{"title":"Japanese Buddhist War Support and the <em>Kanchō</em> System","authors":"Jeff Schroeder","doi":"10.18874/jjrs.50.1.2023.49-77","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"When Jōdo Shin Buddhist leaders gathered for a conference in early 1941 to formulate their sect’s wartime response, they did so at the bidding of their sect’s <em>kanchō</em>, or administrative head. To explain organizational dynamics that contributed to patterns of war support by Japanese Buddhists, this article details the state’s imposition of a <em>kanchō</em> system of governance on Buddhist organizations from 1884 to 1945. While Buddhist organizations had leeway in determining the selection process, term length, and specific powers of their <em>kanchō</em>, in all cases extraordinary authority was concentrated in a single individual. This article details how the <em>kanchō</em> system was implemented in major Zen, Jōdo Shin, Jōdo, Shingon, Nichiren, and Tendai organizations; examines the pro-war activities of <em>kanchō</em> prior to and during the Fifteen Years’ War period (1931–1945); and uses the case of the 1941 Shin Doctrinal Studies Conference to illustrate how the autocratic <em>kanchō</em> organizational structure amplified a sect’s most pro-war voices.","PeriodicalId":44102,"journal":{"name":"JAPANESE JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JAPANESE JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.18874/jjrs.50.1.2023.49-77","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"RELIGION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
When Jōdo Shin Buddhist leaders gathered for a conference in early 1941 to formulate their sect’s wartime response, they did so at the bidding of their sect’s kanchō, or administrative head. To explain organizational dynamics that contributed to patterns of war support by Japanese Buddhists, this article details the state’s imposition of a kanchō system of governance on Buddhist organizations from 1884 to 1945. While Buddhist organizations had leeway in determining the selection process, term length, and specific powers of their kanchō, in all cases extraordinary authority was concentrated in a single individual. This article details how the kanchō system was implemented in major Zen, Jōdo Shin, Jōdo, Shingon, Nichiren, and Tendai organizations; examines the pro-war activities of kanchō prior to and during the Fifteen Years’ War period (1931–1945); and uses the case of the 1941 Shin Doctrinal Studies Conference to illustrate how the autocratic kanchō organizational structure amplified a sect’s most pro-war voices.
期刊介绍:
The Japanese Journal of Religious Studies is a peer-reviewed journal registered as an Open Access Journal with all content freely downloadable. The journal began in 1960 as Contemporary Religions in Japan, which was changed to the JJRS in 1974. It has been published by the Nanzan Institute since 1981. The JJRS aims for a multidisciplinary approach to the study of religion in Japan, and submissions are welcomed from scholars in all fields of the humanities and social sciences. To submit a manuscript or inquiry about publishing in our journal, please contact us at the address below.