Reply to Akos_Ikuyihcak@netnitoc.net (SGI Sr Ldr Reformists)

[Chinberg]

Subject: SGI Should Stop Buying Expensive Works of Art
From: Akos_Ik...@netnitco.net (SGI Sr Leader Reformists)
Date: Mon, May 18, 1998 1:21 PM
Message-id: <3560358b...@news.netnitco.net>

Copyright 1997 South China Morning Post Ltd.
South China Morning Post

October 17, 1997

SECTION: WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. 6

LENGTH: 1257 words

HEADLINE: A brisk guided tour through Western history

BYLINE: Victoria Finlay reviews a museum art show which could never be found in
Europe or North America

BODY:
Is it, visitors must ask themselves, relevant that the collection of
Western
paintings that opened this week at the Hong Kong Museum of Art was put together
by the biggest Buddhist sect in Japan?

And that the sect - Soka Gakkai (the Society for Creating Values) - is one
with massive political aspirations, alternatively praised or condemned by many
who observe it, and which has already been involved in at least one major art
scandal?

Perhaps it is possible to walk through an exhibition and see it simply as a
collection of paintings - big names like Monet, Renoir, Gainsborough and
Chagall, works that are solidly representative of their genre - that have never
been seen in this way in Hong Kong before.

After all, when the 17th and 18th-century oils have appeared here they have
tended to be second-rate pieces appearing with massive price tags in hotel
-suite shows run by private galleries - lots of racing horses and romantic
landscapes, with China trade paintings for good measure.

This show is different - a museum show, which you could never find in a
museum in Europe or North America, because the breadth of its ambition would be
impossible to contemplate or concede in the West.

The unimaginatively titled Masterpieces of Western Oil Painting from the
Tokyo Fuji Art Museum is a brisk guided hike through the history of Western
art.
In just 61 paintings it traverses the past five centuries.

It takes us from the realism of the 16th century to the surrealism of the
20th century, via the depictions of canals, waterlilies and wealthy children
that filled the homes of wealthy 17th, 18th and 19th-century Europeans.

The paintings are arranged in a chronological order, starting with a
portrait of an Italian official (who rather oddly has no ears) by Bellini, and
whirling through the ages of realism, classicism, mannerism and impressionism
with a nod, or perhaps - this being a Japanese collection - a bow, to each.

"We would not show these paintings in this way in Europe," said the head
curator of the collection, Akira Sokita. And for similar reasons, he said, they
would not show their Asian collection in Asia. These shows are horses for
foreign courses, designed to instruct, entertain and impress.
PAGE 6

There is a strong sense of authority on these white walls hung with the
dark
picture-chronicles of Western history. And the fact that this particular
collection represents one further step in Western art history - the role of
post-war Japanese corporations in propping up its market and pushing it to
extraordinary prices - simply adds to its relevance.

The catalogue suggests we look at themes - particularly those of
portraiture
and landscape - and see how they changed.

But there is an extra frisson to this collection when you consider it as
the
choice of a man - Daisaku Ikeda - who has been named among the most powerful
and
enigmatic in Japan. He is the former leader of about 10 million followers in
115
countries, the power behind the Clean Government Party, a voice for peace - and
yet one whom some have accused of scare tactics.

What was it that made this particular collector choose one work and reject
another? Was it an urge to collect "one of each", a desire (certainly there)
for
the power that art ownership bestows, the investment potential it offers, or
some deeper thread?

At the opening press tour, Mr Sokita emphasised that part of the purpose of
the collection was atonement in some way for Japan's role in World War II. Soka
Gakkai - which started in 1930 - was always against the war: its founder
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi died in jail for resistance to the Shinto regime.

According to newspaper interviews, Mr Ikeda's own abiding memory of the war
was coughing up phlegm as he laboured in an ironworks factory as a young
teenager with tuberculosis supporting his family.

So what is his taste, this charismatic leader who hated war, or who at
least
hated that particular war?

What is surprising is how very secular the choices are. We find no sense of
pilgrimage in the paintings, and very little emphasis on the suffering of
humanity, on compassion, or the utter mystifying beauty of the world.

