Japanese Religions

The article analyses Mishima Yukio's play Madame de Sade focusing on the final act in which the Marquise Renée, after having supported her husband during the long years of his imprisonment, refuses to meet him and retires to a nunnery. Through the prism of the theories developed by Kuki Shūzo in The Structure of Iki, the protagonist's apparently irrational choice is reinterpreted in an existentialist key as an act of self-determination that redefines the meaning of her existence. The analysis of the final pages of the play highlights how iki, and in particular the conceptual poles of amami and shibumi linked to it, are fundamental to understand Renée's transformation into a symbol of autonomy and freedom.

This article traces the development of Reiki mysticism across six historical stagesfrom Christian sanctification and Holiness healing to Buddhist traditions of receptivity and devotional participation, especially Pure Land (Jōdo-shū), together with later contemplative interpretations-culminating in its structured expression within Usui Shiki Ryōhō. Using Kees Waaijman's ten characteristics of mystical experience as a phenomenological lens, the study examines how ethical, ritual, and experiential elements converge to form a latent mystical tradition within Reiki practice. Particular attention is given to experiential patterns frequently reported by practitioners-such as sensing a guiding presence, experiencing energy as acting 'through' rather than 'by' the practitioner, and undergoing lasting personal transformation. These experiences correspond closely with Waaijman's characteristics of Presence, Passivity and immediacy, and Shift of the act-center, suggesting that Reiki practice is often lived as participation in a greater-than-self healing activity rather than as the manipulation of a neutral energy. The study further considers the role of ritual transmission and symbolic interpretation in the development of Reiki mysticism, exploring how Reiki symbols may function as vehicles through which transformative experiences become communicated, interpreted and contemplated, and collectively embodied within living Reiki traditions.

This paper attempts to reinterpret the thought of Shinran’s later years through the lens of contemporary philosophical concepts—specifically, Kōjin Karatani’s theory of modes of exchange and Kōichiro Kokubun’s theory of the middle voice—thereby connecting a central theme of Shin-Buddhist doctrine with cutting-edge discussions in contemporary philosophy and elucidate its significance in the modern world.

This paper is a study in philosophy and the history of ideas that reconstructs the thought of Shinran’s later years by drawing upon Kōjin Karatani’s theory of modes of exchange and Kōichiro Kokubun’s theory of the middle voice. Its most distinctive feature lies in the approach of interpreting "transference of merit by the power of the Original Vow" (*hongan-riki ekō*) through the lens of the "middle voice"—a concept Kokubun discussed in philosophical detail in his book *The World of the Middle Voice* 中動態の世界 (Igaku-Shoin 医学書院, 2017).

This introduction questions why the term “esoteric,” though widely used in Asian studies, has rarely been examined in terms of its theoretical assumptions and historical background. Its usage is tied to encounters between Europe and Asia since the sixteenth century, including religious dialogue, mistranslation, and strategic borrowing of terms. Yet the study of esotericism, much of which was been done within the framework of “Western esotericism,” has long excluded the East, creating an unexamined divide between “Western” and “non-Western” spheres. Instead of treating “esoteric” as a fixed category, this introduction proposes a historical approach that asks how the term has been used—by whom, in what context, and for what aim. This method is necessary to rebuild esotericism studies on global terms. It does not simply apply Western theories to Asia but offers new perspectives through dialogue with Asian practices and knowledge systems.

This paper reconsiders repetition in craft practice not merely as a technical or formal procedure, but as a condition through which meaningful experience emerges. In conventional craft discourse, repetition has often been understood in relation to technical mastery, habitual labor, or the reproduction of stylistic identity, frequently positioned in opposition to artistic creativity and individuality. By contrast, this paper argues that repetition functions as a generative structure through which perception, material resistance, temporality, and embodied practice become organized into aesthetic experience. The paper emerges from the context of Japanese craft discourse, particularly the legacy of Mingei theory and its tendency to interpret craft practices through concepts such as spirituality, naturalness, and selflessness. While post-1990s Japanese art and cultural studies introduced institutional and postcolonial critiques that destabilized essentialist understandings of craft, questions concerning repetition, embodied temporality, and the experiential structure of making have remained insufficiently theorized. Through comparative analyses of Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, Peter Voulkos, and Edmund de Waal, this paper proposes four modalities of repetition: embodied habit, material excess, spatial seriality, and mythic narrativization. Rather than treating repetition as a singular concept, the paper examines how repetition operates across different structural levels̶body, material, space, and discourse. The paper ultimately argues that the "miraculous" or "spiritual" qualities often associated with craft should not be understood as transcendent properties, but as experiential effects emerging from the accumulation of repetition, material resistance, and temporal duration. Repetition therefore does not merely reproduce sameness; it functions as a condition through which meaning becomes perceptible within craft practice.

