Japaneseness’: the Strategy of the Church of World Messianity in Brazil
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THEME New Religious Movements Japan’s two and half centuries of isolation ended in the middle of the 19th century. Since then, knowledge and activities of Japanese culture, people and religion have spread across the world. The first known incidence of the propagation of Japanese religions overseas was in the 1890s when several schools of Japanese Buddhism began to be practiced in Hawaii on the basis of Japanese migration and settlement there. Thus over a century has passed since Japanese religion began proselytising outside Japan. Maintaining ‘Japaneseness’: the strategy of the Church of World Messianity in Brazil Hideaki Matsuoka in Brazil since the 1930s, has many ethnic apanese religions have been propagated Japanese Brazilian clergy, and the president Jin Brazil since 1908 when the first group is a second-generation Japanese Brazilian. of Japanese immigrants arrived there. Cur- By contrast, all successive presidents of PL rently there are approximately 60 branches have been Japanese who were sent to Bra- of Japanese religions in Brazil and more zil by the Japanese headquarters. They stay than ten have been engaged in active pros- in Brazil for seven to nine years and then elytisation (Matsuoka and Ronan, 2007). return to Japan. During this time, some Among these religions, Japanese new learn Portuguese, some do not. Gener- religions have been the most successful ally they are not committed to speaking in acquiring followers, overshadowing the Portuguese with the Brazilian followers. traditional Japanese religions, Buddhism In terms of leadership, Messianity differs and Shinto. The three major Japanese new from both of these groups. The Brazilian religions in Brazil by number of followers president of Messianity, Reverend Tetsuo are Seicho-No-Ie (‘The House of Growth’) Watanabe has been in Brazil for almost 40 (800,000 followers), Perfect Liberty (Per- years. Since Watanabe holds significant fect Liberty Kyodan in Japanese, henceforth positions in Messianity’s global organisa- termed ‘PL’) (70,000) and The Church of tion, he travels frequently between Japan World Messianity (Sekai Kyusei Kyo, hence- and Brazil. Therefore, he addresses fol- forth termed ‘Messianity’) (400,000). lowers only at special events such as The Although these numbers may be inflated, Festival of Heaven on Earth, but he speaks it is safe to say that there are at least one Portuguese very well and his dynamic million followers of Japanese new religions Followers gathering in front of the shrine at Messianity’s sacred place. preaching style is popular with followers. in Brazil. This fact may not seem remark- His speeches are regularly summarised in able when the reader considers that there the Jornal Messiânico, Messianity’s month- are over 1.2 million ethnic Japanese-Bra- does not fall short of the expectation we the Equator), is a Japanese new religion ism and Roman Catholicism. However ly journal. In 1992, there were 14 Rever- zilians from the first to the fifth genera- may have; the most successful Japanese that has proselytised in Brazil (Matsuoka in terms of doctrine and practice, there ends (the highest rank in the Messianity tion, or that São Paulo city has the largest religions in foreign cultural contexts are 2007). The Church of World Messian- are some aspects that indicate continuity hierarchy) under Watanabe, 13 of whom Japanese immigrant population as a city those in the third category. ity, a religion founded by Okada Mokichi between Messianity and several influen- were Japanese who immigrated to Brazil in in the world. But it is important to point (1882-1955), has spread to 78 countries. tial Brazilian religions. An example is the the 1960’s for proselytisation. After almost out that over 95 percent of the followers ‘A pure Japanese policy’ In terms of the number of followers, sig- belief in the existence of the world of spir- 40 years in the country, the Japanese cler- of these religions are non-ethnic Japanese Each Japanese new religion in Brazil has nificant countries are: the US, Canada, its from whom human beings may receive gy have assimilated into Brazilian culture, Brazilians. tried to fulfill its own aims in terms of prop- Brazil, Peru and Argentina in the Ameri- transcendental power, a notion Messianity although they sometimes make statements agation. To understand the organisational cas, Korea, Thailand and Sri Lanka in Asia, shares with Kardecismo, a French spirit- such as: “I am not accustomed to feijão By comparing Japanese religions and aspects of Japanese new religions in Bra- Angola in Africa and Portugal in Europe. ism that has spread throughout Brazil, (Brazilian popular boiled bean dish),” or companies stationed abroad, Nakamaki zil, it is useful to refer to related and sug- It has approximately 2 million followers and also with the Brazil-born spiritism, “I hope to send my daughter to Japan to proposes three categories of