Engaged Buddhism; Japanese Labour Problem; Buddhist Social Reform; Watanabe Kaigyoku
摘要
Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡辺海旭 (1872–1933) was a Jōdoshū priest and scholar who contributed significantly to the fields of Buddhist education and social work in Japan, particularly following his return home in 1910 after a decade of study in Germany. Seeking to meld Buddhist ethics with modern methods of social work, Watanabe established the Jōdoshū Workers’ Mutual Aid Society in 1911. An exploration of his writings and the historical context behind the creation of this organization reveals that Watanabe did not envision a radical position for Buddhists on the issue of the ‘labour question’; rather, he imagined Buddhism as a harmonizing influence that could help avoid the pitfalls of unrestrained capitalism, on the one hand, and revolutionary socialism, on the other. The theoretical and practical approaches to social work of Japanese Buddhists like Watanabe should be viewed as early examples of what is now called ‘engaged Buddhism’, a category whose history has largely been restricted to the post-World War II era.
目次
Watanabe’s early life and ten-year stay in Germany 135 Watanabe’s return to Japan and the Jōdoshū Workers’ Mutual Aid Society 142