Most of the 61 works are not paintings that, in their time, have challenged
authority and the status quo; the underlying thread between them is, it seems,
more about a celebration of form than of spirit. Subjects of portraits have
neither holiness nor unholiness about them, but more a sense of social
position.

The exhibition has many pleasures - the first painting Cezanne finished
during his stay in Auvers; the waterlilies, of course; a close-cropped
16th-century door panel by Paolo Veronese of two boys where the action is all
directed away from the centre (you want to open that door); a melancholy
portrait of two women by Marie Laurencin.

A small disappointment is in the choice of work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

The Young Woman in Red Dress sitting so complacently in the artist's studio
circa 1892 is a good enough example of Renoir's accomplishment: she is pretty
with soft red cheeks, a sense of calmness, and an intriguingly quizzical
expression in her eyes.

But how much more interesting - from an art-historical perspective - would
it have been to have seen either After the Bath or Young Girl Reading, believed
still to be owned by the Fuji Museum, and which were involved in a scandal
involving Mitsubishi and a missing 1.5 billion yen (about HK$ 95 million) in
1991.

If one of the intentions of this should-see show is education - and it
certainly should be - then the educational brochure is particularly
disappointing. At least there is one, museum fans might argue; at least someone
has spent the time trying to help young people to look - to really look - at
these canvases. But this guide to 11 of the works is not sophisticated enough
to
be simple.

Try asking a child a question such as: "What do you think about the plastic
freedom of expression in impressionist paintings?"

Try, for that matter, asking an adult. The answer will in most cases be
paraphraseable as "not a lot".

Questions like this do not serve art, they defeat it. They push it into the
dusty corner of difficult, boring things. Monet's waterlilies - of which there
is one misty-green twilight version in the exhibition, and about which that
question was asked - should delight rather than perplex.

This latest exhibition is a big test for the Museum of Art, which has been
coming under scrutiny for its pitiful attendance figures.

For this rare show, teachers of all levels should be queueing up to collect
the information packs and booking their students for guided sessions; there
should be clever and trendy adverts on television and throughout the MTR; the
press should have been informed a month in advance (which they were not);
people
should be talking; the galleries should be full.

It will be interesting to see how many people make the effort to see this
show. If they number less than a few thousand every day, then perhaps it is
time
our Museum of Art got back to basics, took a tip from its sponsors, and had a
look at how it really can create value for the money Hong Kong taxpayers place
in it.

Museum of Art until November 30. 10am-6pm Tues-Sat; 1pm-6pm Sun and public
holidays. Also: Carolyn Muir talks about The Landscape and the Figure (in
English), Oct 25, 2.30pm; and Jackie Kwok looks at Light in 17th-Century
Realistic Painting (in Cantonese), Nov 1, 2.30pm. $ 10 ($ 5) - Wednesdays free

GRAPHIC: Vivid . . . Giorgio de Chirico: Metaphysical Interior with Picture of
Villa; Workof art . . . Francois Boucher'soil on canvasPastoral Music, one of61
works at the Museum of Art's latest exhibition

Soka Gakkai Sr. Leader Reformists

Ikeda Issued the marching orders:
"Let us proudly advance on the supreme road to Kosenrufu as we
BRING AN END to the [High Priest] Nikken sect"
WT, March 1, 1993, p. 4

Jedes Mittel für den Kampf!!!
SGI-Deutschland Memo 12-28-97

The Culties reply to their sensei:
The Soka Gakkai also has begun a campaign of harassment
against the priests. Rumors have been spread that the Taisekiji
Temple grounds are in disarray, with stray dogs wandering
about and robbers lurking in the shadows. Right-wing groups
park their sound trucks outside the temple and blast out their
criticism of the priests..."
Los Angeles Times, 12/16/91

"I know what the group does to people whom it
regards as its enemies. It's not safe for anyone
who dares to criticize it."
TIME - THE POWER OF SOKA GAKKAI

http://pathfinder.com/@@cQhxKQUA1N@02C68/time/international/1995/951120/ja
pan.html