foreign-based gestive results from the study of Japanese world wide. Brazil has the second largest Umbanda. receive a college education there.” One of Japanese religions (Nakamaki 1986). The business abroad. Hulbert and Brandt, who number of followers (400,000) following them told me “we [Japanese Reverends] first category is religions whose headquar- study Brazilian companies controlled by Thailand (600,000). As mentioned earlier, it has been observed are already half Brazilian.” In this way it ters in Japan have neither eagerness nor multinational corporations (MNCs) head- that the percentage of non-ethnic Japa- can be seen that Messianity, which sends policies to propagate abroad. Missionar- quartered in Japan, the United States, and I will take the case of Messianity in Brazil nese followers in Seicho-No-Ie, PL, and Japanese religious leaders from Japan for ies of this type of religion must proselytise Europe, reach the following conclusion: in in order to introduce some principles of Messianity exceeds 95 percent. There are a lifetime posting in Brazil, differs from PL in foreign countries without suggestions the Brazilian offices of Japanese MNCs, organisational structure in new religions. also many non-ethnic Japanese members which follows the more corporate model or financial support from Japanese head- presidents are more likely to be Japanese, Messianity was introduced to Brazil in of the clergy in these groups. The higher of sending ‘Japanese expatriate managers’ quarters. Examples include Shinto shrines and control by Japanese headquarters is 1955. The group increased the number of the rank of clergy, however, the higher the for a fixed term to Brazil, after which they in Hawaii. The second category includes stricter than that of American and Euro- its followers steadily and claims that it has proportion of ethnic Japanese, and the return to Japan. religions that try to proselytise in foreign pean MNCs (Hulbert and Brandt 1980). 400,000 followers in 2008, and that over presidents of the Brazilian chapters of countries but only adopt some superficial Japanese MNCs have tried to maintain 95 percent of them are non-ethnic Japa- all of these three groups are ethnic Japa- According to Maeyama, an anthropolo- aspects of the host culture and make every the identities of their group’s companies nese Brazilians. Messianity is best known nese sent by Japanese headquarters. From gist who researched Japanese religions effort to maintain their own Japanese ways, abroad by installing expatriate Japanese for its religious activity Jhorei - transmis- this data then, we can surmise that these in Brazil, in 1967 Messianity had around rituals and beliefs abroad. Most schools of managers as executives in these compa- sion of the light of God by holding one’s groups have adopted the ‘pure Japanese 7,000 committed followers and 60 to 70 Japanese Buddhism and Tenri Kym are typi- nies and maintaining strict control by the hand over the recipient. Messianity’s doc- policy’ within Nakamaki’s typology, but percent of them were non-ethnic Japanese cal religions in this category. The third cat- headquarters in Japan. This strategy may trine and practice is strongly influenced by major differences in the policies of these Brazilians. When this figure is expanded egory includes religions that try to grasp be called a ‘pure Japanese policy’. that of Shinto, a Japanese traditional reli- three groups must also be accounted for. I to include frequentador, those who have the foreign culture positively and some- gion. For this reason, it might be consid- will try to elucidate Messianity’s policy for not yet formally joined Messianity but visit times transform their established rituals to Has Messianity adopted a ‘pure Japanese ered that Messianity is rather out of place maintaining its identity by comparing it the church, 90 percent were non-ethnic fit into the religious arena of the host soci- policy’? The Church of World Messian- in the Brazilian cultural milieu and very dif- with those of the two other groups. Japanese Brazilians (Maeyama 1983). The ety. Seicho-No-Ie, PL, and Messianity fall ity of Brazil, (about which I published an ferent from traditional Brazilian religious percentage of ethnic Japanese among the into this category. What happens in reality ethnography entitled Japanese Prayer below orientations, which tend towards spirit- Seicho-No-Ie, which has been propagated followers of six groups of Japanese new 0 IIAS NEWSLETTER # 4 7 S p r i n g 0 0 8 THEME New Religious Movements [advertisement] religions in Brazil in 1967 is shown in Table trolled by Japanese managers. This type of 1. According to this research, Messianity company is typical of those with a strong had the highest percentage of non-ethnic focus on engineering and thus it employs Japanese among the six groups (although many Japanese engineers. The last type is China in Posters: The Dreamt Reality since 1967 this percentage has increased a company that employs many local execu- in Seicho-No-Ie and PL also).