Background
Girō Senoo was born in 1890 in the district of Nuka (present-day Hiba) in Hiroshima Prefecture.
妹尾 義郎
Girō Senoo was born in 1890 in the district of Nuka (present-day Hiba) in Hiroshima Prefecture.
In 1909 he was forced to withdraw from the First High School because of stomach trouble and tuberculosis of the lungs. He returned to his home to recuperate.
While there he became a convert to Nichiren Buddhism through the efforts of a bean curd merchant named Matsuzaki Kyutaro. In 1918 he went to Tokyo and became a disciple of Honda Nissho, a priest of Toitsu- kaku in Asakusa. In 1919 he organized a Nichiren sect young men’s group called Dai-Nihon Nichiren Shugi Seinendan. He began publication of a magazine representing the group, called Wakai Hito (Young People), and a movement called Ugoku Tera (Movable Temple), taking an active part in social work. He leaned increasingly in the direction of socialism and in 1931 disbanded the young men's group. In its place he formed a nonsectarian Buddhist young men’s group called Shinko BukkyS Seinen Domei (Shinko Bussei) dedicated to religious reform. The group published a paper called Shinko Bukkyo no Hata no Motoni. He was active in the popular front movement and in 1935 became editor and publisher of the labor magazine Rodo Zasshi.
In 1936 he was arrested on suspicion of subversive activity, and in 1937 all the officers of the young men’s organization were arrested and the group was disbanded. After the Pacific War, he determined to take up farm life in Minami Azumi in Nagano Prefecture, but he continued to be active in public affairs, serving as head of the Bukkyo Shakai Domei, the Nitchu Yuko Kyokai, the Tokyo Rengo, and the Nitcho Kyokai, all left-wing organizations.
In 1959 he became a member of the Japan Communist Party.