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Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions Lecture #10 :Religions 2 (Fringe Religions) 3. Confucianism (Jukyō 儒教) Based on the teaching of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (552-479 b.c.). At first glance, Confucianism looks like a very minor religion in Japan Very few people formally identify themselves as Confucians – those that do are mainly scholars or philosophers. There is only one major center left: Yushima Seidô in Tokyo (founded by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1690). Yet Confucianism is influential. Where Shinto is a set of magical beliefs with no moral code, Confucianism seems like the opposite: an elaborate code of behavior, a philosophy that has appealed to rulers because of its stress on obedience and order. (That’s why the shoguns were interested enough to set up Yushima Seidō.) Morality based on social order: Confucianism recognizes five virtues, deriving from five fundamental human relationships: justice, between ruler and ruled; benevolence, between parent and child; propriety, between husband and wife; order, between elder and younger; and sincerity, between friends. Note that all but the last of those five virtues are modeled on unequal relationships assuming a senior and junior partner. Conservative politicians still find Confucius an inspiration. Confucius says in The Analects, "If the people have no faith in their leaders, they cannot stand." That is one of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's favorite maxims. Koizumi loves to quote Confucius. Much of the unequal reciprocity in Japanese culture (see ‘Exchange’ Lecture) derives from Confucianism: leaders benevolently look after followers; followers offer loyalty in exchange. To sum up: The statistics are never really true. They make Shinto and Buddhism appear more influential then they really are… they make Confucianism appear less influential than it really is… because its influence is social and philosophical, not really religious. 4. Taoism Said to have been founded by the Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu (老子・ろうし) also written Lao-Tse, Laozi etc., 604-531 b.c.). A contemporary of Confucius. In China Taoism became one of the three great religions, alongside Buddhism and Confucianism. Belief in ‘the way’ 道 – believers try to live in harmony with the universe, balancing yin 陰 and yang 陽. Taoism reached Japan in the 7th century, but never became a major religion. To this day it has an exotic, esoteric image… yet it has left its mark on folk beliefs, often 1 Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions through ideas incorporated into Shinto: For example, the six-day calendar imported from China is thought to originate in Taoism. Shakko, Sensho, Tomobiki, Senpu, Butsumetsu, Tai’an Luckiest day: Tai’an 大安 Unluckiest day: Butsumetsu 仏滅 (Most Japanese calendars give the days their names in the six-day Chinese cycle as well as in the Western-derived seven-day cycle.) In surveys, some 60% of Japanese people say they pay attention to [un]lucky days. Nobody wants to get married on Butsumetsu, so ‘bridal plazas’ may be hired much more cheaply on that day. Nobody wants to hold a funeral on Tomobiki since it literally means “take a friend with you” – so funeral plazas may offer a discount on that day. The 12-year cycle of animals (Year of the Rat, Year of the Snake, etc.) also derives from Taoism. Once every 60 years there is a sharp drop in the birthrate when the ‘Year of the Fiery Horse’ (Hinoeuma) comes round, since women born in that year are supposed to wild and uncontrollable, and hence men tend not to want to marry them. Last Hinoemua: 1966. Next: 2026. Feng Shui (Fusui 風水) is another aspect of Taoist thought that has made a big impact in Japan. A geomancer is often consulted before designing a new building. The north-east direction is considered especially unlucky: known as the kimon 鬼 門 (‘devil’s gate’). 5. Christianity Dates from the arrival of Francis Xavier in 1549, and has a chequered history: 1550 – 1600: Christianity encouraged by Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi Toyotomi. 1600 – 1853: Suppressed with increasing brutality by the shoguns. Massacres… (30,000 killed at Nagasaki in 1638) fumie 踏み絵 …making one stamp on an image of the cross to prove he was not Christian. 1853 – 1945: Missionaries return, then Christianity suppressed again with rise of state Shinto… Since 1945: Freedom of worship and a major influx of Christian missionaries. 