Notoriously boring

This is part 20 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. So far, we have examined examples of top-down civil religion, where the Japanese government successfully propagated a national ideology. However, as seen in the discussions of kokugaku (national learning) and kokutai (national essence),… Continue reading

This is part 19 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. As mentioned earlier, The Imperial Rescript on Education was distributed to every school in Japan, along with a portrait of the emperor. These items were treated as sacred and stored in designated areas… Continue reading

This is part 18 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. Published around the same time as The Imperial Rescript on Education, The Extended Meaning was a widely circulated interpretation of the rescript’s significance for Japan. The text begins by positioning Japan as the… Continue reading

This is part 17 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. The introduction to The Imperial Rescript on Education is written in a highly formal style, with prominent use of personal pronouns to give the impression that the text was authored by the emperor… Continue reading

This is part 16 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japan’s education system was structured around the class system. Schools for the samurai class were exclusive, while other educational options were available for lower classes. The length and quality… Continue reading

This is part 15 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. Kato Genchi was one of the most prominent Shinto scholars of the 20th century. In 1921, he was appointed as a lecturer at Tokyo Imperial University, where he taught Shinto studies. Later, in… Continue reading

This is part 14 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. In 1889, the leaders of the Meiji Restoration completed what became known as the Meiji Constitution. Article 3 of the constitution states: “The sacred Throne was established at the time when the heavens… Continue reading

This is part 13 of my series on Shinto as a civil religion, you can find the rest of the series here. In 1868, the Meiji Emperor sent a letter to the Japanese people, expressing his concern about how distant the imperial family had become from the public during the Tokugawa period. However, he framed… Continue reading