The Circumstances behind the Publication of the <i>Nichirenshugi</i> Journal of the Nichirenshū and Their Significance

Abstract

One essential resource for the study of the propagation of the Nichirenshū in the modern age is newspapers and magazines published by the sect or by those involved in the sect. When Japan embarked on new Meiji period, the world of Buddhism was forced to undergo a big change due to the government’s policy of establishing Shintō as the State Religion. But at the same time, Buddhism was influenced by many different factors brought from abroad as well. These included intangible things such as ideas and culture, which inspired each sect of Buddhism to adapt new forms of propagation. One of these forms was propagation with written materials. Although propagation of Buddhism using written materials had been common up until the Edo period, the style of propagation dramatically changed along with modernization promoted by each sect in the Meiji era. While there was a transformation of system or institutions in the background, one of the causes of the change was the introduction of new publishing technology, which made mass publication of journals possible. In such a situation, publication of different propagation journals by the Nichiren sect and those involved with it started in the Meiji period even before the new journal Nichirenshugi was published in the Shōwa era. This paper discusses the way Buddhism was propagated using written materials in the early Shōwa period through an examination of Nichirenshugi.