Buddhist Studies

An examination of how the upheavals of modernity in the context of Japanese society impacted its Buddhist traditions, and the efforts made by Buddhist professionals to clarify its belief systems and social identity using modern discourse. Focus is on developments from 1860 to 1960 that form the basis of how the religion operates today. As a Buddhist nation, Japan’s unusually rapid globalization at that time produced hyper nationalism that attacked Buddhism for its foreign origins, introspection, and lack of ethnic identity. Innovative Japanese Buddhist thinkers responded with new ways of understanding their traditions, struggling to show how Buddhist thought and culture remained relevant and meaningful in defining Japan as a modern nation.