ESTABLISHING THE REVOLUTIONARY: AN INTRODUCTION TO NEW RELIGIONS IN JAPAN . Edited by Birgit Staemmler and Ulrich Dehn . Bunka—Wenhua: Tuebingen East Asian Studies Volume 20 . Berlin : LIT , 2011 . Pp. x + 397 . €29.90 .
摘要
As of December 2009, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs registered 182,521 religious corporations (shūkyō hōjin), primarily comprising religious sites (e.g., shrines, temples, and churches) administered by various Shintō and Buddhist traditions. This number also incorporates individual religions, many of which are commonly being labeled as “new religious movements” (NRMs; shinshūkyō). Even though scholars of Japan are well aware that NRMs play a vital role in modern society, research conducted in Western languages is still urgently needed. The editors go some way toward addressing this desideratum, offering a solid handbook‐like introduction to NRMs in Japan. Staemmler, a Japanologist specializing in NRMs (University of Tübingen), and Dehn, a theologian with sound Japanological expertise (University of Hamburg), have gathered a number of renowned Western and Japanese experts in the field within this edited collection. The introductory section is based on four essays expounding historical (Staemmler), soteriological (S. Shimazono), sociological (M. Watanabe), and economic (Y. Sakurai) aspects of NRMs in Japan. The ten cases studies largely deal with the “usual suspects”—Kōfuku no Kagaku, Mahikari, Ōmoto, Aum Shinrikyō, Risshō Kōseikai, Seichō no Ie, Sekai Kyūseikyō, Shinnyoen, Sōka Gakkai—but also include an engrossing account of the lesser known groups like Chino Shōhō (Jimenez‐Murguia). An unfortunate omission, for example, is Tenrikyō. All the papers in this collection are generally well crafted and similarly structured to provide a basic understanding of historical, doctrinal, social, and ritual facets. In addition, readers will find brief encyclopedic entries of roughly fifty NRMs in the supplements. A considerable bibliography at the end of the volume contains helpful further references in Japanese and several Western languages. This long‐awaited volume will serve as a useful textbook and should be welcomed by those interested in NRMs in East Asia and Japan.
