Religion and Nationalism: Reform of Lamaism in Inner Mongolia by the Japanese

Abstract

This article examines Inner Mongolian nationalism, which was promoted by Japan in Inner Mongolia during the Sino-Japanese War through the intermediary of Mongolian Buddhist Lamaism. It reveals the competition for the religious support of Lamaism among the nationalist political parties in Inner Mongolia, the reformation of Lamaism carried out by the Japanese under the slogan of Mongolian national awakening, and how the Japanese integrated this work into their larger Asian goals, specifically the Japanese army’s promotion of its own Pan-Asianism among other Asian peoples as the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.