Ms. U witnessed four SGI senior leaders storm Bukkenji Temple.
She attempted to take a photograph of the vehicle that they
had arrived in. The four persons turned their attention on her
and charged her, knocking her into the air. When she hit the
ground, they brutally kicked and assaulted her. She suffered
multiple serious injuries, a broken hip and spinal fractures.
Shukan Jitsuwa 12/02/93

The list showed this powerful
nonprofit group, which has been involved in several other scandals
this year, received slightly more than $3 million from
Kokusai Securities...
New York Times - THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 1991

But as the police have begun to unravel puzzle of the Yokohama safe
...the money has been linked to a powerful, militant Buddhist religious
sect, the Soka Gakkai. The sect, in turn, controls the Komeito or Clean
Government party.."
New York Times 7/20/ 89 - - Japan Finds Latest Scandal in a Dump

One member of the group of four monks and six followers
said they were verbally abused and punched by local members of
the Singapore Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Association
(SNSBA) [Soka Gakkai Singapore].
The Straits Times - TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1991

"They tried to chase us when my sisters
went out. They came to our home to try to harass us. My former
friends told lies to get my phone number. When they called,
they said,‘You will go to hell, you will be unhappy’. Some were
subjected to physical violence. There was an order by Ikeda to
harass members who leave the cult."
Japan’s Rush Hour of The Gods
THE AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE
http://www.cebunet.com/sgi/rushour.htm

..."a mob of Soka Gakkai members, marched into the Kaishinji temple during a
religious service. Shoving aside worshippers, they seized Yahiro and
Kashiwazaki. I thought I was going to die, recalls Yahiro, an
asthmatic. He almost did. A large man grabbed Yahiro by his necktie and lifted
him off the floor, and others took turns punching him until he passed out."
TIME Magazine November 20, 1995 Volume 146, No. 21
http://pathfinder.com/@@S4Ji*gUAlYDFN9mI/time/international/1995/951120/TI
DE.HTM

"...several hundred Soka Gakkai members invaded his temple during a
service and beat him so severely that he was hospitalized for three months.
Yahiro's hospitalization in April 1991 brought to light a brewing battle..."
San Francisco Chronicle: - Japan Fears Another Religious Sect
http://www.sfgate.com/programs/srch_archive/srch_archive_wrap?unregistered
=true&WAISdocFile=/WAISlink/chronicle/archive/1995/12/27/MN62956.DTL&WAISd
bName=/doc_root/wais/chronicle/1995&WAISaction=retrieve&WAISdocID=06669143
97+0+0+0&WAISheadline=PAGE

SGI corporate charter:
3.SGI shall respect and protect the freedom of religion and religious
expression.

7.SGI shall, based on the Buddhist spirit of tolerance, respect other
religions...
SOURCE: SGI Homepage

__________

And here is the NSA memo in its entirety....

In a NSA memo dated September 11, 1991, circulated to All Joint Territories
from Public Relations and Publications Bureau clarified the recent incidents
cited in the media press. The function of this memo is intended to clarify the
incidents involving the Soka Gakkai so that questions asked by your members may
be answered clearly. Please utilize this information effectively.

Thank you very much.

Controversey is nothing new to Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. The persecutions
against him and his followers are well documented.

As the Soka Gakkai continues to spread his teachings throughout the world,
obstacles will invariably appear to hamper its progress, too. In Japan over
its 60 year history, the Soka Gakkai and its many members have had to endure
many trying times. Many incidents occurred - some innocently, some
maliciously-that have caused some confusion among the membership and in
society.

In each case, however, the Soka Gakkai's righteousness has been proven and the
truth has been brought out. The members have grown in faith, and the
organization itself has been purified and strengthened.

Recently, the Soka Gakkai has been the subject of a number of accusations in
the media. In the past, because such allegations in Japan have proved
groundless, news of them rarely went beyond Japan's borders. However, these
recent incidents have been referred to in some newspapers in the U.S.
Therefore, we would like to offer the following clarifications for the members.

Securities Firm Acknowledges Responsibility

The first incident involves Japanese securities firms making payments to
prominent clients to make up for investment lossess. This type of unfair
compensation was paid by Kokusai Securities, an investment firm also hired by
the Soka Gakkai.

