Shintō, the disenchanter
In 1920 Emperor Meiji (1867-1912) was venerated as a god at a Shintō shrine in central Tokyo: was this an archaic cult for the hero of modernity? While nothing suggests that religion cannot play a role in the modernisation process, the evolution of Shintō in the modern era took the form of a destruc...
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Language: | Anglais |
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Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies
2022
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| Online Access: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:cjs_1630 https://doi.org/10.4000/cjs.1630 urn:doi:10.4000/cjs.1630 en https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/1630 2022-01-14T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/e1j8 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Shintō, the disenchanter Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies INALCO info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2268-1744 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cjs Macé, François emperor Meiji Shintō kokutai calendar religion modernity nation Meiji Shintô kokutai calendrier religion modernité nation empereur In 1920 Emperor Meiji (1867-1912) was venerated as a god at a Shintō shrine in central Tokyo: was this an archaic cult for the hero of modernity? While nothing suggests that religion cannot play a role in the modernisation process, the evolution of Shintō in the modern era took the form of a destruction of syncretic traditions, and thus a kind of secularisation, all under the pretext of a return to Japan’s ancient origins. Denying the recent past reinforced a linear conception of time and allowed the solar calendar to be rapidly adopted. Furthermore, reactivating the mythical past enabled the deification of the country – the Japanese version of Western nationalism and its attachment to the land of the ancestors. The sacred royalty invoked in order to restore imperial rule paved the way for a deification of the sovereign, which was the Shintō version of the providential man of twentieth-century dictatorships. The official Meiji Shintō, far from being a minor phenomenon, can thus be considered a major part of Japanese modernity. En 1920, l’empereur Meiji (r. 1867-1912), fut célébré comme un dieu dans un sanctuaire shintô en plein centre de Tôkyô : un culte archaïque pour le héros de la modernité ? D’une part, rien ne prouve que le religieux ne peut jouer aucun rôle dans un processus de modernisation. D’autre part, l’évolution du shintô aux temps modernes se traduisit sous couvert de retour aux origines à la destruction des traditions syncrétiques et donc une sorte de sécularisation. La négation du passé récent renforça une conception linéaire du temps qui permit l’adoption rapide du calendrier solaire. La réactivation du passé mythique rendit possible la divinisation du pays, version japonaise du nationalisme occidental et de son attachement à la terre des ancêtres. La royauté sacrée invoquée pour restaurer la fonction impériale ouvrait la voie à la divinisation du souverain, version shintô de l’homme providentiel des dictatures du xxe siècle. On peut donc penser que le shintô officiel de Meiji loin d’être un épiphénomène fut au contraire un des éléments majeurs de la modernité japonaise. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
emperor Meiji Shintō kokutai calendar religion modernity nation Meiji Shintô kokutai calendrier religion modernité nation empereur |
| spellingShingle |
emperor Meiji Shintō kokutai calendar religion modernity nation Meiji Shintô kokutai calendrier religion modernité nation empereur Macé, François Shintō, the disenchanter |
| description |
In 1920 Emperor Meiji (1867-1912) was venerated as a god at a Shintō shrine in central Tokyo: was this an archaic cult for the hero of modernity? While nothing suggests that religion cannot play a role in the modernisation process, the evolution of Shintō in the modern era took the form of a destruction of syncretic traditions, and thus a kind of secularisation, all under the pretext of a return to Japan’s ancient origins. Denying the recent past reinforced a linear conception of time and allowed the solar calendar to be rapidly adopted. Furthermore, reactivating the mythical past enabled the deification of the country – the Japanese version of Western nationalism and its attachment to the land of the ancestors. The sacred royalty invoked in order to restore imperial rule paved the way for a deification of the sovereign, which was the Shintō version of the providential man of twentieth-century dictatorships. The official Meiji Shintō, far from being a minor phenomenon, can thus be considered a major part of Japanese modernity. |
| author |
Macé, François |
| author_facet |
Macé, François |
| author_sort |
Macé, François |
| title |
Shintō, the disenchanter |
| title_short |
Shintō, the disenchanter |
| title_full |
Shintō, the disenchanter |
| title_fullStr |
Shintō, the disenchanter |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Shintō, the disenchanter |
| title_sort |
shintō, the disenchanter |
| publisher |
Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies |
| publishDate |
2022 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cjs |
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https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/cjs.1630 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/1630 |
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