Shinto Shrine Research Articles

Return to utopia? Vision and practice of the Japanese right at Yasukuni shrine

ABSTRACT The Shinto shrine Yasukuni has drawn international attention as a controversial site for its enshrinement of convicted war criminals and glorification of Japanese colonialism. Every year on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945, it draws a festival-like crowd; among the crowd are right-wing political activists, individuals in military regalia, and representatives of right-wing organizations dressed in pseudo-militaristic uniforms performing monologues and marching in formation, among other activities. This article examines the meaning and ideology underpinning the (re)enactment of Japanese empire and war at Yasukuni shrine. In Japan, the far-right have appropriated Shinto as a pillar of an imagined, lost ‘tradition’ which must be resuscitated to save society from moral and political collapse. The article argues that despite its call to the past, this imaginary emerges as an ontological and epistemological challenge to the secularization and liberalization which took place in the decades following World War II. Yasukuni is positioned as both the inspiration for, and location of, this utopianism. More than escapism, the enactment of utopia at the shrine embodies an active project to win the hearts and minds of the Japanese people, the ultimate aim of which is to construct an anti-secular, reactionary and illiberal social order.

Review of Overseas Shinto Shrines. Religion, Secularity and Japanese Empire by Karli Shimizu, London, New York, Dublin: Bloomsbury, 2023. Xii + 278.

Review of Overseas Shinto Shrines. Religion, Secularity and Japanese Empire by Karli Shimizu, London, New York, Dublin: Bloomsbury, 2023. Xii + 278.

Sacred Nature

This paper explores the role of Shinto in Japanese environmentalism. It first presents perceptions of nature in Japan and the historical role of Shinto, then delves into the conservation of sacred shrine forests – Chinju no mori – within the Shinto environmentalist discourse. The role of Shinto in politics is demonstrated through the activities of the Association of Shinto Shrines – Jinja Honcho. Finally, presenting shrine groves as urban green spaces and community centres shows the potential of Shinto values working together with environmental conservation.

일제강점기 조선신사(朝鮮神社)의 분포 및 입지

This article attempts to grasp the distribution and location trends of Joseon Shinto shrines built during the Japanese colonial period. Joseon Shinto shrines are divided into Shinto shrines(神社) and Shinmyeong shrines(神明神祠) according to their hierarchy. 81 Shinto shrines and 865 Shinmyung shrines were identified in the “Joseon Government-General's Gazette” (1915-1945). For them, the period of completion of the official formalization of the Joseon Shinto shrines (1915-1929) and the period of the Hwangminhwa(皇民化) policy (1930-1945) were divided into two periods, and a distribution map was drawn up. This distribution map overlapped with the railway network built during the Japanese colonial period and was used to identify the distribution trend of the Joseon Shinto shrines. As a result, it can be seen that during the period when the Joseon Shinto Shrine was fully publicized, it was very accessible to the railway network. However, during the period of the Hwangminhwa Policy, the Shinmyeong Shrine spread throughout the country, and its connection with the railway network gradually decreased. This is due to the policy of 'One Myeon(面), One Shrineism' implemented in 1936, Shinmyung Shrines were intensively built up to the myeon region regardless of the railway network. This distribution trend is well seen in Jeollanam-do, Hwanghae-do, and Gyeonggi-do, where many Shinmyung shrines have been built.
 The tendency of the location of Joseon Shinto shrines was examined by dividing them into Shinto shrines and Shinmyeong shrines. To this end, the types of locations were identified at 37 places where symbols and names representing Shinto shrines were displayed in the “Topographic Map of Joseon”. In addition, among them, the visual location of the Shinto shrine was analyzed by selecting 6 places where the location of the Shinto shrine was confirmed by photographs, as well as 6 places of Shinmyeong Shrine found on the “Topographic Map of Joseon”. In the case of Shinto shrines, due to the characteristics of the city where they were built, they were divided into open port cities, transportation cities, and traditional cities. As a result, all of the 12 Joseon Shinto shrines selected as examples are located on hills or in the middle of gentle slopes, securing excellent views. In addition, they were landmarks that could be seen from anywhere in the city, town and myeon because they faced the central place in city, and they were relatively close to Japanese settlements due to their easy access to railway stations. Because of this location, the hill on which the Shinto Shrine was built was designated as a park, and later most of it became a park. This hilly-oriented location of the Joseon Shinto Shrine can be extended to the location tendency of all Joseon Shinto Shrines built during the Japanese colonial period.

Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire, by Karli Shimizu

Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire, by Karli Shimizu

현대 일본사회 속 신사의 생존전략 연구

현대 일본사회 속 신사의 생존전략 연구

Addressing the Shinto establishment: “Faith talk” and “God talk” in political rhetoric in contemporary Japan

ABSTRACT In The God Strategy, David Domke and Kevin Coe introduced the concepts of God talk and faith talk to distinguish between explicit and implicit references to religion in American political discourse. Although God talk is perhaps more prevalent in nations where allusions to religion are commonplace in political language, faith talk – speaking to adherents through the use of “cues” that are often imperceptible to outsiders – is more likely to be used by politicians in states such as Japan, where secular legislation restricts the political discourse. In this paper I will illustrate how faith talk is used as a rhetorical strategy in the discourse of politicians representing Japan’s conservative right, with a particular focus on the rhetoric and public image of Abe Shinzō. Abe fostered an image of himself as a self-proclaimed nationalist and devoted “Shintoist,” and he retained close ties to many of the organizations that together form the postwar “Shinto establishment,” including the Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honchō, NASS). Although Abe was rarely as explicit as U.S. presidents tend to be, through his words and actions he disseminated the image of Japan as a “Shinto” nation.

SHINTO SHRINE RENOVATION IN THREE WARDS IN CENTRAL TOKYO AND THE USE OF VARIOUS URBAN DEVELOPMENT RULES

This study focuses on the relationship between urban development and Shinto shrine renovations. In the case of Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Shinto shrines in three wards in the central Tokyo have been renovated in compliance with various rules of urban development. To understand the ways in which development has been successfully completed in each case, we carried out a detailed literature review and interviews. By establishing an overview of cases, we identified common factors as well as the post-development process of spatial formation and rationale for design. Our findings show that Shinto shrines are protected from the threat of development.

식민지조선의 지역사회와 신사의 관계에 관한 연구 - 마산신사에 반영된 지역성을 중심으로 -

본 연구는 일제강점기 마산일본인사회의 특징을 바탕으로 마산신사를 분석한 것이다. 마산일본인사회의 특징은 해당지역이 군･전쟁과 밀접한 관계를 맺고 있었다는 사실과 전국적으로 유명한 청주의 산지였다는 사실을 꼽을 수 있다. 이 두 가지 특징은 다음과 같이 마산신사에 반영되어 나타났다. 첫째, 러일전쟁 당시 사용된 28센티(280미리) 대포가 마산신사에 전시된 것이다. 둘째, 술의 수호신을 신사의 제신으로 하는 신사, 즉 마쓰오신사(松尾神社)가 마산신사의 경내 신사로서 건립되었다는 점이다.BR 대포의 전시는 마산신사가 ‘제국의 신사’로서 해당 지역과 중앙을 수직적으로 연결시키는 힘을 강화하는 데 기여했다. 반면 마쓰오 신사는 조선총독부(중앙)의 일방적인 주조업 정책전환에 대한 마산주조조합(지역)의 불만과 저항감이 반영되어 건립되었으며, ‘지역의 신사’로서 조합원의 수평적 결집을 유도‧기도하는 방법이 되었다고 볼 수 있다.

Horace H. Underwood and the Shinto Shrine Rites Controversy in Colonial Korea

For the western missionaries the Shinto shrine rites controversy in colonial Korea was a theological crucible. As the Japanese government began forcing mission schools to attend the Shinto shrine ceremonies, American missionaries from the Presbyterian Church in the USA were divided between “fundamentalists” and “liberals” fighting a fierce theological battle over the nature of and participation in the Shinto shrine rites. Horace H. Underwood, President of Chosen Christian College in Seoul, was a leader of the “liberal minority” party. The “fundamentalist majority” held that the Shinto shrine ceremonies were religious acts and hence bowing during a Shinto ceremony violated the First Commandment. Underwood was uncomfortable with many religious elements in the Shinto rituals, but nevertheless believed that mere attendance and a bow did not constitute either participation in the ritual or worship of the enshrined beings. He thought that the conservative leaders were dictating other people's conscience.

