country" includes a dialogue.
In his book, Furuta expresses his opinion on Akimitsu Takagi's "The Secret of the Yamatai Kingdom. Later, Takagi published a book of Furuta's theory.