Jump to content

Shoko Asahara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lodevermeiren (talk | contribs) at 06:14, 6 July 2018 (→‎Accusations and trial: punctuation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Shoko Asahara
Born
Chizuo Matsumoto

(1955-03-02)March 2, 1955
Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
DiedJuly 6, 2018(2018-07-06) (aged 63)
Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation(s)Religious leader, founder of Aum Shinrikyo
Criminal charge(s)Murder, terrorism
Criminal penaltyDeath by hanging
Criminal statusExecuted
SpouseTomoko Matsumoto (renamed “Akari Matsumoto” after her release from prison)
Children12–15

Shoko Asahara (麻原 彰晃, Asahara Shōkō, March 2, 1955 – July 6, 2018), born Chizuo Matsumoto (松本 智津夫, Matsumoto Chizuo) was the founder of the Japanese doomsday cult group Aum Shinrikyo. Asahara was convicted for being the mastermind behind the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and several other crimes, for which he was sentenced to death in 2004. In June 2012, his execution was postponed due to further arrests of Aum Shinrikyo members.[1] He was executed by hanging on July 6, 2018.[2][3]

Early years

Asahara was born into a large, poor family of tatami mat makers in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture.[4] He had infantile glaucoma since birth, which made him lose all sight in his left eye and go partially blind in his right eye at a young age, and was thus enrolled in a school for the blind.[4] Asahara was known to be a bully at the school, taking advantage of the other students by beating them and extorting money from them. Asahara graduated in 1977 and turned to the study of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, which were common careers for the blind in Japan.[5] He married the following year and eventually fathered 12 children, the oldest of whom was born in 1978.[citation needed]

In 1981, Asahara was convicted of practicing pharmacy without a license and selling unregulated drugs, for which he was fined ¥200,000 (US$900 at change rate at the time).[6]

Asahara's interest in religion reportedly started at this time. Having been recently married, he worked to support his large and growing family.[7] He dedicated his free time to the study of various religious concepts, starting with Chinese astrology and Taoism.[8] Later, Asahara practiced western esotericism, yoga, meditation, esoteric Buddhism, and esoteric Christianity.[citation needed]

Aum Shinrikyo

In 1987, Shoko Asahara officially changed his name from Chizuo Matsumoto and applied for government registration of the group Aum Shinrikyo. The authorities were initially reluctant, but eventually granted it legal recognition as a religious organization after an appeal in 1989. After this, a monastic order was established, and many lay followers joined. Shoko Asahara gained credibility by appearing on TV and on magazine covers. He gradually attained a following of believers and began being invited to lecture-meeting at universities. Asahara has also written many religious books, the best known being Beyond Life and Death, Mahayana Sutra, and Initiation.[citation needed]

The doctrine of Aum Shinrikyo is based on the Vajrayana scriptures, the Bible, and other texts. In 1992 Asahara published Declaring Myself the Christ, within which he declared himself "Christ",[9] Japan's only fully enlightened master, and identified with the "Lamb of God".[10] His purported mission was to take others' sins upon himself, and he claimed he could transfer spiritual power to his followers.[11] He also saw dark conspiracies everywhere, promulgated by the Jews, the Freemasons, the Dutch,[failed verification] the British Royal Family, and rival Japanese religions.[12] He outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a third World War, and described a final conflict culminating in a nuclear "Armageddon", borrowing the term from the Book of Revelation 16:16.[13][page needed]

Asahara often preached the necessity of Armageddon for "human relief". He eventually declared, "Put tantra Vajrayana into practice in accordance with the doctrines of Mahamudra," and he led a series of terrorist attacks using a secret organization hidden from ordinary believers.[14] Aum Shinrikyo's violence against large numbers of nonspecific people is cited by those who have studied Vajrayana and Mahamudra as proof that Asahara did not understand them.[citation needed] Some people, including lawyers and journalists, saw through the religious fanaticism of Aum Shinrikyo. They continued speaking out about the danger of Aum Shinrikyo in spite of the danger to their own lives, but received little attention.[15]

There were believers among the Japanese police force that had been secretly updating Aum Shinrikyo with details concerning investigations.[citation needed] The media not only helped increase the number of Aum believers, but in one case mistakenly helped Aum Shinrikyo commit an act of homicide (the Sakamoto family murder). In addition, several well-known religious scholars and philosophers praised Aum Shinrikyo as an authentic religion;[15] some scholars even insisted that Tokyo subway sarin attack was not Aum's crime.[clarification needed] As a result, many crimes perpetrated by the cult were not properly investigated.[citation needed]

Tokyo subway gas attack, and arrest

Main article: Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

On March 20, 1995, members of Aum Shinrikyo attacked the Tokyo subway with the nerve gas sarin. Thirteen people died and thousands more suffered ill effects. After finding sufficient evidence, authorities accused Aum Shinrikyo of complicity in the attack, as well as in a number of smaller-scale incidents. Dozens of disciples were arrested, Aum's facilities were raided, and the court issued an order for Shoko Asahara's arrest.[citation needed]

On May 16, 1995, the police corps investigated the headquarters of Aum Shinrikyo. Asahara was discovered in a very small, isolated room in one of the facilities. Wary of possible Aum military power, the First Airborne Brigade of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force was stationed nearby to support the police if needed.[15][16]

Many small glass bottles containing short curly hair were discovered in Asahara's private room. The bottles were labeled with the names of his female followers. Both marriage and sexual relations between pupils were forbidden by Asahara, but Aum believed that the founder was exempt from this rule and was permitted to have sexual relationships with many women for the integrity of tantras initiation.[citation needed]

