“Toward a Shamanic Daily Life”

This article contributes to the discussion on reactions and responses to the coronavirus pandemic in Japan, with specific reference to the field of “new spirituality” and, within this broad category, of shamanic spirituality. The case of the dance therapist, or “dance movement shaman,” Ms. Hiroda demonstrates how she managed to keep in contact with her practitioners and to design new ways to help them cope with the situation. The solution she offers, in line with the characteristics of shamanic spirituality, is to help each individual to acknowledge the importance of interconnectedness. In particular, Ms. Hiroda emphasizes body, community, and nature: to become aware of one’s own body again and of the necessity of connection with others and nature, especially in times of interpersonal distancing and crisis. Her response to the first wave of COVID-19 is thus to offer a strategy to live peacefully with—and despite—the virus.

The History and Current State of Japanese Zen Buddhism in Europe

This paper will shed light upon the history and current state of Japanese Zen Buddhism in Europe. Japanese Zen has mainly been transmitted in two ways among European countries: via the group founded by Deshimaru Taisen, and through Christian Zen. Deshimaru went to Europe and taught Zen. His teaching represented Zen as a wholistic, scientific, and peaceful Eastern religion. Though his group initially expanded greatly, it split into several subgroups following Deshimaru’s death. On the other hand, Sanbō Kyōdan promoted ecumenical integration between Christianity and Zen. The longstanding interest in Zen among Christians can be seen in the contemporary “spiritual exchange of the East-West.” Concerning the current state of Zen in Europe, data show that there are more than 270 Zen centers in Europe, located in 24 countries. An analysis of the contemporary situation thus demonstrates that European Zen is mobile, has various forms, and has influenced Japanese institutions.

Hans Haas, the Songs of Buddha, and Their Sounds of Truth

The writings of German missionary Hans Haas (1868–1934) were seminal texts which greatly influenced how many Europeans came to understand Japanese Buddhism. Haas became a significant actor in this early reception of Japanese Buddhism after he began working as an editor for the journal Zeitschrift für Missionskunde und Religionswissenschaft while stationed in Japan from 1898–1909. Haas covered all areas and aspects of Japanese Buddhism, from editing and translating texts such as Sukhavati Buddhism (1910a) into German to cross-religious comparisons of Buddhist songs and legends. This paper seeks to identify various elements which contributed to the development of Japanese Buddhism in Europe, paying special attention to the role of Haas’s work. In particular, it seeks to reconstruct his understanding of Pure Land Buddhism by demonstrating how a Protestant interpretative scheme, particularly that of Lutheran Protestantism, dominated much of the early reception of Japanese Buddhism in Europe.

Japanese Buddhism and Ireland

This article argues that there is no single relationship between Japanese Buddhism and Ireland. Rather, there is a series of changing relationships mediated by different world-system contexts between one island and another (peripheral and post-colonial) one: as ethnographic information, as cultural influence and as religious practice. The process of building such relationships has a long history, stretching back to the Irish reception of both Jesuit and traveller’s accounts of Japan, later made concrete by early intermediaries like Lafcadio Hearn / Koizumi Yakumo and Charles Pfoundes. W.B. Yeats in particular helped to give Japanese Buddhism a significant place in Irish culture, notably in poetry. From the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese Buddhists started to settle in Ireland and Japanese Buddhism began to be practiced; both are now an established part of the Irish religious landscape. The article sketches this history, culminating in the present situation of Japanese Buddhism in Ireland.

Japanese Buddhism in Austria

Drawing on archival research and interview data, this paper discusses the historical development as well as the present configuration of the Japanese Buddhist panorama in Austria, which includes Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren Buddhism. It traces the early beginnings, highlights the key stages and activities in the expansion process, and sheds light on both denominational complexity and international entanglement. Fifteen years before any other European country (Portugal in 1998; Italy in 2000), Austria formally acknowledged Buddhism as a legally recognised religious society in 1983. Hence, the paper also explores the larger organisational context of the Österreichische Buddhistische Religionsgesellschaft (Austrian Buddhist Religious Society) with a focus on its Japanese Buddhist actors. Additionally, it briefly outlines the non-Buddhist Japanese religious landscape in Austria.

D.T. Suzuki at the World Congress of Faiths in 1936

This paper examines the speeches that D.T. Suzuki presented at the World Congress of Faiths in London in 1936 and analyzes his interactions with Buddhists, sympathizers, and critics in the West during the interwar period. It will uncover how various reactions and historical contexts constructed Suzuki’s discourses, which prepared Suzuki for popularizing Zen in postwar Western countries. Compared to his early years and post-1949 lectures in the United States, as well as his English publications on Mahayana Buddhism, his half-year journey through Europe in 1936 is understudied. With limited access to primary sources in Japanese and English, previous studies tended to label him a “nationalist.” Instead, I analyze Suzuki’s discourses and other newly discovered primary sources from a historical perspective. Through this analysis, this paper will clarify Suzuki’s scheme to present Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Zen, to Westerners during the interwar period.

Japanese Buddhism in Germany

The following article describes the perceptions and practices of Japanese Buddhism in Germany, focusing on Zen and its local converts. We will give a short overview of the early reception of Buddhism in Germany, which shaped the foundation of its further development there. The article will then examine the relationship between the German reception of Japanese Buddhism and National Socialism and introduce Eugen Herrigel, who wrote the bestseller Zen in der Kunst des Bogenschießens, which led to increased interest in Buddhist practices. We will trace how institutionalization manifested in the Buddhist landscape in Germany, utilizing Deshimaru Taisen as an example. We will then briefly discuss the influence of Japanese Buddhism on philosophy, psychology, and popular culture. The conclusion will draw attention to the lack of attention to specific themes in previous discussions on Japanese Buddhism, especially on women’s activities in the field.

Between Tradition and Revolution

Recent research on the intellectual history of modern Japan has shown how Buddhism provides a variety of ideas that inspire both conservative and progressive views of society. The aim of this paper is to consider how similar ambiguities and multiplicities can be found in the appropriation of Japanese Buddhism in Italy. In particular, it focuses on two cases: Traditionalist philosopher Julius Evola’s (1898–1974) interest in Zen, and debates in Italian media related to Sōka Gakkai. Building on an anti-democratic reading of Buddhism as the religion of the Aryan Übermensch, Evola found in the modernist Zen of D.T. Suzuki and Nukariya Kaiten tools to resist modernity. Sōka Gakkai’s particular success in Italy, especially in left-wing and progressive contexts, has spurred a mix of praise and criticism in the media; indeed, the analysis of debates around this success has become a way to discuss socio-economic and political issues in the country.

A “Nihilist Philosophy?”

Contrary to other European countries, where Buddhism has been studied since at least the 19th century, this paper shows that there are no known direct channels of transmission of Japanese Buddhism between Japan and Greece. Connections have, however, been made through other European countries, where, for example, Italy continues to play a major role. Moreover, these transmissions have taken a very long time to spread beyond the immediate circle of one or two key figures, because such traditions have been met with suspicion by the larger population, which remains influenced by a Christian Orthodox outlook. The establishment of Zen meditation centers in today’s urban centers, however, shows that the legal and official protections from which the Greek Church continues to benefit are not a reflection of devout sentiment among the population. This paper illustrates that under Greece’s conservative Orthodox climate, Japanese Buddhism has become simultaneously “Japanese culture” and a philosophy open to “all religions.”