著者

井関 大介

出版者

東京大学文学部宗教学研究室

雑誌

東京大学宗教学年報 (ISSN:02896400)

巻号頁・発行日

no.28, pp.89-107, 2010

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論文/ArticlesMasuho Zanko was a "vulgar" Shintoist active mainly in the first half of the eighteenth century. As he argued that the Japanese must respect Shinto first and foremost of all religions, many contemporary writers naturally criticized him. Through analyzing his works carefully, it is clear that he propagated Shinto not because he thought it is the only true religion but because he thought it the most useful for administration of the nation and for the relief of the people - especially "the foolish people," in his words. Contrary to his apparent absolutism, his ideas of religions (which his critics rejected as being exclusively Shinto)—based on a sort of relativism or pragmatism—indirectly seems to share common ground with his critics. In this paper, through analyzing the rhetoric found in the criticisms of Zanko, I try to examine the extent of his discourse objecting to other religions and consider them something controllable and useful in this period.