State Shinto and the Religious Structure of Modern Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID8203564
AuthorsSusumu Shimazono (ShinEtsu Chemical (Japan), corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume73
Issue4
Pages1077-1098
Publication date2005-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Academy of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7189 • E-ISSN: 1477-4585
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jaarel/lfi115
OpenAlexW2106147092
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited2

Many Japanese are feeling uneasy not only with the word “religion” but also with the word “Shinto,” especially the term “State Shinto.” The present author will explain the academic confusion surrounding the term “State Shinto” in contemporary Japan and will attempt to delineate an adequate strategy of how to use this term. Because of the occupation regime’s “Shinto Directive’s” narrow definition and the broad definition of the term “State Shinto,” these terms have been competing. This divergence was caused by the introduction of a modern legal system based upon the western concept of “religion.” By carefully using the term in its broad meaning the confusion can be resolved, and the structure of the modern Japanese religious system can be made clearer. We may also expect from this argument that a more adequate usage of the terms “religion” and “religions” will be explored

Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis) · Confusion · Directive · Divergence (linguistics) · Epistemology · Feeling · Linguistics · Meaning (existential) · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · State (computer science) · Term (time) · Chemistry · Chinese history and philosophy · Computer Science · History · Japanese History and Culture · Philosophy · Psychology

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