Religion and Society in Modern Japan: Selected Readings

by Mullins, Mark R.; Susumu, Shimazono; Swanson, Paul L.

• ISBN13: 9780895819369
• ISBN10: 0895819368
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-12-01
• Publisher: Asian Humanities Pr

Summary

Designed for classroom study, this anthology provides the students with interpretations and perspectives on the significance of religion in modern Japan. Emphasis is placed on the sociocultural expressions of religion in everyday life, rather than on religious texts or traditions. A particular strength of this collection is the combination of current Japanese and Western scholarship.

Table of Contents

Preface
Japanese Religiosity
Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion	p. 7
Religious Rituals in Shugendo	p. 31
Religion in Contemporary Japanese Society	p. 49
Religion and the State
Background Documents	p. 81
Meiji Constitution (1889), Article 28	p. 81
Imperial Rescript on Education (1890)	p. 81
Memorandum on State Shinto, 3 December 1945	p. 82
Directive for the Disestablishment of State Shinto, 15 December 1945	p. 97
Emperor's Imperial Rescript Denying his Divinity, 1 January 1946	p. 102
Constitution of Japan, Articles 20 and 89	p. 104
The Revitalization of Japanese Civil Religion	p. 105
Yasukuni-Jinja and Folk Religion	p. 121
Traditional Religious Institutions
Buddhism as a Religion of the Family	p. 139
Religious Rites in a Japanese Factory	p. 157
Mizuko Kuyo and Abortion in Contemporary Japan	p. 171
Pokkuri-Temples and Aging	p. 191
Soto Zen Nuns in Modern Japan	p. 203
New Religious Movements
Soka Gakkai and the Slippery Slope from Militancy to Accommodation	p. 231
Magic and Morality in Modern Japanese Exorcistic Technologies	p. 239
Christianity as a New Religion	p. 257
The Expansion of Japan's New Religions into Foreign Cultures	p. 273
Cumulative Bibliography
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.