This comparative study applies Joseph Campbell's monomyth theory to examine how the classical hero's journey-comprising the phases of departure, initiation, and return-manifests itself in Semitic religions and Japanese religious traditions. The monomyth theory offers a universal paradigm of the hero narrative, enabling a comparison between the narratives of prophets in Semitic religions and the life stories of Japanese Buddhist founders. The study focuses on leading figures in the Semitic tradition (Moses, Jesus, and Muḥammad) and important Buddhist monks in the Japanese tradition (Kūkai, Shinran, and Nichiren), aiming to show how the three phases of the monomyth theory appear in both contexts. Despite broad cultural and doctrinal differences, these narratives exhibit striking structural similarities and common motifs. Each figure experiences a departure from society, undergoes a transformative trial in a sacred mountain, cave, or place of seclusion, or has a vision/revelation experience. After this process, which carries the symbolic nature of death and rebirth, these figures/heroes return to establish or renew a religious community. While Moses, Jesus, and Muḥammad are depicted in the Semitic tradition as being guided directly by divine revelation, Kūkai, Shinran, and Nichiren are accepted as enlightened figures through mystical experiences. Moses' revelation on Mount Horeb; Jesus's crucifixion on the hill of Golgotha and resurrection in the empty rock tomb; and Muḥammad's first vision in the Cave of Ḥirāʾ find parallels in Kūkai's enlightenment on a sacred peak, Shinran's exile and spiritual rebirth, and Nichiren's near-execution miracle, respectively. These similarities demonstrate that the monomyth theory provides a useful framework for a comparative reading of the life stories of religious founders. Accordingly, this research argues that the monomyth theory reveals similar structural patterns across different faiths and that the concept of Sophia Perennis manifests in unique forms within diverse cultural contexts.

In the current international landscape, NATO is more likely to continue operating on a track of “verbal coordination, but individual action” —highly unified in political declarations, but on the substance of military intervention, each nation will act according to its own national interest calculus.***
Either consciously or due to lack of knowledge, Article 5 of NATO has been used by Western Media and liberal “experts” which  reinforces the fantasies and wishful thinking on one side, and fears on the other. People  assume that an attack on a NATO member will automatically trigger a “collective defense”  and/or “offense” which creates a larger false fear of a “nuclear war” between the nuclear powers.

This book consists of an annotated translation of the text of the Kasuga gongen genki e 春 日権現験記絵 (Illustrated Chronicle of the Miracles of the Kasuga Deity, hereinafter the Genki) accompanied by notes that provide historical and religious context.

Death constitutes the last part of the life cycle. Although both being born and living are welcomed with joy by human beings, death brings pain and eternal unhappiness. This paper focuses on revealing how the concept of death, which contains deep sadness, is handled in Turkish and Japanese proverbs. Proverbs are stereotypes passed from one generation to another and are very important in reflecting the lifestyles and ways of thinking of the societies to which they belong. Proverbs are essential in transferring cultural knowledge because our ancestors created them with the accumulation and experience of many years. In this study, comparative analysis method is employed. Total of 127 proverbs, including 80 Turkish proverbs and 47 Japanese proverbs, are examined. They are grouped into death has causes, death as an unknown end, death has time to occur, grief for death, death is not welcomed, death occurs one time, death as a bad situation, understanding the value of things and people after death, death and animal, after death there is no meaning, comparing the wrong things with death, death relates to funerals and religious rituals, death is a relief and escape, and contradicting proverbs. As a conclusion, although Turkish and Japanese people have different cultural backgrounds, it is seen in proverbs that they have similar cultural values to death. All categories as mentioned above have similarities except the grief for death seen in Turkish proverbs but not in Japanese. The religious rituals that relate to death differ as both (Turks and Japanese) have different religions. Although there are expressions about Islam in Turkish

This article explores the short story Tattoo (刺青shisei), written by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō (谷崎 潤 一郎 1886-1965), and the film Kwaidan (怪談), directed by Kobayashi Masaki (小林正樹1916-1996), to illustrate how beauty can be intrinsically linked to dark motifs, such as cruelty, sadism, and horror. The aim is to challenge a restrictive view of beauty, particularly the classical Greek ideal that foregrounds harmony, symmetry, and proportion. Beauty as an aesthetic value has long been recognized as culturally and historically constructed, and writers have explored new approaches to it, especially from the Romantic period onwards. The examination of Tattoo and Kwaidan reveals that beauty may also serve as a central aesthetic value in works characterized by somber and unsettling themes.