However, the Gakkai did not receive such unfair compensation. Mr. Yoshitaka
Matsutani, president of Kokusai Securities, recently revealed a list of clients
who had allegedly received such compensation. He later clarified the
circumstance surrounding the Soka Gakkai's involvement, saying that, "The
compensation received by the Gakkai is very different from the unfair
compensation that is now an issue."

Contributions received by the Soka Gakkai from its members have consistenly
been handled most conscientiously, making every effort to use such funds
effectively for kosen-rufu with as little risk as possible. In consideration
for the sincerity of members, the Gakkai has sought the advice of experts to
maximize the effectivness of these funds, making time deposits a basic
investment strategy.

Under these circumstances, in March 1987, the Gakkai opened a trust fund with
Toyo Shintaku Bank and arranged that it be managed by the Kokusai Securities
Company. It was clearly stated and agreed that the trust funds were to be
managed with the instruction and understanding of the investor. But the
Kokusai Securities Company blatantly disregarded this rule and managed the
funds without consulting the Gakkai.

The Soka Gakkai made repeated protests to the securities company for its
mismanagement and, as of September 19, 1988, stopped its dealings with them.
Yet because of the serious contract violation committed by the Kokusai
Securities Company, the Soka Gakkai felt it was only natural -legally and
morally- to seek compensation for the losses it suffered, lossess caused by
Kokusai's mismangement.

Kokusai offered to compensate the losses the Gakkai suffered. Regarding this
compensation, Kokusai stated, "By rights, we are obligated to pay immediately
for the loss we caused, but if we do so, it could seriously damage our
reputation. Therefore, let us compensate you over the next year." The person
within the company in charge of the Gakkai's trust fund was punished.

Considering the internal situation of the securities company, the Gakkai agreed
to handle the matter carefully and accept 457 million yen (approx. 3.26
million) in compensation over the course of the following year.

General news coveraged failed to recognize the circumstances regarding this
incident, instead confusing it with the unfolding securities scandals in which
several brokerage houses have unfairly compensated major clients. Mr.
Matsutani, president of Kokusai, stated at the July 31 press conference,
"Because we managed the Gakkai's money on our own unwarranted initative and
thereby created a loss, we must take responsibility. We thus compensated the
Gakkai's loss. This is far removed from the unfair compensation that went to
other clients who have been listed."

Revised Tax Returns

The second incident involved the Soka Gakkai's recent payment of back taxes.
After an investigation by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, on May 7, the
Soka Gakkai revised tax returns for the three year period of fiscal 1987, 1988,
and 1989 on revenues gained from operating cemetaries builty by the
organization. The revised returns report a revenue of about 2.38 billion yen,
the tax of which is 640 yen (approx. $4.5 million).

The revision was made because the taxation bureau authorities differed from the
Soka Gakkai in the interpretation of relevant regulations concerning the
operation of cemeteries. The Soka Gakkai originally took the position that the
revenue from the lease of plots, sales from gravestones and the building of
underground burial pits in "standardized graves" should be considered as one
unit. Therefore, the Soka Gakkai felt they should be tax exempt
because the operation of cemeteries is a bona fide activity of a religious
foundation.

The taxation bureau authorities, however, judged that although the rents for
permanent use of the plots were tax exempt, the revenue from the sales of
gravetsones and the building of underground burial pits are taxable.

This was a precedent-setting interpretations of the scope of taxation on
"standardized graves." Although the tax authorities agreed and understood the
Gakkai's interpretation, they nonetheless asked the Gakkai to accept this new
clarification of the law and to pay the back taxes. The Soka Gakkai,
therefore, had no alternative than to submit revised tax returns.

Other than the case mentioned, the taxation bureau found no irregularities in
the Soka Gakkai's settlement of accounts.

Discovery of a Safe

The tax bureau's investigation was in directly caused by the discovery in a
Yokohama dump some two years ago of a safe containing some 170 million yen
(approx. 1 million) in cash. The police investigation revealed that the safe
belonged to Mr. Haruo Nakanishi, a former director of the Seikyo Press.