Asahara did not have a private residence, and therefore he held his relationships in official headquarters. When the woman was a virgin, she was considered to be a dakini. One such dakini took part in the sarin gas attack under Asahara's instruction.[citation needed]

Accusations and trial

Shoko Asahara faced 27 counts of murder in 13 separate indictments. The prosecution argued that Asahara gave orders to attack the Tokyo Subway in order to "overthrow the government and install himself in the position of Emperor of Japan". Several years later, the prosecution forwarded an additional theory that the attacks were ordered to divert police attention away from Aum. The prosecution also accused Asahara of masterminding the Matsumoto incident and the Sakamoto family murder. According to Asahara's defense team, a group of senior followers initiated the atrocities and kept them a secret from Asahara.[citation needed]

During the trials, some of the disciples testified against Asahara, and he was found guilty on 13 of 17 charges, including the Sakamoto family murder; four charges were dropped. On February 27, 2004, he was sentenced to death by hanging.[citation needed]

The trial was called the "trial of the century" by the Japanese media. During the trials, Asahara resigned from his position as the Aum Shinrikyo representative in an attempt to prevent the group from being forcefully dissolved by the state.[citation needed]

The defense appealed Asahara's sentencing on the grounds that he was mentally unfit, and psychiatric examinations were undertaken. During the examinations, Asahara never spoke. However, he communicated with the staff at his detention facility, which convinced the examiner that Asahara was maintaining his silence out of free will. Because his lawyers never submitted the statement of reason for appeal, the Tokyo High Court decided on March 27, 2006 not to grant them leave to appeal. This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of Japan on September 15, 2006. Two re-trial appeals were declined by the appellate court.[citation needed]

In June 2012, Asahara's execution was postponed due to arrests of several fugitive Aum Shinrikyo members.[1]

Asahara was executed by hanging on July 6, 2018 at the Tokyo Detention House, 23 years after the sarin gas attack.[2][3][17]

See also

Further reading

  • Asahara, Shoko (1988). Supreme Initiation: An Empirical Spiritual Science for the Supreme Truth. AUM USA Inc. ISBN 0-945638-00-0.—highlights the main stages of Yogic and Buddhist practice, comparing Yoga-sutra system by Patanjali and the Eightfold Noble Path from Buddhist tradition.
  • Asahara, Shoko (1993). Life and Death. Shizuoka: Aum. ISBN 4-87142-072-8.—focuses on the process of Kundalini-Yoga, one of the stages in Aum's practice.
  • Beckford, James A. (1998). "A Poisonous Cocktail? Aum Shinrikyo's Path to Violence". Nova Religio. 1 (2): 305–6. doi:10.1525/nr.1998.1.2.305.
  • Berson, Tom (September 22, 1997). "Are We Ready for Chemical Warfare?". News World Communications.
  • Brackett, D. W. (1996). Holy Terror: Armageddon in Tokyo. Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0-8348-0353-4.
  • Kiyoyasu, Kitabatake (1 September 1995). "Aum Shinrikyo: Society Begets an Aberration". Japan Quarterly. 42 (4): 376. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
  • Murakami, Haruki; Birnbaum, Alfred; Gabriel, Philip (2001). Underground (1st ed.). New York: Vintage International. ISBN 978-0-375-72580-7.

References

  1. ^ a b "Execution of Aum founder likely postponed". asiaone News. The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network. June 5, 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "Aum Shinrikyo: Japan executes cult leader Shoko Asahara". BBC News. July 6, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara hanged for mass murder: reports". The Japan Times. July 6, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Atkins, Stephen E. (2004). Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-313-32485-7.
  5. ^ Dharmananda, Subhuti. "Japanese Acupuncture: Blind Acupuncturists, Insertion Tubes, Abdominal Diagnosis, and the Benten Goddess". Institute for Traditional Medicine. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  6. ^ Drozdek, Boris; John P. Wilson (2007). Voices of Trauma: Treating Psychological Trauma Across Cultures. Springer Science. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-387-69794-9.
  7. ^ Métraux, Daniel Alfred (1999). Aum Shinrikyo and Japanese youth. University Press of America. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-7618-1417-7.
  8. ^ Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2005). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-19-515683-6.
  9. ^ Snow, Robert L. (2003). Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-275-98052-8.
  10. ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2006). The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-567-04133-3.
  11. ^ Griffith, Lee (2004). The War on Terrorism and the Terror of God. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-8028-2860-6.
  12. ^ Goldwag, Arthur (2009). Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, the Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Black Helicopters, the New World Order, and Many, Many More. Random House. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-307-39067-7.
  13. ^ Lifton, Robert Jay (1 August 2000). Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8050-6511-4.
  14. ^ Senate Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (October 31, 1995). "III. Background of the Cult". Global Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Case Study on the Aum Shinrikyo.
  15. ^ a b c Huffpost Society (May 12, 2015). "What is the "universality"? we should have learned from Aum Shinrikyo case after 20 years". The Huffington Post (in Japanese).
  16. ^ Koshimizu, Richard. "TOTAL INDEX PAGE of Aum Shinrikyo case" (in Japanese).
  17. ^ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/japan-sarin-attack-cult-leader-executed-asahara-10503944
  • Aleph: the organization's official website, with an English section
  • A Japan Times article about two documentary films on Aleph.
  • [1] BBC link & photos
  • IMDB: Documentary films A (1998) and A2 (2001) by Tatsuya Mori
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoko_Asahara&oldid=849056699"