This study reports on the construction of a one million word English-Arabic Political Parallel Corpus (EAPPC), which will be a useful resource for research in translation studies, language learning and teaching, bilingual lexicography, contrastive studies, political science studies and cross-language information retrieval. It describes the phases of corpus compilation and explores the corpus, by way of illustration, to discover the translation strategies used in rendering the Arabic and Islamic culture-specific terms takfīr and takfīrī from Arabic into English and from English into Arabic. The Corpus consists of 351 English and Arabic original documents and their translations. A total of 189 speeches, 80 interviews and 68 letters, translated by anonymous translators in the Royal Hashemite Court, were selected and culled from King Abdullah II's official website, in addition to the textual material of the English and Arabic versions of His Majesty's book, Our Last Best Chance:...

This short but attractive and intriguing book opens with a discussion of oshi-katsu – “activities to express one’s support for one’s favourite people or things, most typically pop idols” (p. 1) – and the way such devotion shades into religion-like attitudes and behaviours. Satoko Fujiwara and Hiroki Miura want to avoid the direct parallel – fandoms are religions for young Japanese – but want to stress the ways in which “contemporary religious forms .. structurally and affectively resemb[le] oshi-katsu” (p. 2). Their concern is 2.5 dimensional, in-between 2 dimensional (manga, anime) and 3 dimensional (real humans). Invented or fiction-based religions are part of this mix, as are young people’s encounters with “virtual reality, augmented reality, and physical reality” (p. 3). Japanese youth are nonreligious in general, but religious and nonreligious alike have common factors that make meaning. The authors identify “practicing belonging … vicarious spirituality … gendered fetishism … parody of religion … 2.5-dimensional [and] subjective rituals or ritualization” (p. 5) as core.

American psychologist Julian Jaynes (1920-1997) published one influential book, The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (1976). His idea that modern consciousness was a comparatively recent invention and prior to that humans experienced auditory hallucinations that were interpreted as coming from God/ the gods is controversial and has not gained traction, though it has some admirers. The author of The Vestiges of Japanese Spirituality: Challenging the Standard Model of Religious History, Brian McVeigh, is one of the principal disseminators of Jaynes’ ideas, and a researcher at the Julian Jaynes Society. This is an interesting short book in which McVeigh proposes that a Jaynesian perspective can provide new data on Japanese religions, both old and new.

THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE, high-resolution archaeological survey using ground penetrating radar to explore turf house settlements in Iceland. Twelve surveys were undertaken on sites across the island including at Keldur Farm where the radar located previously unidentified house platforms. This complex of buildings is located 80 m south of the current farmstead, and in close proximity to the Hekla volcano, buried beneath windblown sediment and volcanic ash. It is possible that these remains relate to a monastery, which is thought to have been founded by Jón Loftsson on his farm in the Middle ages. In addition to extrapolating an important phase in Keldur’s historic development, the results from this study highlight the value of high-resolution geophysical methods in identifying and characterising previously unknown aspects of Iceland’s archaeological landscape.

For decades, Reiki has commonly been understood as a spiritual healing practice founded ex nihilo in 1922 by Mikao Usui. This article proposes a revised chronological reconstruction of Reiki's early history based on a methodological shift from foundercentered to process-centered historiography. Rather than interpreting Reiki as the sudden creation of a single isolated founder, the article situates its emergence within the broader religious, intellectual, and psycho-spiritual environment of Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa Japan. Particular attention is given to the possible formative relationship between Rev. Tokio Yokoi and Mikao Usui, following discoveries and discussions that emerged between 2022 and 2026 concerning biographical parallels between Yokoi and the oral narrative transmitted by Hawayo Takata. Within this reconstruction, Yokoi appears as a plausible theological and spiritual precursor, while Usui emerges as the central public transmitter through whom Reiki became historically visible. The article further argues that early Reiki developed at the intersection of several converging traditions, including the Japanese Holiness Movement, Pure Land Buddhism, ritual practices such as chinkon kishin, and broader currents of spiritual healing and selfcultivation circulating in Taishō Japan. Particular attention is given to the polarity between embodied "self-power" and metaphysical "other-power", interpreted as a conceptual framework helping to illuminate the emerging structure of Reiki practice. In this context, Reiki is understood not merely as a healing technique but as a mediating practice integrating ethical cultivation, ritual transmission, receptive spirituality, and embodied transformation. Rather than replacing one founder narrative with another, the article proposes that Reiki emerged through a layered historical process involving overlapping actors, traditions, and retrospective forms of institutional memory. Reiki's early history is therefore best understood not as a fixed origin event, but as an evolving process of spiritual formation, articulation, and canonization.

