著者

前川 理子

出版者

東京大学文学部宗教学研究室

雑誌

東京大学宗教学年報 (ISSN:2896400)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.13, pp.107-121, 1996-03-30

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This paper examines the philosophy of "Zen-sei", which H.Noguchi (1911~1976) a founder of the "Seitai Kyokai" association developed in his body work practices, with an emphasis on its central concept of "Inochi" meaning "life". "Inochi", however, does not simply mean a biological continuity, but conveys a source of wisdom : moral, intellectual, and biological. Noguchi stresses the self-adjusting, self-sufficient, reflexive nature of "Inochi" both biologically and intellectually. The entity does not only have a natural self-healing power within itself, but also has the intelligence that knows and tells us what to do. The aim of Noguchi's body work is to calm ourselves in order to hear the voice of ultimate wisdom of "Inochi" coming from inside. "Inochi" is thus regarded as an irreducible principle of living that guides us biologically and mentally simply by virtue of its teleological instinct. Noguchi defined an ideal life as embodied in the philosophy of "Zen-sei" to be free from all socially-given moral obligations, but still maintaining naturally the harmonious relations with society. What induced him to teach body work was his frustrated observation of oppressed and thus non-functional people who simply did not use their inherent abilities that derive from "Inochi". Shrunk under the weight of moral duties and the increasing number of scientific discourses related to self-discipline deployed in modernizing Japan held sway over people. He pays special attention to popularized medical discourse and also to a physical education in schools that invite our psycho-physical improvement for constructing an unbending body and mind. He claims that exercising the practices they espouse indeed leads to disastrous effects that actually diminish our autonomous potentials, since those practices undermine the work of "Inochi", and suppress natural bodily functions. Noguchi's motive of "Inochi" derived from such insights on the surroundings of our body and mind, and his efforts were directed for avoiding the force of this contradiction. For a socio-cultural study of body-mind practices, we must remember that our bodies emerge in different kinds of engagement and intervention; pedagogical teaching and writing, medical and other social practices. Body and mind are discursive, social constructions. In this respect, efficacy aside, Noguchi's attempts are valuable as they aim at the reconstruction of our bodies and minds against the prevailing scientific discourses and practices that have dominated our everyday life in the first half of this century.