NCC Center for the Study of Japanese Religions, Kyoto Japanese
Publications of the NCC Study Center

Through its publications, the NCC Study Center provides information about research in the field of Japanese religions as well as about its activities. Regular publications include the journals Japanese Religions (in English) and Deai (“Encounter,” in Japanese), as well as a Newsletter. Occasionally it also publishes books.
Japanese Religions (Journal in English)

The NCC Study Center publishes the academic journal Japanese Religions in English in order to make research results internationally available and to foster exchange among scholars. The editorial policy is to provide scholarly articles on religions in Japan, past and present (including current issues of debate), and on such basis to encourage interreligious dialogue between Christianity and Asian religions.

The following subjects are covered: Religions in Japan past and present such as Shinto, folk religion, Japanese Buddhist schools, new religions, Japanese Christianity and theology (including problems of enculturation), Japanese philosophy of religion, and interreligious dialogue.

Deai “Encounter” (Journal in Japanese)

The NCC Study Center publishes in Japanese the academic journal Deai (“Encounter”) in order to address current issues among religions in Japan, to promote interreligious dialogue and to foster mutual understanding between Christianty and Asian religions. For recent issues see our Japanese website.

Deai Vol. 14, Vo. 3, 2004: Contents overview in English
Yuki Hideo: Introduction
Iwai Tadakuma: The Problem of the Imperial Rescript on Education.
Nishida Takeshi: The Emperor System during the Post-War Period –
The Structure of the Draft of the New Imperial Rescript on Education in Kyoto.
Kato Saigo: The Emperor System and Jodo Shinshu Believers.
Sakurai Kunio: The Law for the Family and Ancestor Veneration.
Sasaki Shoten: Buddhism and Funeral – The Case of Buddhism in Hawaii.
Sasaki Daigo: Religiosity in the Manga “Vagabound”.
Yuki Hideo: On the Problem of a State Memorial for the War Dead.
Newsletter (in Japanese)
The NCC Study Center’s Newsletter (in Japanese) is published twice a year in order to inform friends and supporters about its staff and current activities. It is distributed for free to those who are interested. For recent issues see our Japanese website.

Annual reports of the NCC Study Center’s activities in English are regularly published in the January issue of Japanese Religions.

Book Publications (in Japanese)
The NCC Study Center occasionally publishes books in Japanese. For the Japanese titles see our Japanese website. Following are brief introductions to these publications in English:

Eds., NCC Shukyo Kenkyu-sho & Tomisaka Kirisutokyo Center:
Anata wa donna shugyo o shita no desuka? – Oumu kara no toi, oumu e no toi
Which religious practice did you perform? –
Questions from Aum, questions towards Aum
Shinkyo Shuppansha, Tokyo 2004.

This volume contains contributions to an interdisciplinary research project on Aum Shinrikyo organized by the NCC Center for the Study of Japanese Religions and Tomisaka Christian Center (Tokyo). It can be ordered via bookstores in Japan or via amazonamazon.jp

Ed., NCC Shukyo Kenkyu-sho:
Noshi, zoki ishoki to nihon no shukyo-sha
Brain death, organ transplantation and religionists in Japan
Rugaru-sha, Kyoto 1999.

This volume contains an introduction by Prof. Yuki Hideo, a lecture by Prof. William LaFleur on “The debate on brain death and organ transplantation – A comparison between cultures and religions”, contributions by representatives of various Japanese religions, as well as statements on this issue by Oomoto-kyo, Shinshu Otani-ha, Rissho Kosei-kai, and Soka Gakkai.

Japanese Religions

Editorial Board

Editor: Martin Repp

Assistant Editor: Elisabetta Porcu

Associate Editors:
Klaus Antoni, John Dougill, Dennis Hirota, Christoph Kleine, Mark Mullins, Monika Schrimpf, Patricia Yamada

Review Editor: Galen Amstutz

Desk-top Editor: Kobayashi Tsuneyoshi

JR back issues Back Issues

Current Issue: Vol. 34 No. 1 (January 2009)

In Memoriam Harry Thomsen (1928-2008): Dialogical Missionary and Research Facilitator Notto R. Thelle

Articles

  • Komainu: The Birth and “Habitat Distribution” of Shrine Guardian Lions
    Kotera Yoshiaki

  • Bodhisattva as Warrior God: The Curious Case of Shogun Jizo
    Patricia Yamada

  • Anniversaries, Founders, Slogans and Visual Media in Shin Buddhism
    Elisabetta Porcu

  • Nishitani’s Philosophy of Emptiness in “Emptiness and Immediacy”
    Hase Shoto

    Essay
  • Negotiating for a Life in a Buddhist Way: A Case of Cross-Cultural Communication and Ecology
    Reggie Pawle
Book Reviews


  • Jonathan Morris Augustine, Buddhist Hagiography in Early Japan: Images of Compassion in the Gyoki Tradition (Martin Repp)

  • Jérôme Ducor, Terre Pure, Zen et Autorité: La Dispute de l’Ère Joo et la Réfutation du Mémorandum sur des Contradictions de la Foi par Ryonyo du Honganji (Galen Amstutz)

  • Steven Heine. Zen Skin, Zen Marrow: Will The Real Zen Buddhism Please Stand Up? (Victor Forte)

  • Michael Pye and Katja Triplett, Streben nach Glück: Schicksalsdeutung und Lebensgestaltung in japanischen Religionen (Elisabetta Porcu)

  • Philip L. Nicoloff, Sacred Koyasan: A Pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kobo Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha (Fabio Rambelli)

  • Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Galen Amstutz)


    Reports

  • Report of the Activities of the NCC Center for the Study of Japanese Religions in 2008/09
  • Report of the Interreligious Studies in Japan Program (ISJP) Fall Semester (2008/09)
  • Reports by ISJP-Participants:
    Autumn 2008 in Japan
    (Synnøve Sakura Heggem)
    Some Reflections on my Experiences in Japan (Alexander Kalmbach)