The Society for Japanese Studies

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1 The Society for Japanese Studies The Society for Japanese Studies Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. The Society for Japanese Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Japanese Studies.

2 Review Section 405 examine critically the possibility that it is only because we have inured our- selves to its strategies and its slogans that we will easily overlook the fact that "Western civilization" is no less an "invented tradition" or a Traditio- nismus than is the "traditional India" envisioned by some Hindus or the Shinto in the minds and lives of not a few Japanese. Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami. Edited by John Breen and Mark Teeu- wen. Curzon, Richmond, Surrey, U.K., xii, 368 pages.?14.99, paper. Reviewed by KLAUS ANTONI Tiibingen University The subject of "Shinto" is an essential part of the discourse on Japan: any questions and cliches regarding "the" Japanese culture will be found in the debate over Shinto, too. This demonstrates the need for substantial scholarly research in this field and the great dilemma of any approach denying his- torical development and change in the system called Shinto. In this respect, the work under review is most welcome in the field of Shinto studies. The essays in this volume discuss some of the main aspects of Shinto in history, starting with Tim Barrett's contribution on the influence of Taoism on Shinto in early Japan. Unfortunately, Barrett's comparative insight on Japanese thinking and especially Shinto receives little elaboration elsewhere in the volume, particularly in regard to modern Shinto. This is especially true in the contribution by Sonoda Minoru, who focuses on the relationship between shrine cults and "nature," which is seen "as one of the enduring traits of kami cults" (p. 8). His essay has a political and ideological conno- tation too, when he laments the alleged "spiritual confusion" of present-day Japan "that borders on the pathological" (p. 44). Sonoda recommends a rediscovering and revaluation "of Japan's ancient animistic view of life" (p. 45). The late Nelly Naumann provides a detailed overview of the state cult in early Japan. "The term 'Shinto' is avoided throughout this paper" (p. 64), but readers should keep in mind Naumann's earlier definition: "The meaning of the term shint6 can clearly be... comprehended in the ideal concept of the Japanese heavenly emperorship." 1 1. Nelly Naumann, "Einige Bemerkungen zum sogenannten Ur-Shinto," in Nachrich- ten der deutschen Gesellschaft fir Natur- und Volkerkunde Ostasiens, No. 107/108 (1970), pp

3 406 Journal of Japanese Studies 27:2 (2001) Allan Grapard shows that it was the Heian period when former shrines turned into "shrine-temple multiplexes," thus leading to the medieval period, which is discussed by Mark Teeuwen and Bernhard Scheid. In Teeuwen's argumentation, a Shinto without (and before) medieval Buddhism is unthinkable, since it was the "new brand of Buddhist kami thought that lay at the basis of the first schools of 'Shinto thought'" (p. 96). Regrettably, Teeuwen does not mention in this context the monographic work on medieval Japanese religious thought by Nelly Naumann.2 His perception of Shinto as a mere product of esoteric Buddhism rests basically on the wellknown teachings of the late historian Kuroda Toshio. Bernhard Scheid in his essay provides a valuable analysis of medieval Yoshida Shinto, in this context pointing "to the issue of imperial rule, both on the level of discourse and in reality" (p. 129). Here we find a hint of a "Shinto" world of thought apart from all undoubted historical impact through Buddhism. W. J. Boot is said by the editors to argue "against the interpretation that this deification was a politically inspired exercise of bakufu propaganda" (p. 9), but the author himself finds "that the bakufu seeks to legitimate its authority with references to the deified first Shogun" (p. 163). Brian Bocking's essay gives valuable insight into the problem field of shinbutsu bunri during the Meiji Restoration.3 Nicola Liscutin too focuses on this importan topic, studying the diverse religious phenomena regarding the sacred mountain of Iwaki in Tsugaru. Anne Walthall's thorough analysis is one of the few contributions to the volume expressing theoretical and comparative dimensions, e.g., when mentioning the problem of the " 'reconstruction of tradition' in the interests of national solidarity" (p. 207). John Breen admits that "Tokugawa ideologues may have provided the 'source books'" (p. 231) for the "'separation policies' of the Restoration government" (p. 10). Unfortunately, not a single essay in the book deals with this nativist ideological world of premodern Japan in detail. Here, in my view, is the weakest point of this work. Nitta Hitoshi's essay4 begins the four contributions on the Meiji and Showa periods. Nitta sees the debate over "State Shinto" "as a result of the occupation policies," concluding polemically: "State Shinto is, indeed, a case of 'in the beginning was the word; all creation came from the word; nothing came into being that was not of the word' " (p. 268). The next contributor, Sakamoto Koremaru, proves that the concept of State Shinto in fact 2. Nelly Naumann, Die einheimische Religion Japans, Part 2: Synkretistische Lehren und religiose Entwicklungen von der Kamakura- bis zum Beginn der Edo-Zeit (Leiden: Brill, 1994). 3. One minor mistake: Emperor Onin is confused with Emperor Ojin, p Nitta's essay, like those by Sonoda Minoru, Isomae Jun'ichi, and Sakamoto Koremaru, is not an original contribution to this volume but was selected and translated for inclusion here. It is not clear whether Kamata Toji's essay was written for this volume.

