16 - Habitat Segregation and Epidemicalization of Japanese Religions in the Americas

Summary

Abstract

This chapter describes how Japanese religions disseminated to the Americas from the viewpoint of ‘management’ and ‘marketing’. Discussion is also based on the concept of the religious marketplace with reference to ‘sharing’. ‘Marketing’ and ‘sharing’ among Japanese religions in the Americas are analysed under the model of habitat segregation. Cases used to illustrate the discussion are the Tōdaiji Temple sect and the Tendai Mission in Hawaii and SGI (Sōka Gakkai International) in the U.S.A., as well as Perfect Liberty Kyōdan and Seichō-no-Ie in Brazil. Among endemic religions management adopts a logic of habitat segregation, and sharing goes up in value. On the other hand, among epidemic religions, marketing is necessary for the expansion of their religious market.

Keywords: habitat segregation, epidemicalization, sharing, marketing, Japanese religion, Americas

The model of habitat segregation

Hawaii is the first place where Japanese religions started their overseas missions. At first, priests from the home prefecture of emigrants carried out their missionary work sponsored by the immigrants. Then, Japanese religious organizations themselves supported missionaries who they sent from Japan to strategically expand their overseas activities. In those days, Japanese emigrants in Hawaii faced many hardships in working on the sugar-cane plantations. Each plantation community built its own Buddhist temple (which came to resemble a Buddhist ‘church’) or else a Christian church (see below). Compared to Buddhist temples, there were fewer Shinto shrines built. Shamans and mediums from a Japanese cultural base also started their activities. New religions such as Tenrikyō and Konkō Kyō also commenced their diffusion to Hawaii. In the Japanese diaspora communities, however, it was Jōdo Shinshū and Protestantism which struggled for supremacy. There was severe competition between the leader of Honpa Hongwanji, Emyo Imamura, and that of the Makiki Holy Castle Church, now called Makiki Christian Church, particularly through the establishment of Japanese language schools. A strike involving employees of sugar-cane plantations brought them into conflict, though the two leaders addressed the workers together to persuade the Japanese to return to work (Hunter 1971: 66, 87, 92).

The main basis of this conflict was the differing orientation of Japanese community members; towards America or towards their homeland (Nakamaki 1978: 20-22).