11. A Vast and Grave Task: Interwar Buddhist Studies as an Expression of Japan's Envisioned Global Role

Abstract

By now, with respect to Buddhist studies, we may say that we have reached a point where ours excel those of any other nation. . . . Thanks to the lifetime zeal of many Buddhist scholars, Buddhist studies in our country have developed and advanced as Japanese Buddhist studies, producing something unique and not to be found in either India or China. From the broad standpoint of culture as a whole, Japanese Buddhist studies form our contribution to the development of the culture of humanity, and are the crystallization of the efforts of our countrymen. It therefore cannot be denied that our Buddhist studies are no mere import, but something we have thoroughly integrated and absorbed.