Takakusu Junjirō; Buddhist Studies; Japanese Nationalism
摘要
The Tokyo Imperial University professor Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 (1866-1945) is today best known as one of the chief editors of the Taishō Tripitaka, the most frequently cited modern edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon. While the role of Takakusu in this enterprise is relatively well-known, his normative projects regarding the proper relationship between Buddhism and the Japanese state remain virtually unexamined. Th is paper will broadly introduce Takakusu and his work, exploring the context of his early scholarship in order to consider the way modern Buddhist Studies in Japan emerged in part as a discourse centered on civic duty and social responsibility. After a providing a brief biographical overview, I will discuss Takakusu’s idealized views of “Buddhist citizenry,” and consider his engagemen in debates on the role of “family” in national life. In doing so, this paper intends to show that Takakusu’s legacy was not limited to the sphere of philological criticism, but that it also had a lasting influence in presenting Buddhism as a powerful force in the consolidation of the Japanese Empire.
目次
1. Takakusu Junjirō: A Biographical Sketch 56 2. Th e Ideal of a Buddhist Citizenry 59 3. Kazoku Ideology in the 1910s: Some Contextual Remarks 63 4. In Closing: Buddhist Studies and Japan’s Civilizing Mission 65 References 67