4 Review Section 407 goes much beyond that. He shows that as early as the year 1882 the term kokka shinto was used in Japan (p. 273), but seemingly in 1940, "for the first time, ideology had been implanted in what had been 'state Shinto' in purely institutional terms" (p. 289), but had "no authority in the spheres of thought or ideology" (p. 290). Such an argument liberates the world of Shinto from all involvement in the dark sphere of ideological "State Shint6." Here we are confronted with an apologetic picture of Shint6 allegedly innocent of any involvement in politics and especially the war's ideology. The next essay also fits into this pattern. Kamata T6ji divides his attention between, as the introduction states, "two men of unrivalled stature in the Shinto world: the twentieth century ethnologist Orikuchi Shinobu and the nineteenth century thinker Hirata Atsutane" (p. 10). Hirata Atsutane is not portrayed here as the well-known fanatic ideologist of late Tokugawa nativism, but as an esoteric and spiritualistic seeker of the "Other World." This image is not new and certainly it is important to know this facet of Atsutane, but does total neglect of Atsutane's political importance help us to understand his complex personality? We see how "spiritualistic" Kamata is himself through his personal ideas about Hirata Atsutane and Orikuchi Shinobu: "I think of them as travellers of the soul, who realised they had come to this 'temporary world' from their spiritual homeland, and would soon return to their other, 'original,' Motherland" (p. 316).5 The volume concludes with the contribution of Isomae Jun'ichi, who focuses on the thought of Tanaka Yoshit6 ( ), "one of the leading theoreticians of state Shinto" (p. 11). Isomae points out the main topic in Tanaka's thinking, i.e., "his identification of Shinto as the 'national spirit' itself" (p. 328). (Here a mistake must be mentioned: the term wakon kansai, "Japanese spirit-chinese ability," is wrongly interpreted by the author as an antagonism of "Japanese" and "Western," which would be wakon yosai, cf. p. 321.) In his writings Tanaka obviously argued in terms of "race" (cf. pp ). Isomae comes to sympathetic conclusions when commenting on Tanaka's death in March 1946: "He was honoured by the Imperial Women's College with a college funeral, in what was a fitting farewell for an educationalist of unrivalled zeal" (p. 336). On the question of individual responsibility in this context, the author finally declares: "Both those who construed the theories of Shinto nationalism and those who felt a need for them were determined by historical developments beyond their grasp" (p. 337). The reader wonders if this apologetic note must be read as a kind of general conclusion for the book too, since it becomes clear that "Shinto in history" in the editors' concept of the work hardly deals with the history 5. On Kamata Toji as a prominent "spiritual intellectual," cf. the dissertation by Inken Prohl, Die spirituellen Intellektuellen und das New Age in Japan (Hamburg: OAG, 2001).