Gagaku, Ensemble OnoTeruhisa Fukuda, maître de shakuhachi. Offrande musicale

Gagaku, Ensemble OnoTeruhisa Fukuda, maître de shakuhachi. Offrande musicale

To be Seen, Not Just Read: Script Use on the Votive Prayer Tablets of Anime, Manga, and Game Fans

ABSTRACT This article proposes one social explanation for the occurrence of graphic variation in contemporary written Japanese by examining a heretofore unexamined context of writing. Embracing the material culture approach, I explore the ema (votive prayer tablets) dedicated at Shinto shrines by fans of popular culture media productions. Fans pen text on the ema that follows aesthetics of manga as well as online communication, incorporating features that are usually limited to print and online writing. Analyzing upwards of 2,000 ema from three shrines, this article proceeds to dissect a writing style composed of a mix of syllabaries and symbols using ‘thick description’ to evince the emotion behind fans’ calculated efforts to construct text that is not simply to be read, but to be seen. Seeking to answer the question of what fans attempt to achieve by writing on the ema in the way that they do, I will reference folklorist Elliott Oring’s ‘appropriate incongruity’ to put forth an argument that fans, harnessing a sense of play and endeavoring to animate the text on the ema, intimate by means of the visual presentation of writing-restricted variation a questioning of the perceived division between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds.

Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration by Mark R. Mullins

Reviewed by: Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration by Mark R. Mullins Saitō Kōta Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration. By Mark R. Mullins. University of Hawai'i Press, 2021. 270 pages. ISBN: 9780824889012 (hardcover; also available as softcover and e-book). Despite the vast number of books and essays that have been written on it, Yasukuni Shrine remains a difficult subject for academic discussion. The difficulty stems first [End Page 170] of all from the complex history of the shrine from the Meiji period to the present. But another major factor is the violent political debate that the shrine still inspires in Japan and abroad. Discussions of Yasukuni tend to strongly reflect the political position of the debater, sometimes leading to an oversimplification of his or her viewpoint. While some attempts at empirical historical research have been made in the interest of avoiding such problems, even they have not been able to wholly escape the ideology that inevitably surrounds Yasukuni Shrine. Especially challenging is the question of how to understand the ideology of rightists who are trying to revitalize the role of this shrine in current Japanese politics. Calling that ideology State Shinto would be one possible solution, but that only invites the more difficult question of what this academically and politically contentious term really means. In Yasukuni Fundamentalism, Mark R. Mullins, who has published many important studies on religion in modern Japan, tackles these issues from the perspective of the historical sociology of religion. As reflected in the title, the key to this book is the concept of fundamentalism, which Mullins deploys to reveal the process by which the changes Yasukuni Shrine underwent during the Allied Occupation led to the rise of right-wing political forces seeking what they saw as restoration. The introduction explains the author's framework for examining Yasukuni Shrine. Mullins focuses on the new relationship between nationalism and organized religion in contemporary Japan, seeing it as part of the rise of global religious nationalism. As a central example he cites the movement toward cooperation between the Shinto shrine community and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—a push for desecularization or deprivatization that seeks to restore the official role that was taken away from Shinto by the policies of the Occupation. This movement is sometimes understood as "an effort to restore State Shinto" (p. 20). However, Mullins himself does not choose to employ the concept of State Shinto, noting that the movement includes no claim to revive the prewar control of shrines under the Bureau of Shrines in the Home Ministry. He also observes that many in the Shinto community are not sympathetic to the movement. His argument and its rationale are solid. Mullins contends, rather, that the contemporary Japanese neonationalist movement is best understood as religious fundamentalism, given that it emerged as a response to the confusion caused by modernization and secularization, and is a "politics of inclusion" that seeks to reclaim the "essential" beliefs and values of the past and enforce them on the entire population (pp. 23–24). Inspired by the discourse of the movement's critics, Mullins describes it as "Yasukuni fundamentalism" in acknowledgement of the symbolic meaning the shrine holds in the movement's goal of restoring an old Japan (pp. 25–27). Part 1 (chapters 1 to 3) of the book delineates the postwar history of Japanese religious nationalism. Chapter 1, "Imperialist Secularization: The Restructuring of Religion and Society in Occupied Japan," details the establishment of the separation of religion and state in occupied Japan. As is well known, the Shinto Directive [End Page 171] issued by GHQ/SCAP in 1945 severed the relationship between Shinto and the state. This was a forced secularization by a foreign power and a typical example of what N. J. Demerath calls "imperialist secularization."1 Mullins notes, however, that the US State Department had been aware of the complex nature of "military shrines" such as Yasukuni from before the Occupation (pp. 38–39). The difficult decision of whether to apply the principle of freedom of religion to military shrines was left to the Religions and Cultural Resources Division of the Civil Information and Educational Section, which...