For over a century, very few historical facts were known about the origins of Reiki, apart from the name Mikao Usui as its alleged founder, the existence of an organization called the Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai, and a memorial stone erected in 1927 referring to Usui and his practice. In recent decades, scholars have attempted to reconstruct Usui's life in order to explain the origins of Reiki. Initially, the prevailing scholarly approach worked within a document-or founder-centered framework, seeking to explain Reiki primarily through historically verifiable information about Mikao Usui. Around 2022-2023, however, it became increasingly plausible that another figure, Rev. Tokio Yokoi, may have played a role in Reiki's early development. This led me to shift from a founder-centered to a process-centered approach.

This festschrift has been compiled by colleagues, friends, and students of Evgeny Steiner, a notable Japanologist, art historian, cultural theorist, and literary scholar. The range of articles and essays spans Japanese and Chinese religion, literature, and art; the art of the Avant-garde; children's books, and other areas related to E. Steiner's interests.

This thesis demonstrates that in post-classical American cinema the landscape ceases to be scenery and becomes the first actor. Through the analysis of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Lost, it shows how the desert of Tatooine, the temple of Petra, and the Island prescribe specific emotions — nostalgia for the prison, awe of the sacred, paranoia of paradise — using a yin grammar derived from Japanese aesthetics: mono no aware, yūgen, wabi-sabi, ma. The shift from the yang hero who conquers space to the yin landscape that dissolves the hero is read as an evolution of U.S. cultural hegemony: from exporting plots to exporting emotional geographies. The conclusion proposes an update to Campbell’s monomyth: no longer the hero’s journey, but the dissolution of the ego into the frame.

Prince Shōtoku veneration in medieval art, literature, and religious practice has been well-examined in English academic literature; however, the role of music and dance in his devotional cult has received little to no attention. While missing in his earliest biographies, from the tenth century onward, Prince Shōtoku was inserted into histories and narratives of specific performances transmitted from the Asian mainland, and foreign musical entertainment became the centerpiece at his annual death memorial. Through examining the narratives of three categories of music and dance in written and painted biographies, musical encyclopedias, and the performances themselves, this article demonstrates how crucial musical performance was in the worship and spread of the Prince Shōtoku cult, especially during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Moreover, these narratives relied upon his authority and legacy to localize and legitimate foreign music in Buddhist settings and authenticate instruments said to have been used or made by him.

There are only a few scholars who have dealt with the view on human rights of Max Weber (18641920) so far. One of the main reasons is that he did not write the systematic work on human rights. But it does not mean that he was not interested in the subject of human rights. Weber was rather so much interested in some problems of human rights, such as religious toleration, religious liberty, freedom of conscience, equality before the law, and suffrage. In particular, like his colleague Georg Jellinek (18511911), he showed interest in the subject regarding the origin of human rights and was engaged in it. The purpose of this paper is to discuss Weber’s view on the origin of human rights, especially, on the historical and theoretical origin of freedom of religion. Three points made clear in this paper are as follows. The first is that there was a close relationship between the emergence of freedom of religion and the Protestant sects’ doctrines. Weber often stressed the influence of thei...

У наш час чомусь прийнято вважати, що в українській мові не вживається слово "ад" з тієї причини, що воно, по-перше, буцімто є російським і в українській лексиці його ніколи не було, а подруге, на тій підставі, що існує його відповідник ― "пекло". Іншими словами, обстоюється позиція, згідно з якою в українській мові еквівалентом грецького "гадес" (ад) виступає виключно слово "пекло. Втім, відслідковуючи етимологію українського слова "пекло", висновуємо ― воно за своїм змістом таким не завжди може виступати.

Джерело: Павленко П.Ю. До питання про ад і пекло // Українське релігієзнавство: Бюлетень Української Асоціації релігієзнавців і Відділення релігієзнавства Інституту філософії імені Г.С. Сковороди НАНУ. 2001. № 20. С. 24-31.

This article examines, from the perspective of cross-cultural understanding, how Japanese people have come to accept Islam through their encounters and relationships with foreign Muslims. In particular, the article focuses on the role played by foreign Muslims and their influence on Japanese people and illustrates how Japanese people came to understand and accept Islam, a religion unfamiliar to Japanese society. The first encounter on a civilian level was made during the Meiji era, when the Ottoman warship Ertugrul sank off the coast of Wakayama prefecture in 1890. Sixty-nine crew members were rescued by residents near the site of the accident. The survivors were sent back to Turkey aboard two Japanese warships. Before WW II, Japan's colonial policies in northern and northwestern China contributed to the development of Islamic studies as an important part of Japan's national policy. In addition, some Turkic Muslims in Central Asia came into contact with Japanese military men or Japanese government officials and were invited to Japan. Before WW II, thanks to Japan's Islam policy, the so-called Kaikyō Seisaku, Islam was introduced and spread in Japan. After the war, however, Muslims in Japan had to establish Islamic institutions (build masjids, Muslim cemeteries and so on) and maintain their communities on their own. However, this situation was to change with the arrival of foreign Muslim workers. In the late 1980s, the Japanese economy boomed. Many companies in Japan suffered from labor shortages. Foreign Muslim workers came to Japan and were welcomed to work mainly as blue-collar workers. As a result, the number of Muslim workers increased and some married Japanese women who then converted to Islam. In the present day, there are new foreign Muslim workers who have been invited to Japan as trainees. In addition, a large number of Muslim tourists have been visiting Japan in recent years. As a gesture of hospitality (Omotenashi) tailored to them, some restaurants have begun to provide halāl meals. Also, the number of Muslim students has been increasing year by year. Some universities have opened a halāl café or restaurant, and a simple prayer room. Such Islamic environments within universities also provide Japanese students with opportunities to experience different cultures and diversity. As outlined above, an overview of the history of Islam in Japan reveals that the presence of foreign Muslims from overseas has not only provided opportunities for the development of Japan's Islamic environment but has also influenced the Japanese understanding and acceptance of Islam. Furthermore, direct encounter between Japanese people and Muslims has been shown to facilitate a more profound understanding of Islam.

The purpose of this article is to introduce and analyze the rituals associated with kami belief, which occupies a central position in the Shinto tradition. While presenting these rituals, the study also examines their historical roots, cultural context, and the conceptual relationship between ritual practice and kami. The research addresses the following questions: What are Shinto rituals? How can they be classified? In what ways are Japanese celebrations and commemorations structured around ritual practice? How are rituals performed, and what is the nature of the relationship between rituals and the sacred beings known as kami? In preparing the study, Japanese-language sources were prioritized in order to convey the performance and internal logic of Shinto rituals from a first-hand perspective. English sources were used selectively, and the works of Japanese scholars raised within Japanese cultural contexts were especially consulted to ensure contextual accuracy. Studies on Japanese religions conducted in Turkey were also examined. The findings of the research indicate that Shinto ritual practice is closely linked to the geography and lifestyle of the Japanese people. Since ancient times, communities engaged in rice cultivation developed beliefs and ritual practices intended to secure a successful harvest; these beliefs later formed the foundation of Shinto worship. Methodologically, the study employs a descriptive narrative approach and applies epoche, a key method in the history of religions, to maintain an objective and descriptive perspective. When examining the relationship between rituals and kami, evaluations were made without departing from primary sources. One of the significant findings is that Shinto represents not only a traditional and cultural structure but also a ritual system centered on kami, whose presence is connected to ancestral spirits and natural phenomena. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that Shinto ritual practice is more diverse and detailed than is commonly assumed. Natural elementssuch as water used in purification rites, rice offered to kami, and sacred tree branches incorporated into ritual space-form essential components of Shinto worship. Through the rituals and practices described, the study clarifies the extent to which natural phenomena have shaped kami belief and influenced ritual structure in the Japanese tradition.