5 408 Journal of Japanese Studies 27:2 (2001) of (political) ideas of Shinto, which indeed reach far back into premodern times. Consequently, important names in the world of Shinto and nativist studies, such as D. C. Holtom, Harry Harootunian, Ernst Lokowandt, and Stuart Picken, are not mentioned. In spite of the diverse subjects of the chapters, whole fields of research on historical Shinto are missing from this volume. In particular, the important relationship between Shinto and Confucianism is not considered, and the highly relevant but complicated topic of nativism and ideological thought in premodern Shinto is not treated in a historically appropriate manner. The reader misses particularly an objective representation of shinkoku thought, which has not only embossed the Shinto orthodoxy as it has generally been known since the days of medieval Jinnoshotoki and earlier but has also entered present-day debates through politically thoughtless comments of the former Japanese prime minister on "Japan as a divine nation." Today's international debate on Shinto shows a new trend that would heretofore have been nearly unconceivable. In this discourse, the propagation of apologetic viewpoints on Shinto, especially denying Shinto's inherent political nature, is pronounced. This development is based to a great extent on the massive activities of a foundation inaugurated in 1995 under the name of Kokusai Shinto Gakkai, the International Shinto Foundation (ISF), which propagates the internationalization of Shinto with considerable financial expenditure. This foundation has managed in a short time, through generous donations, to enter the stage of international Shinto research and has attracted prominent representatives of Western Shinto studies. Only a few participants in the foundation's activities may know that the ISF is not an independent academic organization but in fact shows extremely deep links to the New-New religion known as "World Mate" (formerly"cosmo Mate"), which has an active international mission. The founder and intellectual head of World Mate and the ISF is Fukami Toshu, internationally known also as Handa Haruhisa, a man with manifold abilities. In Fukami's statements on Shinto, there is no secret about his religious and political aims. On the occasion of the inauguration of the World Mate branch in London in 1997, he explained explicitly the international mission of Shinto as a natural "conductor" of world religions. During World War II, in his view, Shinto had been "hijacked by Japanese military junta for nationalist political gain, the Shinto faith has had an unfortunate association with fascism." To address critics of this view, he points to the business world "with hypercritical employees leaving the company and greatly more talented and committed staff being enlisted." 6 Further comment on this statement seems unnecessary. 6. Both quotations were taken from a text by Fukami Toshu, published on the World Mate English homepage: I downloaded the text on 6 December 1999; the site was closed to free access at the end of 1999.

6 Review Section 409 In the internal hierarchy of the ISF, one contributor to the volume under review occupies a special position as a standing trustee: Sonoda Minoru. Both editors of the volume, John Breen and Mark Teeuwen, are founding members and members of the executive board of the ISF, as is Allan Grapard, who also holds the ISF chair for Shint6 Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. John Breen is chair of the SOAS Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions, which was founded by a donation from the ISF. Finally, at least one other author in the volume, Kamata T6ji, appertains as a founding member of the inner circle of the ISF. It seems therefore not wrong to observe a pronounced institutional proximity between the volume's editors, some of its most important contributors, and the ISF. The deep involvement of internationally renowned researchers in the ISF is left to their own pleasure of course. Nevertheless it remains the impression that the general idea of the book, postulating a "spiritualistic," politically "unladen" Shinto, having its roots in medieval esotericism, corresponds perfectly to the aims of this foundation to free the image of Shinto from all political contamination. In contrast, my own 20 years of research have convinced me that it is the political aspect that is constituent in the history of Shinto. Historical analysis shows that Shinto, as well as Buddhism, Confucianism, and other complex systems, is neither a clearly defined nor an invariable entity. Yet it is still possible to determine some characteristics and to document a continuity of main features of Shint6 as a system of thought. At the center lies the function of legitimizing political power. This "political purpose," stressed for example by the late prominent Japanese ethnologist Obayashi Taryo, is fundamental when speaking about Shinto. It is deeply influenced by classical Confucian concepts of the ideal state and can be clearly followed through history beginning with the artificially standardized mythology of ancient times via the shinkoku and the nativist ideologies of the middle ages and Edo period up to the modern construct of a distinct "national polity" (kokutai). Modern Nihonjinron, the (self-) reflection on Japan, indeed has a very long history. It is centered in the concept of an ethnically defined Japanese "imagined community," to use the well-known term coined by Benedict Anderson. The present work allows many deep insights into the historical development of the "ways of the kami" in Japan. In this respect it is a welcome and extremely valuable resource book, providing great contributions to our knowledge of Shinto. But the reader should bear in mind its distinct political purpose, clearly represented by some of the main contributions.