From Marxism to Religion: Thought Crimes and Forced Conversions in Imperial Japan
This article examines the role of prison chaplains in the forced conversion (tenko) of political prisoners in imperial Japan in the wake of the repressive Peace Preservation Law of 1925. The records of the Shin Buddhist prison chaplaincy indicate that chaplains understood tenko as a religious proble...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
2019
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 46, Issue: 2, Pages: 193-218 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Japan
/ Jōdo-shinshū
/ Prisoner
/ Dissenter
/ Marxist
/ Political prisoner
/ Conversion
/ Forcedmeasures
/ State
/ Religion
/ History 1925-1935
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy BL Buddhism KBM Asia ZC Politics in general |
| Further subjects: | B
Prisons
B Buddhism B Religious Studies B Parole B Criminals B Repentance B Chaplains B Marxism B Prisoners |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article examines the role of prison chaplains in the forced conversion (tenko) of political prisoners in imperial Japan in the wake of the repressive Peace Preservation Law of 1925. The records of the Shin Buddhist prison chaplaincy indicate that chaplains understood tenko as a religious problem. Shin chaplains contributed to public order by converting politically disruptive and criminalized beliefs (that is, commitments to Marxism) into socially acceptable religious aspirations contained in an apolitical private realm. Correctional bureaucrats and Shin chaplains sought to discourage political activism by supplanting it with introspection, and they understood this turn as an effect of religion. The success of tenko programs was taken as evidence of religions' capacity to contribute to the public good. The article concludes that the most enduring legacy of the tenko program was the development of Japan's modern probation system for adult offenders initiated by the passage of the Thought Criminals Protection and Surveillance Law of 1936 |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.18874/jjrs.46.2.2019.193-218 |