Department of Religion
Joseph Adler
- Links for Japanese Religions
- Selected handouts
- Syllabus:
Religious Studies 275
RELIGION IN JAPANESE CULTURE
| Prof. Joseph Adler | Spring 2003 | |
| Ascension 310 | MWF 2:10-3:00 (Per. 7) | |
| PBX 5290 | Ascension 226 | |
| adlerj@kenyon.edu | Office hours: M 3-4, TTh 2-4 | |
| and by appointment |
This course will be a historical and contemporary survey of religious life in Japan, focusing on the Shinto, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions. We will pay special attention to the ways in which religious ideas, values, and practices are integrated into the common forms of Japanese culture today. Classes will be a mixture of lecture and discussion and will be supplemented by films, which are to be considered as required texts.
 |
 |
| Mt. Fuji and the Shinkansen (bullet train). |
The
Great Buddha (Daibutsu) at Kamakura
(Amida Buddha). |
READINGS
Available in Bookstore:
Michiko Yusa, Japanese Religious
Traditions
Ian Reader, Religion in Contemporary
Japan
Joy Hendry, Understanding Japanese
Society
Kenneth Kraft, ed., Zen: Tradition
and Transition
Alfred Bloom, Shinran's Gospel
of Pure Grace
William R. LaFleur, Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in
Japan
On Course Reserve [CR]:
Mark R. Mullins, Shimazono Susumu,
and Paul L. Swanson, eds., Religion and Society in Modern Japan
Frederick H. Holck, ed., Death
and Eastern Thought
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
- Participation (15% of course grade): Regular attendance,
timely completion of reading assignments, active participation
in class discussions, and one short conference with me in my office
no later than Friday, Jan 31. Grading criteria are as follows:
A: Regular attendance, regular contribution to discussion
B: Regular attendance, occasional contribution
C: Too many absences OR too little contribution
D: Too many absences AND too little contribution
F: Other serious problems
Option: To supplement the class discussion portion of your participation grade for one week, at any time (but a maximum of once per week) you may turn in a short (e.g. 2 pp.), informal reaction paper on any topic related to the course. These may include questions, problems, or reflections, either on course materials or on other topics in Japanese religion, including current events. These will be graded 1 (credit), 2 (good), or 3 (excellent).
- Two quizzes (10% each), consisting of fill-in-the-blank questions.
- Two take-home essays (20% each); topics given out one week
in advance.
- Final exam (25%), given on the last day of class.
 |
 |
| New Year's display
of sake at a Shinto shrine. |
Grand Sumo. |
COURSE SCHEDULE
| 1-2 | Jan 13-25 | Overview: Religion in Japanese history and culture | |
| Film: | “The Electronic Tribe” | ||
| Read: |
Yusa, ch. 1 |
||
| Hendry, chs. 1, 7 (Sources of Japanese identity, Religious influences) | |||
| Reader, chs. 1, 2 |
| 3 | Jan 27-31 | Shinto |  |
|
| Kami, shrines, festivals | ||||
| Film: | “Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan” | |||
| Read: |
Yusa, ch. 2 |
|||
| Reader, ch. 3 | ||||
|
Off-shore
rock kami.
|
| 4 | Feb 3-7 | Confucianism and Japanese society | |
| Film: | “Neighborhood Tokyo” | ||
| Read: |
Hendry, chs. 2-6 (House and family system, Socialisation and classification, Community and neighbourhood, Status and stratification, Education system) |
||
|
Friday:
Quiz 1
|
| 5-6 | Feb 10-17 | Buddhism | |
|
Basic
concepts |
|||
| Film: | “Land of the Disappearing Buddha” | ||
| Read: |
Yusa, chs. 3-5 (to p. 70) |
||
| Reader, chs. 4 |
| 6-7 | Feb 19-28 | Zen Buddhism | |
| Read: |
Kraft, Introduction, chs. 1-4, 8-9 |
||
 |
Paula K.R. Arai, “SÇtÇ Zen Nuns in Modern Japan,” in Mullins/Shimazono/Swanson, Religion & Society in Modern Japan, pp. 203-218 [CR or online] | ||
|
Friday:
Essay 1 due
|
|||
<< Spring Break >>
| 8 | Mar 17-21 | Pure Land (Shin) Buddhism |  |
|
| Read: |
Bloom, pp. vii-88 |
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|
|
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| 9 | Mar 21-28 | The Tokugawa (Edo) Period | ||
|
The
Samurai |
||||
| Read: |
Yusa, pp. 70-77, ch. 6 |
|||
| William R. LaFleur, "Japan," in Frederick H. Holck, ed., Death and Eastern Thought [CR], pp. 226-256 |
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|
"Amida
Buddha Looking Back" (for any
stragglers to take to the Pure Land). |
||||
| 10 | Mar 31-Apr 4 | Pilgrimage and Asceticism | |
|
Kobo
Daishi |
|||
| Film: |
“Between Two Worlds: A Japanese Pilgrimage” |
||
| Read: |
Reader, ch. 5 |
||
|
Friday:
Essay 2 due
|
| 11 | Apr 7-11 | Temples, shrines, and sacred power |
 |
|
|
This-worldly
benefits (genze-riyaku) |
||||
| Read: |
Reader, chs. 6-7 |
|||
| Hendry, ch. 8 (Ritual and the life cycle) | ||||
|
Pregnant
woman touching Inari (fox-deity) for healthy childbirth (Suitengu
Shrine, downtown Tokyo).
|
| 12 | Apr 14-18 | New religions | ||
|
Tenrikyo |
Gedatsu-kai Shinnyoen Aum Shinrikyo |
|||
| Film: | “The Yamaguchi Story: Buddhism and the Family in Contemporary Japan” | |||
| Read: |
Yusa, chs. 7-8 |
|||
| Reader, ch. 8 | ||||
|
Friday:
Quiz 2
|
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| 13 | Apr 21-25 | Religion and the State | ||
 |
Film: | “Rituals of Remembrance” |  |
|
| Read: |
Mullins/Shimazono/Swanson, pp. 75-97, 102-104 [CR] |
|||
| Protesting against ... | ... Prime Minister Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni shrine. | |||
| 14 | Apr 28-May 2 | Mizuko-kuyo and abortion in Japan | |
| Read: |
LaFleur, chs. 1-4, 9-12 |
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|
Friday:
Final exam
|
 |
| A miko dancing at a festival at Izumo Grand Shrine. |
