Gods’ Ways
Cesty božstev
Otázky interpretace náboženství a nacionalismu v moderním Japonsku
Gods’ Ways. Interpreting Religions and Nationalism in Modern Japan
The publications deals with the role of religious phenomena in the process of forming the national identity in modern Japan, with the problem to identify and interpret these phenomena. The introductory chapter is concerned with the issue of defining the theoretical and methodological frame of the thesis. In the conclusion to the chapter, the author proposes the definition of “religion” based on Benson Saler’s concept of tracing “family resemblances” of the phenomena classified as religious. Second chapter deals with the topic of interpreting and systematizing religious phenomena in Japan. It concentrates on the concepts of Shinto and Japanese religion in the works of H. B. Earhart, K. Werner, T. P. Kasulis, J. M. Kitagawa, and I. Ben-Dasan. The author offers a summary of their theories and confronts them with an alternative, more critical approach deconstructing the stereotypical view of Shinto as “indigenous Japanese religion” that is characterized as specific of the members of the Japanese nation. Third, final part deals with Yasukuni shrine in Tokio. It offers a survey of the so called Yasukuni issue and brings about a survey of the history of the shrine in the context of the history of modern Japan, particularly in the context of the origins and development of State Shinto. In the concluding part, the author offers a possible interpretative frame to be used for interpreting the phenomena of Japanese religiosity. This theory is based on a geographical or spatial view of “here – there – anywhere” proposed by Jonathan Z. Smith.
Author: Jakub Havlíček
ISBN 978-80-210-5563-6
DOI: 10.5817/CZ.MUNI.M210-5563-2011
223 p.
Paperback
147×210 mm
Price: 290 Kč
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