while the Department of Buddhist Studies focused on Buddhist textual studies
and dogmatics.^19 A similar division of academic labor characterized many other
Buddhist universities: scholars of religious studies attempted a comprehensive
understanding of actual Buddhism by shedding light on various aspects neglected
by scholars of Buddhist Studies.
In addition to universities, various research institutes of Asian studies,
including Islamic studies, founded in the process of Japanese colonization are
noteworthy. They recruited scholars from departments of religion and history.
At one such institute, Shmei Økawa (1886–1957), a graduate from Religious
Studies at Tokyo Imperial University, specialized in Islamic studies. He is known
to have later become a proponent of Japanese fascism and to have been
convicted as the only civilian A-class war criminal.
Intraregional divisions and interregional connections
Regional styles of religious studies did not develop in Japan. Rather, scholarship
in the field varied from institution to institution. That is, scholars of Kyoto
Imperial University put weight on the philosophy of religion, whereas those
of other national universities often conducted empirical religious studies. Many
of the staff members of Religious Studies at Buddhist universities were Buddhist
priests, who, as mentioned, differentiated their studies from doctrinal studies.
In contrast, Christian scholars at Christian universities mostly pursued
theological studies under Western influence (Tsuchiya 2005).
As for international relations, many of the scholars named above spent more
or fewer years studying in Western countries, particularly Germany. They
established personal connections with Western scholars and brought Western
academic methods home. For instance, Hatano studied under Adolf von
Harnack at Berlin University and Wilhelm Windelband at Heidelberg Uni-
versity. He was also influenced by the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule. T. Inoue
introduced German Idealism to Japan and shaped the philosophical orientation
of its Imperial Universities. On the other hand, Uno studied under Marcel
Mauss and brought sociological and anthropological methods back.
At the same time, some of them, such as Anesaki, grew disillusioned while
traveling and became critical of Western civilization. To put it another way,
they became ‘irrational’ after having firsthand contacts with the West. In
addition, the World Parliament of Religions in 1893, in which several Japanese
religious leaders and scholars participated, is said to have affected, though only
indirectly, the development of religious studies in Japan by emphasizing the
importance of interreligious cooperation (Suzuki 1979: 228).
Relations with other fields of study
From the beginning religious studies in Japan was related to fields such as Indian
and Western philosophy and historical studies, but active collaboration with
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