The prominent Pan-Asianist intellectual Shūmei Ōkawa (1886 – 1957), distinguished for his extensive scholarship on Islam, articulated his vision of Asia in the comprehensive treatise Fukkō Ajia Shomondai 復興亜細亜諸問題 (The Problems of the Revival of Asia). In this work, he examined a wide range of Asian polities within their historical contexts. Ōkawa’s initial interest in India—stimulated by Sir Henry Cotton’s New India, or India in Transition (1904)—gradually evolved into a broader engagement with the Asian continent as a whole. His concurrent studies of Hinayana Buddhism also fostered a sustained interest in Islam, which he regarded as integral to the spiritual and political landscape of Asia. Ōkawa advanced the view that the defining condition uniting the peoples of Asia was their shared subjugation to Western domination—manifested in forms of enslavement, colonization, and exploitation. This claim was explicitly extended to Muslim societies, most of which, with the exception of Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, had been incorporated into European imperial domains. Therefore, from Ōkawa’s perspective, the “Asian Question” is essentially reduced to a question of liberation from the West. Within this analytical frame, Ōkawa devoted sustained attention to the Young Turk movement, which he interpreted as a paradigmatic instance of anti-Western resistance. While he acknowledged their dual commitment to modernization and the preservation of Islamic tradition through the selective appropriation of Western civilization, his appraisal was far from uncritical. He regarded their Pan-Turkist project—particularly the precipitous drive to unify disparate Turkish populations and to elevate Turks to a position of primacy—as problematic. In Ōkawa’s estimation, the Turks were neither culturally nor politically superior to other Asian peoples; thus, the Young Turks’ attempts to pursue their ideals without due consideration of domestic and international realities represented a significant structural weakness of the movement. More broadly, Ōkawa underscored that Asia’s struggle for freedom and equality could not be conceived solely in political or material terms but required a profound grounding in spiritual principles. The sacral dimension—namely, the internalization of values and the cultivation of a distinctive cultural identity—was, for him, indispensable. On these grounds, he contended that Asian peoples were in no respect inferior to the West. Accordingly, this study situates Fukkō Ajia Shomondai within the intellectual and political debates of its time, analyzing not only Ōkawa’s general critique of Western colonialism but also his reflections on the place of Muslim societies and Turkey within Asia’s emancipatory project, and, ultimately, his articulation of Japan’s pivotal role in shaping the future of Asia.

The article examines the Sōka Gakkai new religious movement in terms of its historical origins, motivating factors and characteristic features and through a comparative analytical approach it demonstrates how this movement's model of religious education, together with Islamic educational systems, has acquired institutional functionality in modern societies. By assessing the interactions among worship practices, organizational structures and instructional principles, the study shows that, despite theological divergences, different religious traditions have developed structural parallels in relation to religious learning and socialization. The findings reveal that this resemblance is not confined to the level of instruction alone; rather, the liturgical order and the processes of religious education assume a dual function that both reinforces social cohesion and nourishes individual spiritual equanimity. The research is based on a qualitative paradigm and draws on literature review and content analysis. Content analysis entails the systematic comparison of thematic similarities and structural patterns between the doctrinal discourses, liturgical orders and organizational structures of the two traditions. The primary sources consist of Sōka Gakkai's official publications, while the secondary sources comprise scholarly studies on both traditions. The data indicate that Sōka Gakkai combines Makiguchi's pedagogy of value creation with the principle of buppō, thereby transforming worship practices into mechanisms of collective learning through discussion meetings and written materials. Within the Islamic tradition, a Qur'an-centered liturgical order, practices of prayer and supplication, the mosque and formal educational institutions together generate a multilayered learning ecosystem that integrates doctrine with institutional structure. The original contribution of the study is to introduce an interdisciplinary perspective to the comparative analysis of religious education by systematically examining the educational order of a Japan-based new religious movement and the institutionalized mechanisms of education within the Islamic tradition along the axes of worship-instructional relations, organizational configuration and social function. In this regard, the article renders visible the functional dimensions that religious education acquires in modern societies through a comparative treatment of these structures and thereby contributes to the literatures of both religious education and the history of religions. In so doing, the study establishes a comprehensive point of reference for researchers who investigate the educational orders 248 • Educational Approaches of Islam and Soka Gakkai www.dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/eskiyeni of new religious movements in Japan and the institutionalized educational mechanisms of the Islamic tradition.

This study involves a comparative analysis of the typology of God in Islam and the Japanese religious movement Tenrikyo. The monotheistic/tawhid conception of God in Islam demonstrates a typological and phenomenological resemblance to the monolatric conception of God in the Japanese religious movement Tenrikyo. The primary aim is to critique the early, dichotomous (multi/mono) classifications of god typologies by examining the conceptions of God within these two traditions. The author places greater emphasis on the assertion that the fundamental structural aspect of these concepts lies in the dichotomous relationship between the sacred and the profane. A thorough examination reveals a striking phenomenological similarity centered on a unified understanding of sacredness. Both monotheistic/tawhid and monolatric conceptions are based on a structure that grounds multiple divine entities within a single, central sacredness. This similarity extends beyond the basic single-versus-multiple axis definition of the supreme being in both religious systems; it is evident that the manner in which they conceptualize God shapes their monotheistic/tawhid and monolatric frameworks. A particular focus of the study was the comparison of common typologies in Islam and Tenrikyo at the monotheistic/tawhid-monolatric level. These typologies were analyzed through the lenses of conceptions of God as parent, merciful, punishing, forgiving, intervening, creative, and savior. The objective of this comparison is to identify the shared phenomenological commonalities and divergences in the concept of central sacredness within both systems. The study employs scientific research techniques, including data classification and analysis, as well as phenomenological comparison methods from the history of religions. The study is organized under seven main headings: The following typologies are delineated: parental typology, merciful God typology, punitive typology, forgiving typology, interventionist typology, creative typology, and savior typology. The present study will examine the conceptions of God in Islam and Tenrikyo by means of a comparative analysis of these two religious traditions.