2 Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions A small minority: Christians have never made up more than about 1% of the population, despite extensive missionary activity. Why? Many say because of its exclusivity: whereas Buddhism and Shinto have got along together reasonably well over the centuries (give or take a few hostile periods), Christianity calls itself the one true faith and demands that converts abandon other religions. That has been hard to accept in a culture where it is thought quite healthy to turn to different religions for different purposes. But Christianity has made an impact in various ways. 1. Education – Many of Japan’s best private universities are Christian-run: Sophia, ICU, Aoyama Gakuin, Obirin, Nanzan, Doshisha, Kwansei Gakuin…Meiji Gakuin. Few students are Christians, but they meet a few Christian ideas while at college. 2. Literature – Some of Japan’s finest novelists have been Christians: Shusaku Endo 遠 藤周作 (1923-1996) for instance. Works include Silence, Scandal, The Samurai、Deep River, and Life of Jesus. Endo was a Catholic and a lot of the power in his writing comes from the Christian experience of suffering and persecution. 3. Social activism 社会運動 – For example, my impression is that a majority of the groups doing support work with homeless people in Japanese cities are affiliated to some branch of Christianity. 4. Popular culture 大衆文化 – Though Christianity itself has never taken hold, elements of the Christian lifestyle certainly have – Christmas, Valentines Day, and of course, Christian weddings. With its romantic, Western image, Christianity is a strong brand name in Japan even if not actually believed in by that many people. Reference: Packaged Japaneseness: Weddings, Business, and Brides by Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni (London: Curzon Consumasian Book Series, 1997). 6. New religions 新興宗教 Japanese people often say that in the good (?) old days, alienated youths would join some kind of extremist political sect, but these days they are more likely to join a new religion. There are thousands of new religions in Japan, ranging from tiny local personality cults to massive organizations with millions of members and international branches. Collectively they represent arguably the most important form of religiosity in Japan today. Numbers may be smaller than for Shintō and Buddhism, but for most people being a believer of a new religion means a lot more than being a Buddhist or Shintoist – it means regular participation in religious events, and often the sacrifice of a 3 Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions large part of one’s income. Growth in membership of new religions reflects a prevalent sense that mainstream religions do not satisfy people’s spiritual needs. Rank Name Type Founded Est. membership Type 1 Soka Gakkai 創価学会 1930 8 million? Buddhist 2 Rissho Kōseikai* 立正佼成会 1938 4 million Buddhist 3 Reiyūkai 霊友会 1920 1.5 million Buddhist 4 Busshō Gonenkai* 佛所護念会 1950 1.4 million Buddhist 5 Kenshōkai 顕正会 1942 1.3 million Buddhist 6 Tenrikyō 天理教 1854 1.2 million Shinto mix 7 Kōfuku no Kagaku 幸福の科学 1986 1 million?$ Mix 8 Sekai Kyūseikyō** 世界救世教 1935 0.8 million Mix 9 Perfect Liberty パーフェクトリバティー 1924 1.0 million Mix 10 Myōchikai* 妙智会 1952 0.9 million Buddhist 11 Shinnyōen 真如苑 1951 0.8 million Buddhist 12 Seichō no Ie 生長の家 1930 0.7 million Mix 13 Mahikari*** 崇教真光 1963 0.6 million? Mix * Breakaway groups from Reiyūkai ** English name: Church of World Messianity *** Closely related to Sekai Kyūseikyō $ This number is a complete guess by Gill. Claims 12 million members in 80 countries Sōka Gakkai: The biggest new religion of all is Sōka Gakkai. Founded by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944), who was succeeded as supreme leader by Josei Toda (1911-1958), and then by Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), who remains the effective leader of SG to this day. The movement revolves around him. Soka Gakkai is officially described as a ‘lay Buddhist’ movement. It used to be affiliated to Nichiren Shōshū, a major Buddhist sect headquartered at Taisekiji Temple on Mount Fuji. On 28 November 1991 a power struggle between SG leader Daisaku Ikeda and the Nichiren priests ended in Sōka Gakkai being expelled en masse from Nichiren Shōshū. SG has millions of members: Even the lowest membership estimates suggest that almost everybody in Japan who is not himself a member of Sōka Gakkai is either acquainted with a member or related to a member. Sōka Gakkai controls Kōmeitō (the ‘Clean Government Party’) – Japan’s third biggest political party, currently in 4 Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions government as junior partner in the LDP coalition. The party’s vote is rock solid – since it can depend on millions of Sōka Gakkai believers to support it. The Gakkai