Reconsideration of the History of Japanese Religions from the Perspective of Discrimination: the Concepts of the Sacred and the Impure in the Court, and in the Temples and Shrines

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02196
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Religious studies
• Research Institution: International Research Center for Japanese Studies
• Principal Investigator: Isomae Jun'ichi 国際日本文化研究センター, 研究部, 教授 (60232378)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 聖なるもの / 公共性 / 聖俗論 / 聖賤論 / 日本宗教史 / 被差別部落 / 世俗化論 / 主体化論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the history of Japanese religions freedom and discrimination have been considered as opposed concepts. In this project we have re-examined the discourse on ‘sacred’ in the religious study. We found that the meaning of ‘sacred’ depended on its relationship to ‘profane’ and to ‘secular’. This connectional framework had led to idea that the concepts of freedom and discrimination are not opposed therefore cannot be separated from each other. Furthermore, the fieldwork on Kiyomizu-zaka (Kyoto), Nara-zaka (Nara) and Old Watanabe-mura (Osaka) was held, the study of Japanese history and study of discrimination were critically re-examined, and the relationship between sacred and public space in Japan was investigated.

Free Research Field

宗教学、批判理論

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

「聖」と「俗」との関係性に、「聖」と「賤」との関係性を重ねあわせて考察することで、公共空間における自由と差別とが、たんに対立するものとしてではなく、むしろたがいに不可分な関係にあるという理論的枠組みが導かれた。これは、日本宗教史や宗教研究の分野にあらたな視座をもたらすとともに、現代社会におけるさまざまな差別や排除の構造を分析し、よりよい公共空間とはなにかを模索するにあたって、重要な論点を提供するものである。