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The Revival of Public Shintō: Politics, Environmentalism, and Popular Culture in Contemporary Japan
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- Author / Creator
- Lu, Yutao
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Shintō is often recognized as Japan’s indigenous religion embedded with Japanese animistic beliefs such as kami cults. However, upon investigation, Shintō is much more complex, as it constantly changes and transforms; even whether it independently existed in pre-modern Japan (before 1868) is up for debate. National Learning (Kokugaku 国学) scholars and their studies significantly contributed to the rhetoric that Shintō is native to Japan and that it is Japan’s tradition and culture, rather than a religion. The creation of a public institution in the Meiji period (1868–1912) known as “State Shintō” also gives Shintō a robust nationalistic characterization. Overall, this thesis investigates the revival of public Shintō in contemporary Japanese society in light of the religious-secular divide, Shintō environmentalism, Shintō nationalism, and “Japanese animism.”
In particular, this thesis emphasizes the importance of sociopolitical context for Shintō’s development throughout Japanese history. It examines how Shintō adapts to new sociopolitical environments and argues that Shintō’s definitional ambiguity is the key to its adaptation. More importantly, it proposes that Shintō’s recent trend of aligning itself closely with environmentalism is yet another adaptation to the contemporary context—the global environmental crisis. Moreover, this thesis also interrogates the tendency of Shintō to be perceived as a public religion in contemporary Japanese society. It investigates the Constitution of Japan and its connection with Shintō. Namely, it argues that the legal interpretations of the Constitution contribute to Ise Shrine’s success, as Ise sophisticatedly avoids the controversy around Articles 20 and 89 of the Constitution by focusing on the rhetoric of shrine forests (chinju no mori 鎮守の森). This research examines the deployment of Shintō environmentalist discourse to promote Shintō in light of such conservative and nationalistic revivals.
Furthermore, this thesis introduces the recent scholarly debate over “new animism.” With this mythological understanding of “animism” in mind, this thesis examines animated films such as My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no totoro となりのトトロ; 1988) and Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime もののけ姫; 1997), directed by Miyazaki Hayao. It argues that Miyazaki and his “Japanese animism,” despite his own disavowals of promoting any institutionalized religion, accelerate the spread of Shintō as not only an ancient worship tradition but also a universal “green” religion; that is, the spread of Shintō environmentalism. This highlights the need for greater awareness of these films and the messages they convey, which resonate with the assertions made by Japanese conservatives regarding Shintō and shrine forests. -
- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2023
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Arts
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.