also has its own university (Sōka University, in Saitama). Risshō Kōseikai This started in 1938 as a breakaway faction of Reiyukai, which like Sōka Gakkai, was itself an offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism, created in 1920. (Reiyukai still exists and is in top ten new religions itself with about 1.5 million members.) Tenrikyō: Founded by Miki Nakayama (1797-1887). “The path to the Joyous Life originated with Oyasama, whose name is Miki Nakayama. She was settled as the Shrine of God the Parent at the age of forty-one and spent the subsequent fifty years conveying the teachings in their entirety and providing guidance for people.” Global membership is estimated at 2 to 3 million. Members must pledge themselves to ‘Besseki’ – lit. ‘separate seat’ – a pledge to give up one’s ordinary life and join Tenrikyo. Table below shows Tenrikyō’s level of activity in its five most active countries. Country Churches etc. Besseki Pledges in 1999 Japan 37,523 20,289 Brazil 383 104 USA 204 80 South Korea 152 368 Taiwan 78 812 Other new religions: Include many that take the idea of worldly benefit (see Reader and Tanabe reference above) to extremes. They promise miracles. E.g. Kōfuku no Kagaku (lit. ‘Science of Happiness,’ now uses ‘Happy Science’ as its official English name), led by Ōkawa Ryūhō. Ōkawa’s book sales exceed 60 million; he has had 11 Top Ten bestsellers since 1991. They tell you how to achieve wealth, health, happiness, love etc. In 2009 Ōkawa launched his own political party, called the Happiness Realization 5 Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions Party (幸福実現党 Kōfuku Jitsugen-tō). They were on the ballot in nearly every district in the 2009 general election, but won no seats. Shinreikyō, which claims to bring its believers ‘better skull structure’ and ‘peaceful transmigration’ where believers do not undergo rigor mortis after passing away. Sukyo Mahikari, which believes that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion, escaped to Japan, and lived in the remote village of Shingo until the age of 106. All these movements have membership in the hundreds of thousands… and there are many, many others. On Sukyo Mahikari, see this classic: Dojo: Magic and Exorcism in Modern Japan by Winston Davis, (Stanford University Press, 1982). The AUM Affair: The 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway by members of Aum Shinrikyō (killing 12 people and making thousands ill) was a case of a new religion turned deadly. AUM founder/leader Shōkō Asahara was sentenced to death on February 27, 2004; several other Aum leaders have also received the death penalty, though none have been executed yet. Many writers have tried to explain what went wrong. Probably the best is: Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo by Ian Reader (University of Hawaii Press, 2000). On the internet, check out ‘Blind Ambition’, Patrick Bellamy’s racy account of Asahara’s life at: http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/terrorists/prophet/1.html?sect=22 Meanwhile, AUM, renamed ‘Aleph’, is still operating and still legal (it may even still be tax-exempt? Not sure.) In April 2004 the Public Security Investigation Agency estimated the group’s membership at 1,650 (http://www.cesnur.org/2004/aum_04.htm). One lesson of the Aum Affair: This further complicates the picture of the ‘control society’ discussed in earlier lectures. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution, and that freedom was respected to the point where Aum was literally able to get away with murder. (The police were very slow to act against Aum, although it as implicated in several other murder cases before the subway attack). Another hole in the control system? On the other hand, Aum’s members, like those of other fringe groups we have discussed, seemed to crave control. They obeyed Asahara’s every order, and 6 Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society Instructor: Tom Gill Lectures #10 Notes: Religion 2: Fringe religions towards the end he had actually set up a shadow ministry within Aum, all ready to take over the government of Japan one day – a particularly literal case of people on the margins aspiring towards the mainstream. Key points about Japanese new religions: 1. They offer material benefits in this world and salvation in the next. 2. They tend to have a strictly hierarchical order. 3. They tend to be focused on a single charismatic founder (kyōsōsama 教祖様, worshipped as ‘living god’ (ikigami 生き神). 4. They make money from members, either by tithing or exploiting their labor. 5. They tend to relate indirectly to one of the major religions, usually Buddhism, Shintō or Christianity. ENDS 7