ASIAN 708 : Religion in Modern Japanese Society

Arts

2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

The aim of this course is to understand the role of religious beliefs, practices, and institutions in modern Japanese society. Topics to be covered include the “invention” of State Shinto and its role in nation-building, the decline of established temple Buddhism, the emergence and impact of new religious movements, and social conflict related to religion-state issues in the postwar period.

Course Overview

The aim of this course is to understand the role of religious beliefs, practices and institutions in modern Japanese society. The first part of the course will review sociological and historical approaches to the study of religion and consider the “layers” of tradition—Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity and New Religions—that evolved over the centuries and continue to shape contemporary Japanese religiosity.
The second part of the course will examine religion during Japan’s century of modernisation and consider the “invention” of State Shinto and its role in nation-building, the restructuring of Japanese religion and society during the Occupation period (1945-1952), the decline of temple Buddhism and Shrine Shinto during the post-war period and the emergence and impact of new religious movements.
The third part of the course will focus on several key issues that have been the topic of critical public debate in recent decades:
Religion and violence: Aum Shinrikyō, a new religious movement, launched a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. We will examine the factors that might explain how a small and seemingly harmless yoga group turned to violence and how this incident led the government to revise the laws regulating all religions in Japan.
Religion and neonationalism: A second area of conflict and debate revolves around Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial Shinto site dedicated to the military war dead. We will consider how some religious and political groups are using the shrine as a symbolic focus for revitalising national identity and how this is connected to proposals by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to revise the Constitution of Japan, including Articles 20 and 89, which define the nature of religious freedom and the separation of religion and state.
Religious responses to disaster: In the wake of 11 March 2011 “triple disaster”—earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant—many Japanese religions have a renewed sense of their social and public role. We will examine some of the new initiatives of religious groups to engage in relief work and reconstruction, grief care and critical engagement with the government’s nuclear policy and efforts to revise the Constitution.

Course Requirements

Restriction: JAPANESE 308

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 6: Communication

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate knowledge of key terms and sociological perspective used in the study of Japanese religions. (Capability 1 and 3)
  2. Acquire a critical understanding of the distinctive roles played by different religions in modern Japanese society. (Capability 1 and 4)
  3. Communicate effectively in academic English an argument or analysis that demonstrates the social significance of one or more Japanese religions in relation to violence, religion-state issues, and in response to disasters. (Capability 4 and 6)
  4. Demonstrate a critical grasp of the debates and different positions held by religious and political actors on key religion-state issues in modern Japan. (Capability 1, 4 and 6)
  5. Critically evaluate the terms and analytical categories imported from the West used in the study of Japanese religion and society. (Capability 3 and 4)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Reading report and seminar presentation 1 (2,000) 20% Individual Coursework
Reading report and seminar presentation 2 (2,000 words) 20% Individual Coursework
Book Review: Comparative analysis of two monographs (2,500) 30% Individual Coursework
Final Essay (2,500 words) 30% Individual Coursework

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in. Postgraduate students will attend the lectures of Japanese 308, complete additional reading assignments, and meet separately with the course coordinator for seminar discussions and presentations over the course of the semester. 

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including lectures and seminars to successfully complete the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including seminars will not be available as recordings.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable/block delivery.

This course is not available for delivery to students studying remotely outside NZ .

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Weekly reading will be posted on the Talis reading list and postgraduate students will be assigned some additional readings. 

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

There has been no student feedback for the postgraduate version of Japanese 308. 

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 29/10/2024 08:57 a.m.