The allied occupation of Japan and Japanese religions

SHORT REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTES

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Though in the main Bloch's book stands the test of time impressively, some parts inevitably need revision : the major defect of the present volume is its failure to give any indication of subsequent research over what is, after all, the half-century since Bloch wrote . Surely the master himself would have wished a contemporary historian to supply a short preface suggesting needful modifications and bibliographical references? Already in 1942, for instance, R . W . Southern convincingly revised Bloch's account of the origins of the royal touch in England : it was at least two generations older than Bloch thought . The brief general treatment of sacred royalty (pp . 28 ff.) and Appendix III ('The beginnings of royal unction') should also be revised . This translation reproduces the clarity and vigour of the original, though there are occasional lapses : a bad blunder immediately following the quotation on p . 128, and often eccentric treatment of proper names ('Fortunat' becomes 'Veriantius (sic) Fortunatus' not once but twice!) And, in an otherwise well-produced volume, was it really necessary to curtail the Index so drastically (from 36 to 5 pages) as to render it useless? But our overall gain vastly outweighs these losses : 21 cheers, at least, for new ease of access to a great work? JANET L. NELSON King's College, University of London

WOODARD, WILLIAM P . The Allied Occupation of Japan and Japanese Religions, Leiden, E . J . Brill, 1972 . 393 pp . 6 plates, no price stated . This is a most significant book for the history of religions . The author was head of the Religious Research Unit throughout most of the occupation . He also remained well-known in Japan long afterwards as a sympathetic observer of the religious scene . He has thus observed the as yet still openended sequel to the efforts of SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, otherwise a synonym for the occupation authorities as a whole) . The book is intended to be an authoritative record and it has been prepared with great care on the basis of numerous personal interviews and SCAP sources. It is quite essential for anyone concerned with the role of Shinto in modern Japan or indeed with general problems about the relationship between religion and the state in modern society . It should be read in conjunction with W. H . M . Creemers' Shrine Shinto after World War II which was also published by Brill, in 1968 . Religious freedom was established by the Civil Liberties Directive issued on October 4th 1945, and since this abrogated any law of regulation which operated `unequally in favour off or against any person by reasons of . . . creed', it immediately had implications for the role of Shinto . It was followed by the Shinto Directive on December 15th which abolished all governmental sponsorship or support of Shinto and gave detailed



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instructions as to what this meant . It is the story of this disestablishment, indirectly but closely associated with the Emperor's famous denial of his own `divinity' in the Rescript of January zst 1946, which forms the main subject of the book . The story of all the legal and practical details is told in such a way as to bring out in particular what the occupation was trying to do (leaving aside General MacArthur's completely inconsistent public support for Christianity which was obviously a major embarrassment to those attempting to explain the principle of the separating of religion and the state) . The problem of definitions seems to remain, wearisome but quite unavoidable. Where does the line run between what is religious and what is not? Decisions have been taken on national holidays, shrines for the war dead, what may be shown on stamps, what may be taught in schools, etc . but since the occupation the line has not been completely unaltered, nor is it likely to remain so . Even as it stands it seems to the observer to be a slightly wiggly one . Not the least interesting feature of this book is that Mr. Woodard claims that the vague use of terms such as Shrine Shinto and State Shinto made the original task of disestablishment harder . He wishes to bring about greater clarity by speaking of the Kokutai Cult, `a system of political-philosophical beliefs', as being distinct from Shinto . (Kokutai is normally translated `national polity', but the term stresses the sacred identity of the Japanese state, Emperor, people and territory .) The author goes so far as to state, `The Kokutai Cult was not a form of Shinto . It was a distinct, separate and independent phenomenon,' (p . i i ) . This view however simply will not stand up, at least on the basis of the argument advanced . Holtom's well-known discussion in 1938 (The National Faith of Japan pp . 289 ff) is far more convincing . Woodard's own discussion of what `the Cult' consists (pp . 12-3) give ample evidence of the many continuities between state-sponsored nationalist Shinto (which in its heyday was both racialist and expansionist) and Shinto in general . It may be that Woodard is offering an alibi for those who would like to see once again a greater unity between Shinto and the state, while avoiding the worst excesses . The distinction which he carefully makes between the 'Kokutai Cult' and State Shinto (Kokka Shinto) could be the beginnings of an apologia for such a move . The point seems to be something of a bee in the author's bonnet and it is to be hoped that the otherwise authoritative character of the book will not lend respectability to what seems to be an extremely dubious piece of analysis . M. P.

BURLAND, C . A . The Way of the Buddha, Hulton Educational Publications, 1972, pp . 6i, 6op .

A number of books on world religions for children are now coming onto the market . If Religious Education is to be truly open-ended and to be