＜概要/Course Content Summary＞
This course will introduce Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity, and the New Religions of Japan in the context of contemporary Japanese society and the issues it faces.
This year, the course will be taught entirely online through Zoom sessions, combining lecture and discussion formats. The syllabus has been revised accordingly, and all readings will be posted on Doshisha University’s Webdisk in a class folder entitled “Religion in Japan.” I will send a link to the folder, as well as information on Zoom meetings, through DUET messages to the class. Therefore, please be sure to check messages on DUET before each class.
＜到達目標/Goals,Aims＞
The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the perceptions, issues, and practice of various forms of religion in contemporary Japan.
＜授業計画/Schedule＞
（実施回/
Week）
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（内容/
Contents）
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（授業時間外の学習/
Assignments）
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 1
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（内容/ Contents）
Introduction
Topic: course introduction, description and requirements.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 1–22.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 2
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（内容/ Contents）
Shinto Gods and Myths
Topics: various types of kami, Kojiki and Nihon shoki, mythology.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 23–30, 55–76.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 3
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（内容/ Contents）
Shinto Shrines
Topics: shrine layout and structures, priests, shrine maidens, rituals, festivals, amulets.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Bernhard Scheid, “Shintō Shrines: Traditions and Transformations,” in Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions, ed. Inken Prohl and John Nelson (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2012), pp. 75–95.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 4
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（内容/ Contents）
Ise Jingū: Periodic Reconstructions
Topics: periodic reconstructions, Ise Jingū and the Emperor, politics and religion.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Viewing: Ise Jingū YouTube (NHK, Begin Japanology, 28 minutes) at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpyKF-nhlFI OR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b37brFloyTs
Reading: Mark Teeuwen and John Breen, A Social History of the Ise Shrines: Divine Capital (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017), pp. 1–7.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 5
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（内容/ Contents）
Japanese Buddhism: Commemorating the Life and Death of the Buddha.
Topics: commemorating and appropriating the life and death of Shākyamuni Buddha in Japan.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Readings: Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 30 (last paragraph)–40. Max Moerman, “Dying Like the Buddha: Intervisuality and the Cultic Image,” Impressions 29 (2007–2008), pp. 25–57.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 6
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（内容/ Contents）
Buddhist Temples and Images
Topics: temple layout and structures, Buddhist pantheon.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Readings: Penelope Mason, History of Japanese Art (2nd ed. Prentice Hall, 2004), pp. 57–65. Nishikawa Kyōtarō and Emily J. Sano, “Buddhist Imagery” in The Great Age of Buddhist Sculpture, AD 600–1300 (University of Washington Press, 1983), pp. 42–46.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 7
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（内容/ Contents）
Buddhist Sects and Practices
Topics: Mt. Hiei, “Mother Mountain of Japanese Buddhism,” Tendai and other sects, circumambulating monks.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Readings: Sources of Japanese Tradition, pp. 123–133. Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 134–153.
Viewing: “The Monks Risking Death on an Extraordinary Journey,” Journeyman Pictures (20 minutes) at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S06oMxdt40A
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 8
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（内容/ Contents）
Discussion: Religion and Contemporary Japanese Society
Topic: discussion based on student interview assignment.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Michael Pye, “Leading Patterns in Everyday Japanese Religion,” Sphinx, Yearbook 2008-9 (Societas Scientiarum Fennica), pp. 45-53.
Interview (only) due.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 9
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（内容/ Contents）
Shugendō Mountain Asceticism
Topic: yamabushi, mountain practices, lay practitioners, gender issues.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Readings: Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 107–123. Lindsey DeWitt, “Lifting the Barrier: Women’s Access to Sacred Mountains in Japan”, Kyoto Journal 78 (2013), pp. 34–37.
Interview assignment due.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 10
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（内容/ Contents）
Funerals and Ancestors
Topics: funerary and memorial rites, traditional and contemporary options.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 77–101.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 11
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（内容/ Contents）
Socially Engaged Religion
Topics: Buddhist disaster response, Fukushima Triple Disaster, COVID-19.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Viewing: “Buddhism after the Tsunami: The Souls of Zen” (2012, one hour) at: https://vimeo.com/158309233
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 12
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（内容/ Contents）
Socially Engaged and Experimental Buddhism
Topics: counselling, concerts, exhibitions, markets, monk bars, etc.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Readings: John K. Nelson, Experimental Buddhism: Innovation and Activism in Contemporary Japan (University of Hawai’i Press, 2013), pp. 192–201. Christal Whelan, Kansai Cool: A Journey into the Cultural Heartland of Japan (Tuttle, 2014), pp. 189–193.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 13
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（内容/ Contents）
Christianity in Japan
Topic: Hidden Christians, churches and schools, Christmas in Japan.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Religion in Japan: Unity and Diversity, pp. 161–170.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 14
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（内容/ Contents）
New Religions
Topics: what’s “new” about New Religions, Aum Shinrikyō.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Reading: Religion in Contemporary Japan, pp. 194–233.
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（実施回/ Week）
Week 15
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（内容/ Contents）
Final Evaluation
Take-home review-test due.
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（授業時間外の学習/ Assignments）
Review test as assignment.
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Course Requirements and Assignments
1. Online participation in Zoom classes and discussions, completion of required readings, viewings, and assigned reflection/review questions for each session. There are readings and viewings (listed in the Course Schedule below) to be completed in preparation for each class. (25%)
2. Interview assignment (25%)
3. Research paper (25%)
4. Final evaluation: open-book review test in the form of an assignment (25%)
＜成績評価基準/Evaluation Criteria＞
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Contributions to class discussions and reflection/review questions to be submitted
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25%
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Interview assignment
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25%
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Research paper
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25%
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Final evaluation
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25%
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Plagiarism and Cheating
Doshisha University does not tolerate plagiarism, cheating, or helping others to cheat. These actions will result in an automatic “F” in the course. Plagiarism is defined as misrepresenting the work of others (whether published or not) as your own. It may be inadvertent or intentional. Any facts, statistics, quotations, or paraphrasing of any information that is not common knowledge, should be cited.
＜テキスト/Textbook＞
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Ian Reader
, Religion in Contemporary Japan
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(Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, and London: The MacMillan Press, 1991)
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Selected readings from this textbook will be available on Webdisk.
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Readings additional to the textbook: articles and book chapters are listed under the Schedule above, and will be available on Webdisk.
＜参考文献/Reference Book＞
＜備考/Remarks＞
Instructor: Catherine Ludvik
Note: This syllabus will be subject to changes and/or revisions.
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