Social Ethics of "New Buddhists" at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: A Comparative Study of Suzuki Daisetsu and Inoue Shūten
This paper concerns the discourses of two Japanese Zen Buddhists, Suzuki Daisetsu and Inoue Shūten, through analyzing their writings in a Buddhist journal called Shin Bukkyō, in order to examine their presentations of the role of Buddhism at the turn of the twentieth century and how their transnatio...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[2005]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Further subjects: | B
Peacetime
B Nationalism B Zen Buddhism B Religious Studies B Tweed B Socialism B Japanese culture B Christianity B Social Ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This paper concerns the discourses of two Japanese Zen Buddhists, Suzuki Daisetsu and Inoue Shūten, through analyzing their writings in a Buddhist journal called Shin Bukkyō, in order to examine their presentations of the role of Buddhism at the turn of the twentieth century and how their transnational contacts influenced the construction of their religious ideas. As Itō Hirobumi's annotation to the Meiji Constitution described, religion in modern Japan witnessed the division of religion into "outward" practices and "inner" religious belief. The Kōtoku Incident (1910-1911) also played a crucial role for Japanese Buddhists in terms of their social engagement, and around this time Suzuki's discourses in particular began to show a polarization of social criticism in Shin Bukkyō on the one hand, and reflections on spirituality in other journals on the other. Inoue, who was suspected of having a hand in the Kōtoku Incident, wrote critical commentaries and pacifist essays from a Buddhist point of view. In this study, I attempt to uncover the various factors that constructed their religious ideas so as to exemplify the Buddhist responses to rising nationalism and the restriction of freedom of religion and thought. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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