Missionaries and Imperial Cult: Politics of the Shinto Shrine Rites Controversy in Colonial Korea

Abstract

State Shinto was established in colonial Korea to assimilate the Korean population. Although the Japanese government declared the Shinto ceremonies as non-religious, patriotic rituals, they consisted of traditional Shinto rites. When the Japanese authorities began forcing attendance at Shinto shrine rites, two American Presbyterian missions in Korea refused to cooperate. Their uncompromising attitude enraged the Japanese authorities, and embarrassed the American diplomatic establishment and accommodative members of the missionary community. As the Shinto shrine issue developed into a public controversy, American diplomats had to protect the national priorities over and against the private interests of missionaries.