In spite of such growing internationalization, it is also true that foreign
scholars who become famous in Japan are usually those whose works happen
to be translated into Japanese. Such scholars are not always chosen by their
reputations overseas, but at times by the translators’ personal preferences or
some other reasons. This problem has lasted since the pre-war period.
Relations with other fields of study
In 1948 the JARS joined a domestic association of six academic societies, for
anthropology, sociology, ethnology, folklore, linguistics and musicology.
Through participating in interdisciplinary research in particular areas together
with the members of the other societies, scholars of religion became more
accustomed to fieldwork. These fields, in particular anthropology, sociology,
ethnology, and folklore, have been close to religious studies, apart from
Buddhist studies, Christian studies, philosophy, and history. In contrast, litera-
ture and fine arts are relatively remote fields although, as seen in Figure 1, a
considerable number of college courses are offered under the topic of religion
and literature or religion and the arts (V).
The relationships between religious studies and those other fields are
probably not at all unique to Japan. Whereas scholars in these various fields
benefit from collaboration, scholars in religious studies also tend to be charged
with imprecise and insufficient treatment of data, while they tend to see work
by scholars in other fields as overly specialized and unexciting.
Emerging issues
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, popular issues in the mainstream
of Japanese religious studies include religion in practice (seikatsu no shkyÿ),
globalization/localization and religion, religion and violence, and the concept
of religion in Japanese and Western contexts. New impulses are also emerging
from the question of whether religious studies should be more socially engaged.
The responses to this question range from critical approaches following Michel
Foucault’s and Edward Said’s reflections about knowledge and power to
religious approaches following Nakazawa’s attempt to guide the individual’s
spiritual quest.
Last but not least, all Japanese universities have recently been asked to
reform themselves structurally to become more globally competitive. This move-
ment is represented by the 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE) program,
a funding system that rewards selected universities and research institutions.
The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
with the support of the Japanese government. Because it encourages research
that will directly contribute to society, it has promoted the idea of applied
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