The study approaches the development of Islam in Japan from a phenomenological perspective, examining the emergence of syncretic interpretations that arose in this process. The Japanese religious landscape is multi-layered, flexible, and open to multiple faith affiliations. The research focuses on how the religion was received, transformed, and reinterpreted within the Japanese cultural context. The Japanese religious tradition, shaped through the shinbutsu-shūgō 神仏習合 (kami-Buddha amalgamation) of Shintoism and Buddhism, provides a syncretic foundation that allows various beliefs to coexist. Within this framework, Japanese intellectuals such as Ōkawa Shūmei 大川周明, Tanaka Ippei 田中一 平, and Ahmad Bunhachirō Ariga 有賀文八郎アフマド advocated reinterpreting Islam in harmony with indigenous spiritual systems. This approach sought conceptual parallels with Daijō Bukkyō 大乗仏教 (Mahāyāna Buddhism) and Shintoism to facilitate the religion's cultural adaptation. After World War II, intellectual interest in Islam re-emerged, leading to new discourses on "Japanese Islam." From the 1970s onward, institutions such as Nihon Isurāmu Kyōdan, 日本イスラーム教団 (the Japanese Islamic Congress (JIC), Japan Islamic Movement) contributed to the institutional reconfiguration of Islamic thought. During this period, the concept of Daijō Islam 大乗イスラーム (Mahāyāna Islam) was articulated by Haruo Abe as an ideological model, gaining an institutional framework. Today, the image of Islam in Japan continues to evolve amid tensions between historical prejudices and efforts toward cultural accommodation. In conclusion, this study examines the historical, intellectual, and institutional dimensions of Islam in Japan, revealing the transformation of the religion into a localized and syncretic form of belief. The findings indicate that the flexibility of Japanese culture allows universal religions to acquire new meanings within local contexts.

Collective identity is significantly influenced by religious and belief-based rituals. In this study, belief-based intangible cultural heritage (ICH) rituals from the Islamic and Japanese cultures that are listed on UNESCO's Representative List are compared in multidimensional analysis. The research investigates the convergence of ritual practices around shared anthropological imperatives, such as identity formation, temporal structuring, and the mediation of sacred presence, despite theological and cosmological divergences, through the use of a tripartite classification model-functional, typological, and processual. The investigation reveals layered symbolic grammars and performative modalities by analyzing selected Japanese elements (e.g., Hayachine Kagura, Raiho-shin, Furyu-odori) and Islamic practices (e.g., Semah, Qālišuyān, Arba'in services) in the context of classical ritual theory and UNESCO's heritage concept. The results emphasize that Islamic rituals are typically rooted in devotional intensity and prophetic historicity, whereas Japanese rituals frequently emulate animistic pluralism and ecological cyclicality. This distinction requires a comparative methodology that rejects essentialist equivalence and prioritizes contextual sensitivity. In addition, the research underscores the dual function of UNESCO's ICH Lists as both representational platforms and safeguarding mechanisms, which influence the narrative contours of cultural legitimacy and visibility. The processual dimension of ritual, which is stressed as a critical yet under-theorized axis within heritage discourse, is its ability to generate communitas, enact symbolic inversion, and facilitate ontological transformation. Rituals like Hayachine Kagura and Qālišuyān are examples of liminal architectures that transcend doctrinal boundaries. However, their heritage inscription frequently reduces their complexity to aesthetic registers. In conclusion, the research promotes a culturally grounded, ethically attuned, and reflexive approach to ritual analysis within global heritage frameworks. The proposed classification model contributes to the advancement of inclusive and transparent scholarship in intangible heritage studies by functioning not only as a heuristic tool but also as a critical apparatus for interrogating the normative architectures of heritage representation.

Every genuine martial arts tradition begins with form. The repetition of patterns, the correction of stances, and the seemingly endless refinement of minute details are the first steps of a path that leads far beyond technique. In Japanese martial arts, this progression is elegantly captured in the triad of Shu-Ha-Ri, a model of learning that traces the journey from obedience (Shu), to release (Ha), and then to transcendence (Ri).

