Thesis in Development, Environment and Cultural Change
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Religious Innovation for Sustainability Greening God in the Japanese New Religious Movement Seichō no Ie Marius Lian Master Thesis in Development, Environment and Cultural Change Centre for Development and Environment UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2019 II © Marius Lian 2019 Religious Innovation for Sustainability: Greening God in the Japanese New Religious Movement Seichō no Ie http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, University of Oslo III Abstract As we grapple with our relationships with nature in search of sustainable solutions in our precarious age, religion has entered the sphere of environmentalism. Offering religious ideas as a key to sustainability, some have even been as bold to suggest religion as a panacea to all our environmental ills. In recent years this also rings true in part to the Japanese new religious movement Seichō no Ie that, since its inception in 1930, has in recent years made large scale efforts to ‘go green’. The thesis discusses Seichō no Ie’s transformation and, through fieldwork and interviews, explores what steps Seichō no Ie, both on a whole and through its individual members, are taking to contribute towards a sustainable future, how Seichō no Ie is framing the environmental crisis through their publications, activities and in discussions regarding ecological issues, and lastly, what the driving forces behind the greening of Seichō no Ie are according to its adherents. The thesis presents the concrete environmental initiatives of Seichō no Ie as observed during fieldwork at several Seichō no Ie facilities throughout Japan. It also illustrates how religiously inspired ecological ideas can manifest themselves in active measures. Interviews were chosen to get first-hand information from members and are analysed and coded in line with narrative analysis to explore the meanings members ascribed to the green shift taking place in Seichō no Ie. Finally frame analysis is employed to the same interviews to grasp Seichō no Ie’s larger cognitive framework. The thesis adds to the discussion on religion and the environment and shows the complex relationships that are behind the process of ‘greening’ and how religions are changing in the face of climate change. IV Acknowledgements I would first like to express my deep gratitude to my thesis supervisor research professor Nina Witoszek of the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Oslo for her valuable input, which has greatly formed this work and for consistently guiding my paper in the right direction whenever I strayed too far. I also extend my thanks to my co-supervisor associate professor Aike Peter Rots of the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo, whose expertise in Japanese religions was of great assistance whenever I encountered questions about my research and gave my work focus. My thanks also go out to Seichō no Ie and its members who have all been essential to this project through their greatly appreciated hospitality, assistance and insights throughout my fieldwork. This would truly not have been possible without them. Finally I must express my gratitude to my peers at the Centre for Development and Environment and my dear friends whose continued support and friendships gave me the strength to write this thesis. Thank you. Marius Lian V Note on the Text Japanese terms are written according to the common Hepburn transcription method, with long vowels being indicated by a macron. The exception to this is common geographical names (such as Tokyo and Kyoto) and words that have been incorporated into English (such as Shinto rather than shintō). Any Japanese names are written in the standard fashion of family names followed by given names. The names of my informants are all pseudonyms to keep them anonymous. All quotes and their translations have been done by me unless stated otherwise. I use Japanese script sparingly throughout the thesis to enrich the text or better convey meaning when necessary for lack of better alternatives. VI Table of contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale and Research Aims of this Study ....................................................... 3 1.2 On the Methodology of Fieldwork ..................................................................... 4 1.3 On the Methodology of Analysis ....................................................................... 9 1.4 Thesis Structure ................................................................................................ 12 2 Background: Japanese New Religions and Seichō no Ie ........................................ 13 2.1 Conceptual Apparatus ...................................................................................... 13 2.2 New Religions in Japan: Historical Contexts ................................................... 14 2.3 What is Seichō no Ie? ....................................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Origins of Seichō no Ie ............................................................................. 20 2.3.2 Growing Nationalism ................................................................................ 23 2.3.3 Seichō no Ie Today ................................................................................... 28 3 The Environmental Turn ......................................................................................... 33 3.1 Religion and the Environment.......................................................................... 33 3.1.1 Can Faith Move Mountains? ..................................................................... 35 3.2 Green Faith in Japan ......................................................................................... 41 3.2.1 Cautionary Tales of Studying Green Religion: Motivations for Going Green 45 4 The Greening of Seichō no Ie ................................................................................. 53 4.1 Kyoto Kyōkabu ................................................................................................. 53 4.2 Uji Additional Main Temple ............................................................................ 57 4.3 The “Office in the Forest” ................................................................................ 62 4.4 Tokyo Kyōkabu ................................................................................................ 68 4.5 Ibaraki Kyōkabu ............................................................................................... 70 5 Analysis and Discussion ......................................................................................... 74 5.1 Narratives on the Greening of Seichō no Ie ..................................................... 74 5.1.1 Meeting at the Office in the Forest ........................................................... 74 5.1.2 Interview in Ibaraki ................................................................................... 79 5.1.3 Interview in Tokyo .................................................................................... 83 5.2 The Cognitive Framework of Seichō no Ie ...................................................... 88 VII 6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 99 References ..................................................................................................................... 103 Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 109 VIII List of figures Figure 1 Logo of Seichō no Ie used in Japan. Credit: Wikimedia Commons ................ 29 Figure 2 Seichō no Ie’s Kyoto kyōkabu. Credit: Marius Lian ........................................ 54 Figure 3 Annual Emission of CO2 (kg) from 2005 - 2016. Credit: Seichō no Ie ............ 56 Figure 4 Uji Additional Main Temple Great hall. Credit: Marius Lian.......................... 57 Figure 5 Solar Panels in the hills behind the Uji Additional Main Temple. Credit: Marius Lian ......................................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 6 Office in the Forest. Credit: Seichō no Ie ......................................................... 63 Figure 7 Square of Embracing All Religions with the statue of Lighter of Seven Candlesticks. Credit: Seichō no Ie ........................................................................................................ 67 Figure 8 Ibaraki kyōkabu Great Hall’s Alter with the calligraphy for 実相 (jissō) meaning ‘reality’. Credit: Marius Lian .......................................................................................... 71 Figure 9 Seichō no Ie’s Grove of Life with the Tower of Light in the background. Credit: Marius Lian ................................................................................................................................. 99 IX List of tables Table 1 Dichotomy of Seichō no Ie’s Ideal (left) and Current (right) World. Credit: Marius Lian ......................................................................................................................................... 59 X XI 1 Introduction In stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of Hachiōji station merely an hour or so earlier during Tokyo’s morning rush, I was struck by the calm surrounding forests as the one-car train slowly made its way up the misty