Abstract
Watanabe Kaigyoku and Buddhist Responses to the ‘Labour Question’ in Early-Twentieth Century Japan
Highlights
Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡辺海旭 (1872–1933) was a Jōdoshū priest and scholar who contributed significantly to the fields of Buddhist education and social work in Japan, following his return home in 1910 after a decade of study in Germany
Seeking to meld Buddhist ethics with modern methods of social work, Watanabe established the Jōdoshū Workers’ Mutual Aid Society in 1911. An exploration of his writings and the historical context behind the creation of this organization reveals that Watanabe did not envision a radical position for Buddhists on the issue of the ‘labour question’; rather, he imagined Buddhism as a harmonizing influence that could help avoid the pitfalls of unrestrained capitalism, on the one hand, and revolutionary socialism, on the other
The theoretical and practical approaches to social work of Japanese Buddhists like Watanabe should be viewed as early examples of what is called ‘engaged Buddhism’, a category whose history has largely been restricted to the post-World War II era
Summary
Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡辺海旭 (1872–1933) was a Jōdoshū priest and scholar who contributed significantly to the fields of Buddhist education and social work in Japan, following his return home in 1910 after a decade of study in Germany.
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