According to Mr. Nakanishi, beginning in 1970 he was involved in a business on
the grounds of the Head Temple Taiseki-ji, a practice prohibited by the Soka
Gakkai. Over the three years he made a profit of some 170 million yen (1
million) which he kept in his personal safe, located in a storeroom in the
Seikyo Shimbun building. He left the money in the safe for many years, and
because it was not registered in the Seikyo Press' book of assets it was
sent to the dump.

Mr. Nakanishi says, "By taking advantage of my position, and without the
persmission from the Soka Gakkai, I as a headquarters staff member, engaged
myself in a private business, which I knew was prohibited. I know I have no
excuse, nd I deeply reflect upon myself now. I am very sorry to disturb the
members and society by this incident. I am thinking of contributing this money
to charities."

Soka gakkai President Einosuke Akiya said at the time: "I am very sorry that
such an unimaginable incident has occurred and disturbed many people. The Soka
Gakkai has been very strict especially about handling money and personnel.
Because of this tradition, the Gakkai has gained profound trust from its
membership and society at large.

"However, this reputation was damaged because, regrettably enough, it was found
that a leader of the Soka Gakkai Headquarters was involved in this incident.
Many sincere members must be wondering why such a thing could happen. With my
deep apology I emphathize with them. In any case, the Seikyo Press already
dismissed him, and from a Buddhist viewpoint, this is a typical example of "the
devils entering into one's body and thus destroying one's
faith." As a result of losing the correct spirit of faith, I cannot help
concluding he fell prey to his selfish ego, which resulted in such a bizarre
incident. So that such a thing will never happen again, we will be even more
strict with ourselves. We will make every possible effort to reply to people's
trust of us."

Renoir Paintings

Finally, recent newspaper and magazine reports in Japan have maliciously
implied that the Soka Gakkai received 1.5 billion (approx. 11 million) kickback
from Mitsubishi Corp. for the purchase by the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum of two
Renoir paintings--"Women after Bathing" and "Women Reading." However, under no
circumstances did the Soka Gakkai receive any monies whatsoever from any of the
parties involved.

Two years ago Soka Gakkai Vice President Yahiro learned that these paintings
would be coming on the market for 3.6 billion yen (approx. 26 million). He
passed the information on to the museum. The Fuji Art Museum decided to
purchase the paintings, but because it lacked sufficient funds, it searched for
a trustworthy broker who was financially capable of purchasing the paintings
and holding them for future transition to the museum. Mitsubishi Corp.
agreed to be the broker.

In March 1989, Mitsubishi Corp. delivered checks for 3.6 billion yen to the
agent representing the sellers and received in return the receipt, the
paintings and certificates of authenticity. With support from the Soka Gakkai,
the museum was then able to acquire the funding necessary to purchase the
paintings from Mitsubishi Corp., which it did in September 1990. The purchase
price at that time was 4.1 billion yen which included interest.

Later it was learned that the sellers' original price was only 2.1 billion, a
fact that the Soka Gakkai knew nothing about. What the sellers chose to do
with the money after it was paid by Mitsubishi Corp. had nothing to do with the
museum or the Soka Gakkai. Accusations of kickbacks are totally groundless. A
Soka Gakkai news release states: "Because local elections are nearing their
conclusion, it seems likely that someone is maliciously
attempting to attack the Soka Gakkai with fabricated accusations based on pure
speculation."

The Future

Obstacles like these will always try to damage the Soka Gakkai's reputation and
interfere with efforts to propagate Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. But they
can all be turned into benefits for the members and the organization.
Recently, President Ikeda talked about Victor Hugo's view of history, which he
stated was: "Storms make possible great cleansing." The SGI leader continues,
"a storm may knock down a few trees. In some respects, it is
unavoidable that trees with weak roots are toppled over. Although it may wreak
havoc, a storm leaves the forest refreshingly purified and cleansed. As long
as the forest has the strength to overcome and endure, the benefit to be gained
from the storm is great.... The Soka Gakkai's history, too, has been a
succession of storms. Through each storm we have gone on to build an even
purer forest-one of tranquility, capable people and humanity-and to
expand widely the strong and beautiful realm of the Soka family."

Thank you for the opportunity to share this. --chinberg