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A Study of the Aum Supreme Truth Phenomenon to Understand the Present-day Society

Research Project

Project/Area Number 08451053
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Section一般
Research Field 社会学(含社会福祉関係)
Research InstitutionKonan Women's University

Principal Investigator

ASHIDA Tetsro  Konan Women's University, 文学部, 教授 (20151053)

Project Period (FY) 1996 – 1998
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 1998)
Budget Amount *help
¥3,600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000)
Fiscal Year 1998: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
Keywordsthe AUM cult / new new religion / affluent society / community / mass media / anxiety / カリスマ / 地域社会 / 情報化 / サブカルチャー / 終末観(論)
Research Abstract

The purpose of our study is to grasp some traits of the present-day Japanese society and people by investigating the Aum Supreme Truth Phenomenon. By the Aum Supreme Truth Phenomenon we mean some particular phenomena which contain the Aum Supreme Truth cult's belief and practice, especially its brutally antisocial behavior such as the sarin attacks, and the much confused responses of common people to them.
To attain our aim we collected a lot of informations from newspapers, journals, books and TV etc.. We also interviewed many persons who had been concerned with the cult at Tokyo, Kumamoto, Shizuoka, Yamanashi and so on. The data obtained through our researches are so enormous that we need a little more time to analyze them completely.
This time, I think, we should be satisfied to have suggested that there are some obscure but deep-rooted anxieties spread in the contemporary society. We guess those anxieties are maybe shared with the cult In order to induce this hypothesis we examined the countermeasures of two communities, Kamikuishiki Village in Yamanashi Pref. and Namino Village in Kumamoto pref., which had coped with the Aum cult's activity.
We have aspirations to continue the researches of this theme further. And we have intentions to clarify the total meanings of the Aum Supreme Truth Phenomenon in the present-day Japanese society before long.

Report

(4 results)
  • 1998 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report Summary
  • 1997 Annual Research Report
  • 1996 Annual Research Report

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Published: 1996-04-01   Modified: 2016-04-21  

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