The Structure of “Dependency” in Sakaguchi Ango’s Critique of Cult Leadership in “Narcotics, Suicide, Religion”

This study clarifies the concept of “dependency” underlying Sakaguchi Ango’s post-war critique of the cult leadership, and analyzes the inevitability of its emergence. Focusing on the essay “Narcotics, Suicide, Religion,” it defines the psychology of “addiction”, characterized by the loss of “will”, as dependency. Ango’s wariness about addiction stemmed from external factors, such as pre-war images of “heretical religions” and post-war social confusion, and internal factors, specifically his unique religious perspective and personal experience with drug addiction. Significantly, this research re-evaluates the essay as a text that condenses the structural mechanism of cult leadership. By examining the intersection of social background and Ango’s internal world, it reframes his work as a multilayered endeavor linking historical turmoil with personal ideology. This framework further extends to an analysis of fiction like “Yonagahime to Mimio” and Ango’s critique of the emperor system. Ultimately, distinguishing unconscious dependency from “conscious reliance” as an autonomous survival strategy offers a new basis for rethinking Ango’s view of humanity and his unique position in the post-war debate surrounding subjectivity.