Eros in the Closet

People need look only in their closets to find joy, asserts Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo. Followers worldwide rely on her method of household tidying to transform their cluttered spaces into refuges of serenity. Here, writer Jory Kahn uses C. G. Jung’s typology to explore Kondo’s approach as a powerful tool on the path to individuation. The key, Kahn says of Kondo’s method, is to invoke Eros—the Greek god of love representing the creative impulse—to decide which possessions to keep and which to discard. Westerners often suspect the feeling function is too unpredictable, too wild, and trust the thinking function instead. Even though she does not name it as such, the feeling function is precisely what Kondo recommends. Keeping the treasured and trashing the rest can help one develop a happier, more conscious relationship with one’s things and, ultimately, one’s Self. Kahn observes that Kondo, a former Shinto shrine maiden, views everything as having a spirit. Greeting possessions accordingly animates even inanimate objects. Disengaging the thinking function in favor of the feeling function can be a transformative experience.

The Use Of Shinto For The Legitimization Of Japanese Agression In East Asia

During the Japanese invasion in China, the spiritual pillar of the modern Japanese imperial system, the Shinto, reflected ideas of military aggression, and shrines were established in a wide range of areas in China, especially militarily and economically important areas. As an extension of the Japanese state, the shrines were dedicated to goddess Amaterasu and Emperor Meiji and other imperial family members. These shrines were not only built for the soldiers who were posted in these areas, but also for the Japanese migrants and later on for the local population. Especially in Taiwan and Manchuria, the local population also seems to have participated in the rituals. The reasons for this phenomenon as well as the reasons for the Japanese government to use Shinto for its political aims in China are discussed in this paper with references to primary sources. Newspaper articles and archival materials from Japan are used for coming to the conclusions, and these materials were read critically to eliminate the nationalist biases on such documents of the period. Since Shinto is often treated as a religion peculiar to Japan, its presence during the war years outside of Japan and its worshippers within the local populations of the occupied areas are rarely examined. Therefore this paper aims to shed light on the Shinto shrines and their aims as well as communities. Since this issue as well as shrines such as Yasakuni and their branches still controversial in China and Japan, the political side and the ideological details are omitted while focusing on the history of the shrines within Mainland China and Taiwan.

The present state of tree planting and removal types of tree planting activities at urban shinto shrines

As a semipublic green space, the sacred forest of the urban Shinto shrine serves as a traditional space, a base for urban ecosystems, and as a place for communities. Its management is entrusted to the priesthood, and tree-planting activities depend on the manager's thinking. The purpose of this study was to understand the purpose and process of tree planting and extermination activities in the sacred forests during the last few decades, and to help determine a policy for the conservation of the sacred forests. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 290 managers in Nagoya City, and the number of responses was 92 (collection rate 31.7%). From this survey we report that there were 43 species of tree planted and 23 species removed—mostly Cinnamomum camphora, Phyllostachys spp., and Pinus spp. Depending on their purpose and planting process, the main tree species planted are Cleyera japonica, Ginkgo biloba, Cinnamomum camphora, Prunus spp., Cerasus spp., Pinus spp., Chamaecyparis obtusa, Rhododendron spp., and Camellia spp. It was possible to categorize these species into three types of arboriculture systems: use type, traditional type, and landscape type. These types can be used to understand the status of current sacred forests and to formulate conservation policies.

