Department of Religious
Studies
Joseph Adler
- Links for Japanese Religions
- Selected handouts
- Syllabus:
Religious Studies 275
RELIGION IN JAPANESE CULTURE
| Joseph Adler | Spring 2005 | |
| Ascension 312 | MWF 2:10-3:00 (Per. 7) | |
| 427-5290 | Ascension 326 | |
| adlerj@kenyon.edu | Office hours: MW 3:10-4:00 TTh 1:00-2:30 | |
| and by appointment |
This course will be a historical and contemporary survey of religious life in Japan, focusing on the Shinto, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions. We will pay special attention to the ways in which religious ideas, values, and practices are integrated into the common forms of Japanese culture today. Classes will be a mixture of lecture and discussion and will be supplemented by films, which are to be considered as required texts.
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| Mt. Fuji and the Shinkansen (bullet train). |
The Great Buddha (Daibutsu)
at Kamakura
(Amida Buddha). |
READINGS
Available in Bookstore:
Ian Reader, Religion in Contemporary Japan
Joy Hendry, Understanding Japanese Society
Thomas P. Kasulis, Shinto: The Way Home
Kenneth Kraft, ed., Zen: Tradition and Transition
John Allyn, The Forty-seven Ronin Story
William R. LaFleur, Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan
On Course Reserve [CR]:
George J. Tanabe, Jr., ed., Religions of Japan in Practice
Mark R. Mullins, Shimazono Susumu, and Paul L. Swanson, eds., Religion and Society in Modern
Japan
Frederick H. Holck, ed., Death and Eastern Thought
Akiko Okuda and Haruko Okano, Women and Religion in Japan
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
- Participation (15% of course grade): Regular attendance, timely completion of reading
assignments, active participation in class discussions, and one short conference with
me in my office no later than Friday, Feb 4. Grading criteria are as follows:
A: Regular attendance, regular contribution to discussion
B: Regular attendance, occasional contribution
C: Too many absences OR too little contribution
D: Too many absences AND too little contribution
F: Other serious problems
Option: To supplement the class discussion portion of your participation grade for one week, you may turn in a written "reaction paper" (1-2 pages, typed, maximum one per week) containing your reactions to, reflections on, and/or questions about course readings, films, and lectures. These will be graded 1 (credit), 2 (good), or 3 (excellent) and will be returned within a week with comments.
- Two quizzes (10% each), consisting of fill-in-the-blank questions.
- Two take-home essays (20% each); topics given out one week in advance.
- Final exam (25%), same format as the quizzes, given on the last day of class.
Option: If your grades on Quiz 1 and Essay 1 are both B or better, and if you have a topic in Japanese religions that you would like to pursue further, you may write a 6-10 page research paper (typed, double-spaced, plus bibliography) instead of the final exam. You must clear your topic with me before Friday, April 1. The paper will make use of at least two books or articles outside of assigned class readings, and will be due by 4:30 on Friday, May 13.
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| New Year's display of sake at a Shinto shrine. |
Grand Sumo. |
COURSE SCHEDULE
| 1-2 | Jan 17-28 | Overview: Religion in Japanese history and culture | |
| Film: | “The Electronic Tribe” | ||
| Read: |
Hendry, Understanding Japanese Society, chs. 1, 7 (Sources of Japanese identity, Religious influences) |
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| Reader, Religion in Contemporary Japan, chs. 1, 2 | |||
| Ian Reader and George Tanabe, excerpt from "Introduction," Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan [handout] |
| 3-4 | Jan 31- Feb 11 |
Shinto |  |
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♦ Kami, shrines, and everyday connectedness |
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| Film: | "New Year's Rituals at Tsubaki Grand Shrine" | |||
| Read: |
Reader, ch. 3 |
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|
Kasulis, Shinto, pp. 1-70 (week 3), 71-170 (week 4) |
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Off-shore rock kami.
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| 5 | Feb 14-18 | Confucianism and Japanese society | ||
| Film: | “Neighborhood Tokyo” | |||
| Read: |
Hendry, chs. 2-6 (House and family system, Socialisation and classification, Community and neighbourhood, Status and stratification, Education system) |
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| 6-7 | Feb 21-Mar 4 | Buddhism | ||
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♦ Basic concepts |
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| Film: | “Land of the Disappearing Buddha” | |||
| Read: |
Reader, ch. 4 |
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| Jacqueline Stone, "The Contemplation of Suchness," in Tanabe, Religions of Japan in Practice [CR], pp. 199-209 | ||||
|
<< Spring Break >>
| 8 | Mar 21-25 | Zen Buddhism | |
Read:
|
Kraft, Introduction, chs. 1-4, 8-9 |
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| Dōgen, "Genjōkōan" [H] | |||
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| 9 | Mar 28-Apr 1 | Pure Land and Nichiren Buddhism | 
"Amida Buddha Looking Back" (for any stragglers to take to the Pure Land). Click on image for larger view. |
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| Read: |
Tanabe [CR], pp. 166-184, 257-288, 384-392 |
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| 10 | Apr 4-8 | Edo (Tokugawa) Period Religion | ||
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♦ The Samurai |
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| Read: |
Allyn, The Forty-seven Ronin Story |
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| Mary Evelyn Tucker, "Kaibara Ekken's Precepts on the Family," in Tanabe [CR], pp. 38-52 | ||||
| William R. LaFleur, "Japan," in Frederick H. Holck, ed., Death and Eastern Thought [CR], pp. 226-256 | ||||
| 11 | Apr 11-15 | Pilgrimage, Asceticism, and Life-cycle rituals |
 Pregnant woman touching Inari (fox-deity) for healthy childbirth (Suitengu Shrine, downtown Tokyo). |
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♦ Kōbō
Daishi |
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| Films: |
“Between Two Worlds: A Japanese Pilgrimage” |
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| Read: |
Reader, chs. 5-7 |
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| 12 | Apr 18-22 | New religions | ||
|
♦ Shinnyōen |
♦ Kirisuto
no Makuya ♦ Aum Shinrikyō ♦ Ōmotokyō ♦ Kurozumikyō |
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| Film: | “The Yamaguchi Story: Buddhism and the Family in Contemporary Japan” | |||
| Read: |
Reader, ch. 8 |
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| H. Byron Earhart and Etsuko Mita, "Makuya: Prayer, Receiving the Holy Spirit, and Bible Study," in Tanabe [CR], pp. 398-411 | ||||
| Haga Akira, "Women and Soka Gakkai," in Okuda and Okano, Women and Religion in Japan [CR], pp. 151-178 | ||||
| 13 | Apr 25-29 | Religion and the State |  |
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Film: | “Rituals of Remembrance” | |||
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| Read: | Mullins/Shimazono/Swanson, pp. 75-97, 102-104 [CR] | ||||
| Richard Gardner, "Nationalistic Shinto," in Tanabe [CR], pp. 334-339 | |||||
| Protesting against ... | ... Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni shrine. | ||||
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| 14 | May 2-6 | Mizuko-kūyō and abortion in Japan | ||
| Read: |
LaFleur, chs. 1-4, 9-12 |
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| A miko dancing at a festival at Izumo Grand Shrine. |
Edit date: 7/25/07
