The phoenix files west: The dynamics of the inculturation of Mahikari in western Europe

Abstract

The symbolism of the phoenix has in Japan often been transferred from the divine emperor to the leader of a new Japanese religion. In rising from his or her ashes， the leader is believed to encompass the whole uni­ verse. This provides an impulse toward mission beyond the islands of Japan. Over the past decades, many a new Japanese religion has devel­ oped missionary activities in the West. This presence of new Japanese religions in the West calls for a different interpretative framework from that which was developed within the Japanese context. The religious vacuums that emerged after the Meiji Restoration and after World War II， the demographic and so­ cial changes that accompanied the rapid social growth, and the identity crisis that followed the process of internationalization and Westerniza­ tion are of little use in attempting to understand the appeal of some of the new Japanese religions in the West. The social, economic, and reli­ gious realities differ radically. In The Social Dimensions of Sectarianism Brian Wilson juxtaposes the social functions that new religions fulfill in Japan with the individualistic orientation of the West, and questions how the dispositions of individuals are changed to match the particular focus of these new and alien religions. Why and how do people accept a redefinition of their needs and deficiencies in terms of a foreign ide­ ology and world view (cf. W ilson 1990， p. 218)? In coming to the West, the newjapanese religions are themselves con­ fronted with a new reality with which they are called to interact. This process of interaction between a religion that emerged within a certain cultural context, and a new culture, has come to be called “inculturation.” It is usually applied within a Christian context to denote a partic­ ular, reciprocal interaction between religion and culture in which a mutually critical relationship evolves that enriches both. Religions may, however, also refuse this form of profound inculturation and limit