Recent trends in the white light association (Byakkō Shinkōkai)

Among the various fascinating features of the religious scene in Japan, the activities of the new religions continue to attract attention. And yet, given their number, and given the predilection of some commentators to highlight sensational cases, the character and development of some of the more steady movements often goes largely unremarked. The opportunity is therefore taken here to present a brief review of recent developments in the White Light Association, or to give it its Japanese name, the Byakkō Shinkōkai

Photography in the Study of Religion

The paper presented here was first written for the Community Religions Project at the University of Leeds, England, in March 1977, starting off a series of internal working papers in that program. That was nearly forty years ago and, in the meantime, with the advent of digital photography, there have been many changes. Nevertheless, apart from the archival interest, the methodological argument advanced here remains largely relevant today. Various valuable functions of photography in the study of religions are explored. The argument also builds up a strong emphasis on the importance of “characterization” in the study of religions, steering between theology and sociology. It therefore positions the study of religions as a discipline with its own requirements

Reflecting on the plurality of religions

This article consists of the full text of an opening lecture for a conference organized by the International Interfaith Centre, at Westminster College, Oxford, England UK, on 19th and 2oth April 1995. A shorter version of the text appeared in the journal World Faiths Encounter 14 (July 1996) pp. 3-11 (published by the World Congress of Faiths). The academic study of religions and dialogue between religions or "interfaith" activities are by no means the same thing. Yet they share one rather fundamental perception, namely that religions are plural in number. The article reflects on the tensions and relations between the two perspectives on the basis of this shared presupposition. It also calls for a rewriting of the history of the comparative study of religions, taking account in particular of the political and ideological background

A Nichirenite Scroll for Great Bodhisattva Myōken

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Japanese hanging scroll depicting a mandala typical of the Buddhism promoted by Nichiren 日蓮 (1222-82) that includes an iconographic depiction of the divinity Myōken 妙見. This divinity personifies the North Star and in time became a popular secondary reference point for many followers of Nichiren’s teaching. It is however most unusual for an iconic image to be included in a mandala composed in Nichiren’s style, for they usually consist only of characters, and that is why it is worthy of special consideration. In the sequel, two further Nichirenite examples without images are considered for the sake of additional context in the wider religiosity of Japan. The article includes relevant illustrations

Learning and Mission in The Eastern Buddhist

The purpose of this paper, first delivered in Japanese in 2018, is to consider how scholarly or academic studies of Buddhism can have relevance to practical life. Can Buddhist Studies Japanese: bukkyōgaku) “be real”– to quote the phrase which now symbolizes Otani University in Kyoto? Similar questions apply in the case of Christian Studies, Muslim Studies, Tenrikyō Studies, and so on. If practical issues are the guiding interest, can the research itself be at the same time independent and academic? Special reference is made here to The Eastern Buddhist, a journal founded in 1921 by a small group of scholars led by Suzuki Daisetsu. (The present writer served as General Editor of this journal for several years, retiring in 2019.

The study of religions and the dialogue of religions (Shûkyôgaku to shûkyôtaiwa)

Distinguishing between science of religions and dialogue of religions The purpose of this paper is to consider some of the ways in which the scientific study of religions1 might have implications for the continuing process of dialogue between religions. While the study of religions itself is a non-religious activity, the dialogue between religions, on the other hand, certainly is in some sense a religious activity. It involves the presentation and exchange of religious experiences and religious positions. It is possible for such dialogues to take place without reference to the study of religions. However it is possible that those involved in such dialogues might benefit from the perspectives opened up in the scientific study of religions. The present paper, based on a lecture given at Ôtani University in Kyôto, makes some suggestions in this direction

Shinran Shōnin wo omou 親鸞聖人を思う (“Thinking about Shinran Shōnin”)

東本願寺の報恩講での講演(28.11.2015)。 1 序文,信仰と信心. 2　歎異抄と民間宗教の緊張感. 3 真宗の思想と現世利益の問題. 4　阿弥陀如来の超自然性. 5　親鸞ゆかりの地を訪ねて

Releasing the Potential of Nursing Labour

The recent release of the "Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Nursing: Releasing the Potential of Nursing" provides a useful point of reference to analyse again the changing division of labour in the production of health and sickness services in New Zealand following a period of significant reform. Sociological inquiry into the relationships between the various occupational groups engaged in the provision of health services has, in the past, tended to focus on the professionalising projects of the respective occupations, and on the contestation/cooperation at the 'closure boundaries' between those groups. This paper argues that, in the reformed health sector, with its cascade of principals and agents, output based contracts and contestable contracting; the historic form of analysis is adequate. A different form of analysis is needed to explore the new changing relationships both within and between the health occupational groups themselves; and secondly and perhaps more importantly, to analyse the changing relationships between the health industry occupations and the State

The Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters

It was an excellent idea to attempt a more accessible translation of the Kojiki, Japan’s oldest published chronicle, especially as this has enjoyed a revival of interest among the Japanese public in recent years. What for many years has been the standard English translation, and in many respects still is, was that by Donald Philippi (University of Tokyo Press 1968), which was indeed somewhat formidable. Gustav Heldt has taken quite different policy decisions over his translation, and these are what will be considered in this brief review. Any questions of fundamental accuracy will have to be left to other reviewers with competence in ancient Japanese