What do you think?
Rate this book
A Poisonous Cocktail? Aum Shinrikyo's Path to Violence
This highly acclaimed study describes Aum Shinrikyo’s history, examines the various conflicts it was involved in, and discusses the contents of Asahara’s sermons and prophecies.
The March 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway system killed 12 people and injured thousands. Massive police raids and the subsequent investigation linked this attack (plus a variety of other criminal activities including murders) to Aum Shinrikyo, a small religious movement whose leader, Asahara Shoko, had prophesied that Armageddon was at hand.
Many questions have been raised by the Aum affair. What were Aum’s spiritual roots and the focus of Asahara’s teaching? Why did a religious movement ostensibly focused on yoga, meditation, asceticism and the pursuit of enlightenment become involved in violent activities? What factors brought Aum into conflict with society at large, caused it to believe it was the victim of a huge conspiracy to destroy it, and impelled it to experiment with making nerve gasses, build weapons and form its own ‘alternative government’?
Ian Reader examines these questions by describing Aum’s history, examining the various conflicts it was involved in, and discussing the contents of Asahara’s sermons and prophesies. In so doing, he points to a combination of factors which together took Aum down a path of violence. Suggesting that the Aum case is not unique, he shows how it displays similarities with other cases of violence and conflict among religious and political movements in Japan and elsewhere.
The March 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway system killed 12 people and injured thousands. Massive police raids and the subsequent investigation linked this attack (plus a variety of other criminal activities including murders) to Aum Shinrikyo, a small religious movement whose leader, Asahara Shoko, had prophesied that Armageddon was at hand.
Many questions have been raised by the Aum affair. What were Aum’s spiritual roots and the focus of Asahara’s teaching? Why did a religious movement ostensibly focused on yoga, meditation, asceticism and the pursuit of enlightenment become involved in violent activities? What factors brought Aum into conflict with society at large, caused it to believe it was the victim of a huge conspiracy to destroy it, and impelled it to experiment with making nerve gasses, build weapons and form its own ‘alternative government’?
Ian Reader examines these questions by describing Aum’s history, examining the various conflicts it was involved in, and discussing the contents of Asahara’s sermons and prophesies. In so doing, he points to a combination of factors which together took Aum down a path of violence. Suggesting that the Aum case is not unique, he shows how it displays similarities with other cases of violence and conflict among religious and political movements in Japan and elsewhere.
- GenresHistory
126 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
23 people want to read
About the author
Ian Reader
45 books5 followersIan Reader is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Manchester, UK.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 3, 2025
For me, the Tokyo subway poison gas attack is one of those “remember where I was” events. This short book was published the following year, in 1996, when some of the legal cases were still pending. Nevertheless, thirty years on, it seemed to be the best option for learning about Aum Shinrikyo’s development as an organization and a religion.
Aum appropriated some elements of Hinduism and Christianity, notably the Apocalypse. And its leader, Shoko Asahara, announced himself as the new Christ. Still, it had most in common with Buddhism, first Mahayana and then Vajrayana. Rather than dismissing Aum as a sham religion, the author explains its trajectory precisely in religious terms.
Of course, not all religions develop as Aum did. The author also points to its leadership dynamic, and draws parallels with two other movements which turned to violence. Asahara withdrew more and more from the bulk of his adherents, which gave him more of an aura, but tended to divorce his ideas from reality. The author points out that his power couldn't have been maintained without an inner circle, meaning that the “only following orders” defence isn't credible for all Aum members.
The author compares Aum to the movement of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, in its Oregon phase, where relations with neighbours deteriorated as far as attempted murder and a bioterror attack with Salmonella. The other organization is, perhaps surprisingly, a faction of the Japanese Red Army, whose self-criticism exercise escalated to the murder of most of the members. The author draws a parallel with Aum's ascetic exercises, which were also fatal in some cases, and which were initiated without training from experienced practitioners.
Finally, the author explains the subway attack as the last in a series that had, in fact, met Aum's objectives up to then. Their previous bioterror attack was carried out near the houses of the judges in a case that was going against them, but which was subsequently postponed. The author argues that the subway station that bore the brunt of the Tokyo attack was near a police base from which Aum expected a raid on their properties to be launched imminently.
Some of Aum’s actions are still barely credible, such as maintaining its own hospitals, hoarding millions of dollars in gold and cash, and importing a military helicopter from Russia. All the more so because, on this author's account, low numbers of recruits were a major concern to Aum in the years leading up to 1995. Here, a sociological, as opposed to religious, outlook would have helped. But, overall, this is a concise and insightful analysis of the movement’s history.
Aum appropriated some elements of Hinduism and Christianity, notably the Apocalypse. And its leader, Shoko Asahara, announced himself as the new Christ. Still, it had most in common with Buddhism, first Mahayana and then Vajrayana. Rather than dismissing Aum as a sham religion, the author explains its trajectory precisely in religious terms.
Of course, not all religions develop as Aum did. The author also points to its leadership dynamic, and draws parallels with two other movements which turned to violence. Asahara withdrew more and more from the bulk of his adherents, which gave him more of an aura, but tended to divorce his ideas from reality. The author points out that his power couldn't have been maintained without an inner circle, meaning that the “only following orders” defence isn't credible for all Aum members.
The author compares Aum to the movement of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, in its Oregon phase, where relations with neighbours deteriorated as far as attempted murder and a bioterror attack with Salmonella. The other organization is, perhaps surprisingly, a faction of the Japanese Red Army, whose self-criticism exercise escalated to the murder of most of the members. The author draws a parallel with Aum's ascetic exercises, which were also fatal in some cases, and which were initiated without training from experienced practitioners.
Finally, the author explains the subway attack as the last in a series that had, in fact, met Aum's objectives up to then. Their previous bioterror attack was carried out near the houses of the judges in a case that was going against them, but which was subsequently postponed. The author argues that the subway station that bore the brunt of the Tokyo attack was near a police base from which Aum expected a raid on their properties to be launched imminently.
Some of Aum’s actions are still barely credible, such as maintaining its own hospitals, hoarding millions of dollars in gold and cash, and importing a military helicopter from Russia. All the more so because, on this author's account, low numbers of recruits were a major concern to Aum in the years leading up to 1995. Here, a sociological, as opposed to religious, outlook would have helped. But, overall, this is a concise and insightful analysis of the movement’s history.
May 16, 2018
An easy-to-read, concise, and balanced review of the history of and events leading to Aum Shinrikyo and its actions.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews