Shinto and Islam in Interwar Japan

• In Event: What Isn't Shinto?

Abstract

In the interwar period in Japan, Shinto, variously defined, played an important role in scholarly understandings of religions from abroad. This presentation will discuss how scholars understood Islam in relation to Shinto. It will suggest that the interwar writings on Islam reveal not only the importance of looking at the influence of various religious teachings from outside Japan on the meanings of “Shinto,” and “Japan,” but also the importance of Shinto in the understanding of Islam.

Scholars of various backgrounds, both academic and governmental, addressed “Shinto” as a key component of national characteristics based on the founding gods of the nation. In particular, they used the term “Japanese spirit” or a spirit founded upon the inheritance of Japanese as the descendants of the founding gods of Japan, to understand religions from abroad, such as Islam and Christianity. These scholars did not necessarily promote exclusionary nationhood built upon the descendants of the gods of founding nation. In fact, at least in intention, there was a hope to establish a unified vision of the world beyond Japan based on the commonalities of different religions. Yet, they set perceived characteristics of Shinto, such as an emphasis on cleanliness, as the standard of comparison. Further, many argued that all religious teachings could be unified only within the “tolerance” and “flexibility” of Shinto. This analysis reveals their perception of Shinto played a significant role in their understanding of new religions, and vice versa.

Author

• Noriko Kanahara, University of Chicago