CEEPUS lecture:
Japanese New and "New new" religions: An introduction and selected
examples
This lecture is an introduction into the history of the so called "New Religions" in Japan,
which are an important part of the history of Japanese religions. The term "new religions"
(shinshky) generally refers to all the groups which have been founded since the 19th
century (until today). Japan is one of the countries with a very high number of these
movements (when, for instance, compared to Europe): Some statistics argue, that at least 20%
of the Japanese population are participating in some kind in one of these groups.
After a general introduction into the history of Japanese religions and a discussion of all the
general questions with regard to these developments I want to give thorough descriptions of
the major movements, like Tenrikyo and Soka Gakkai, which are nowadays established
religions well settled within Japanese society. In addition the lecture will focus on the latest
developments in this field, which are often called "new new religions" (shin-shinshky).
These are all the religious movements which have been founded since the 70ties of last
century. One of these groups became rather "famous" due to a tragic event in 1995: Members
of the Aum Shinrikyo, which was founded in 1985, made a terrorist attack on the Tokyo metro
system where hundreds of people were severely injured. Another one of these newer
developments, the group Kofuku no kagaku (= "The Institute for Research in Human
Happiness") will be presented more extensively in the course. This is due to the fact that this
group is in the centre of my recent research. This will give the opportunity to provide insight
into another important feature of the "new new religions": their use of all kinds of media to
present their religions. As an interesting example I want to show one of Kofuku no kagaku's
films, namely an anime (= animated film) which is presented as the film version of one of the
major book publications covering all important aspects of their cosmology and their view of
history.
I addition to my own lecture there will be the possibility of active participation in the course:
Whoever wants to shall be able to give a small presentation of material (books and articles)
which will be provided by me. A list of introductory and general literature and more
information on the content will be at the participant's disposal at the beginning of the course
in April.
____________________________
Franz Winter