Though Fumiko considered the belief systems put forth by the Salvation Army group and the Socialists, she eventually settled on nihilism as her guiding philosophy. Her perception of nihilism changed over time, as is indicated by a statement she made to the court in 1925. She stated, in reference to the strictly negative version of nihilism she originally pursued, that “formerly I said ‘I negate life’... my negation of all life was completely meaningless... The stronger the affirmation of life, the stronger the creation of life- negation together with rebellion. Therefore, I affirm life.” However, she also takes care to define what this affirmation of life means for a nihilist, which she expects to be very different from the perspectives of the officials: “Living is not synonymous with merely having movement. It is moving in accordance with one’s will… one could say that with deeds, one begins to really live. Accordingly, when one moves by means of one’s own will and this leads to the destruction of one’s body, this is not a negation of life. It is an affirmation.”