Constructing and Contesting the Shrine: Tourist Performances at Seimei Shrine, Kyoto

Japanese Shinto shrines are popular pilgrimage sites not only for religious reasons, but also because of their connections to popular culture. This study discusses how tourism is involved in the construction of the shrine space by focusing on the material environment of the shrine, visitor performances, and how the shrine is contested by different actors. The subject of the study, Seimei Shrine, is a shrine dedicated to the legendary figure Abe no Seimei (921–1005), who is frequently featured in popular culture. Originally a local shrine, Seimei Shrine became a tourist attraction for fans of the novel series Onmyōji (1986–) and the movie adaptation (2001). Since then, the shrine has branded itself by placing themed statues, which realize the legend of Abe no Seimei in material form, while also attracting religious and touristic practices. On the other hand, visitors also bring new meanings to the shrine and its objects. They understand the shrine through different kinds of interactions with the objects, through performances such as touching and remembering. However, the material objects, their interpretation and performances are also an arena of conflict and contestation, as different actors become involved through tourism. This case study shows how religion and tourism are intertwined in the late-modern consumer society, which affects both the ways in which the shrine presents and reinvents itself, as well as how visitors understand and perform within the shrine.

김교신의 신사참배 인식 연구

김교신의 신사참배 인식 연구

Pensando el espacio habitado. Domesticidad, espiritualidad y rito del habitar japonés

El presente artículo forma parte de la labor investigadora de la autora en su tesis doctoral sobre objetualidad en el espacio doméstico japonés durante el periodo de Modernización y su trascendencia en el diseño contemporáneo. Se trata del periodo más drástico de la historia de Japón, con considerables consecuencias sobre la identidad del hábitat doméstico. Con el fenómeno de la industrialización, y su desarraigo del culto a lo tradicional como consecuencia implícita de la modernización, el espacio doméstico se especializa y adquiere una lectura completamente funcional. Sin embargo, la casa era en sus inicios un lugar lleno de significados, cuyos orígenes conducen a lo sagrado, al fuerte vínculo de las sociedades antiguas con las fuerzas de la naturaleza, entendiendo el trazado de la realidad artificial construida como el reflejo del orden cósmico a la escala del hombre. La superposición entre espacio habitado y espacio sagrado se traslada en la antigüedad al entorno doméstico de una forma no sólo simbólica, sino también compositiva. La composición básica del espacio habitado japonés está formada por un núcleo central moya —descendiente de la delimitación de un área sagrada donde se creía residían las deidades—, rodeado por un espacio perimétrico hisashi. Esta composición, procedente de los santuarios sintoístas y adoptada posteriormente en los templos budistas, se traslada de forma casi literal al espacio doméstico, representado en el texto por sus tres tipos principales. Los modelos estudiados son considerados los mejores conservados hasta nuestros días por ser ejemplos íntegros de cada tipo arquitectónico descrito.

Is Japan Religious?

The popular image of Japan and religion presents something of a paradox. On the one hand, large cross-cultural surveys frequently present Japan as a country of non-believers, where only 10–15% of the population selfidentify as religious and the vast majority rank religion as being of little importance to their lives. Yet, any visitor to Japan is likely to be struck by the sheer number of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples that dot the landscape, and the diverse array of festivals (matsuri) that are performed at these sites. In this article, we argue that the apparent paradox is actually an illusion generated by the unwarranted ethnocentric assumption that religion everywhere must resemble the features of the Abrahamic faiths that are predominant in Western societies. To make our case we first review recurrent theoretical and definitional debates concerning religion and examine how they relate to the Japanese context. Second, we explore patterns in contemporary data from an online survey of N = 1,000 Japanese that asked about religious beliefs and practices. We illustrate through the results obtained that to understand religion in Japan it is necessary to move beyond theocentric approaches and expectations that religious belief must be tied to religious identities or exclusive membership in a given tradition. To conclude, we argue that the patterns observed in Japan demonstrate that scholars who wish to explore religion cross-culturally need to take greater account of orthopraxic cultural contexts and distinguish between ‘theocentric’ doctrinal beliefs and broader supernatural beliefs.