Every genuine martial arts tradition begins with form. The repetition of patterns, the correction of stances, and the seemingly endless refinement of minute details are the first steps of a path that leads far beyond technique. In Japanese martial arts, this progression is elegantly captured in the triad of Shu-Ha-Ri, a model of learning that traces the journey from obedience (Shu), to release (Ha), and then to transcendence (Ri).

This essay will explore each stage of Shu-Ha-Ri in detail, from the rigid discipline of Shu to the creative release of Ha, and finally to the transcendence of Ri. Along the way, we will see how principles evolve from concealed concepts to embodied wisdom, culminating in a journey that circles back, ever-deepening in understanding.

This article offers a philological introduction, critical edition, annotated English translation, and glossary of Chinkon setsu (鎮魂説 Treatise on Soul Pacification), an important but hitherto neglected text by Tsunoda Tadayuki (角田忠行). A Shinto priest and National Learning (kokugaku) scholar, Tsunoda was a disciple of Hirata Atsutane and Hirata Kanetane. His career extended from late Edo loyalist activism to central roles in the early Meiji shrine system, culminating in his long tenure as Grand Chief Priest of Atsuta Jingū. The sole surviving manuscript of Chinkon setsu, held in the Yano Bunko (Ōzu Municipal Library, Ehime), is written on paper marked “Aichi Chūkyōin,” suggesting composition between the mid-1870s and 1887, a period of doctrinal experimentation under the administration of the Ministry of Doctrine and the Shinto Bureau. The treatise presents a systematic doctrine of the soul rooted in classical Japanese sources, particularly the Kojiki, Nihon shoki, and medieval Shinto commentaries, while also drawing on Chinese yin-yang and fivephase cosmology and analogies to Western thought. Tsunoda distinguishes three dimensions of the human spirit—the mototsu mitama (Original Spirit), Aramitama (active soul), and Nigimitama (harmonious soul)—and correlates them with the imperial regalia and cosmological triads. The ritual of chinkon is interpreted as a method to recall wandering souls, prevent spiritual dissociation, and restore balance between active and harmonious forces, thereby ensuring bodily vitality, moral governance, and cosmic order. His analysis demonstrates the Hirata school’s wider ambition to integrate mythological exegesis, ritual practice, and the ideology of saisei itchi (祭政一致 unity of ritual and government). The present study transcribes his original handwritten manuscript, provides English translation, and adds extensive annotations to clarify technical vocabulary, doctrinal concepts, and intertextual references. It highlights the contemporaneity between Tsunoda’s soul theory and developments of soul pacifying displines such as Honda Chikaatsu’s “Spiritual Learning” (Reigaku) and its later transmission through Nagasawa Katsutate to Deguchi Onisaburō. By making Tsunoda’s work accessible, this edition sheds new light on his neglected role in shaping modern Shinto thought, clarifies the genealogy of chinkon practices, and contributes to broader discussions of ritual theory, spirit-discourses, and the transformation of Shinto within the intellectual and religious landscape of modern Japan.

Haruki Murakami's short story Kino utilizes a complex system of symbols and metaphors to intertwine the protagonist's psychological landscape with his external environment, offering a profound exploration of modern loneliness, trauma, and the pursuit of self-redemption. This paper analyzes specific imagery and textual details to elucidate these themes.

This paper explores the artistic journey of Katsushika Oei, an emerging female artist in 19th century Edo Japan as she navigates through a male-dominated arena in the creative realms. Focusing primarily on her experiences as an artist, credited paintings and the recent resurgence of interest in her life and work in literature, docudramas and animation. The paper employs Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity and fluidity to understand the role imposed upon her as a woman, and her refusal to perform accordingly to pursue the arts. This project critically examines select paintings by Oei through the same lens, providing insight into both the artist and her work. The mimetic aspect of the Ukyo-e style she became adept in from working over a decade in her father, Katsushika Hokusai’s studio, is interpreted closely to draw contrasting parallels with her original paintings. This is done to investigate said parallels through Theodor W. Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory. Analyzing the paintings to understand her motivations as an artist for both original and imitated pieces. Katherine Govier’s Ghost Brush, her research and essays on Katsushika Oei serve as historical compilations of what is known so far and act as essential primary sources for this research, along with other credible archival sources. The research findings highlight Oei’s unique artistic prowess, developed artistic techniques in woodblock and silk, as well as her unwavering dedication to her craft as an artist, whose legacy continues to inspire emerging female artists and art enthusiasts even today.