Social Compass 47(1), 2000, 21–32

Nobutaka INOUE

From Religious Conformity to Innovation:

New Ideas of Religious Journey and
Holy Places

The author addresses recent changes in religion in Japan, and in particular the
likely emergence of new spaces for the location of the sacred and changes in
the nature of religious journeys. It is argued that these new dimensions of
religious perception can be understood as responses to globalization and new
forms of communication. The new elements of sacred place, to or from which
journeys take place, are (i) the expanding popularity of inner space as sacred
space; and the new developments of (ii) outer sacred space and (iii) virtual
sacred space.

L’auteur traite des récents changements religieux au Japon. Il s’intéresse

particulièrement à l’émergence de nouveaux espaces de localisation du sacré
et aux transformations de la nature des voyages religieux. Ces nouvelles
dimensions de la perception religieuse peuvent être comprises comme des
réponses à la mondialisation et aux nouvelles formes de communication. Les
nouveaux lieux sacrés d’où partent les voyages ou vers où ils mènent sont:
l’espace intérieur, l’espace extérieur et l’espace virtuel.

Japanese society has undergone enormous social changes since the end of
the Second World War. As these changes have involved all aspects of
society, including politics, economics, and culture, religious organizations
have not been immune from them. First, the traditional religions of Shinto
and Buddhism were forced to search for different ways of accommodating
the postwar situation, under the new principles of religious freedom and the
strict separation of church and state. In comparison, Christian churches
found the new conditions advantageous, and began a new stage of mis-
sionary activity. New religions were also able to enjoy much greater
freedom of activity than during the prewar period (see Inoue et al., 1996).
As a whole, it became possible for people to affiliate with any religion more
freely than ever before.
Under these circumstances, during at least the 25 years after the war, the
main activity among Japanese religions focused on improvements rather
than changes, and on adapting to the new postwar situation. For both Shrine
Shinto and Buddhist denominations, the main concern was to maintain the
social foundation that they had established during the prewar period. In
short, they paid most attention to preserving their existing membership.

0037–7686[200003]47:1;21–32;012212
22 Social Compass 47(1)

Leaders of Shrine Shinto wanted to maintain the traditional idea of the

ujiko, the parishioner of a shrine living within the shrine’s traditional parish
boundaries. Buddhist denominations wanted to maintain the identity of
denominational members as danka or patrons of the respective Buddhist
temple. It looked as if the basis for the traditional religions would remain
relatively stable—at least in economic terms—so long as the identities of the
ujiko and danka did not change.
It was different for Christian churches. They felt that the postwar situa-
tion, with its principles of religious freedom and separation of church and
state, presented considerable advantages to their missionary activities. They
eagerly engaged in evangelism in the effort to prevent society from return-
ing to the prewar conditions of the Emperor system and the national
protection of Shrine Shinto. The greater freedom they enjoyed led to some
of them being criticized as ‘‘pseudo-religious’’ associations. As a result of
the Religious Corporation Ordinance1 issued in 1945, many new religious
groups registered as independent denominations. Some of these have now
grown to major organizations, including Soka Gakkai, Rissho Koseikai, and
Sekai Kyuseikyo (Church of World Messianity).2
However, a new trend developed from around the 1970s, as new religions
appeared which differed fundamentally from the established pattern of
maintaining or improving upon the prewar situation by showing a greater
freedom with respect to cultural traditions. This new current appears to be
intimately related to the new social conditions of globalization and free
spread of information.3 Although the overall scope of this new trend is
difficult to assess, due to the relatively little data and information we
currently possess, it might be appropriate to describe it as an expression of
a global current of change. Examples of religious movements reflecting this
new current can be found particularly among the Japanese new religions.
While many new religions have been established since Japan’s entry to the
modern period, most can be characterized as basically ‘‘modern versions of
traditional religions’’. In other words, they can be understood as being
based on the teachings, rituals and organization of earlier traditional reli-
gions, and as adopting those elements as an ‘‘infrastructure’’, so to speak,
while trying to accommodate those elements to a new modern condition.
But some of the recent developments to which I am referring show features
that cannot be understood merely as modern versions of traditional reli-
gion.
It may be easier to understand why these developments have appeared by
considering recent worldwide tendencies. I recently began using the term
‘‘hyper-traditional religion’’ (see Inoue, 1999) in order to characterize this
type of phenomenon. Hyper-traditional religion represents more than mod-
ern versions of traditional religion, owing little debt to it. Although I have
no time here to describe the concept in detail, I feel that this type of religion
has become more noticeable since the 1970s. What, then, are the factors that
have promoted such a development? Needless to say, social changes in
modern Japan have prompted the adaptation of new religions as well as
traditional religions. Urbanization, industrialization and other social chan-
ges have caused a functional weakening of both the family and the local
 Inoue: From Religious Conformity to Innovation 23

community, and religious organizations have been forced to cope with this
situation. And admittedly, these same factors must continue to be taken into
consideration in relation to today’s new religious developments. Additional
factors, however, have also appeared. These tend to be global in nature, and
are related, first, to the growth of the advanced information age, followed by
the rapid expansion of human exchange and higher education around the
world. These have led to changes in the pattern of religious journeys and to
a new imaging of holy places in modern Japan. I shall now discuss these
against the background of the new global factors I have just mentioned.

Religious Journeys and Holy Places

The traditional religious practices of Japanese religions have long contained

many customs and rituals relating to holy places and pilgrimages. Histor-
ically, differences exist in the popularity of specific religious facilities and
mountains, and in the degree to which people observed such cults. But the
basic attitude of veneration for holy places and religious journeys has
remained consistent throughout the process of modernization. Visits to
famous religious places and holy mountains and pilgrimages to famous
Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples continue to be highly popular in Japan
as traditional types of religious journey. During the New Year holidays,
more than half the Japanese population visits famous Shinto shrines and
Buddhist temples, including the Grand Shrine of Ise, the Meiji Jingu Shrine,
and the Kawasaki Taishi temple. Many people, except most Christians or
members of exclusive sects, likewise visit famous shrines and temples on
their regular festival days to pray for happiness and good fortune. The
shrine Izumo Taisha and the Buddhist temple complexes at Mount Koya
and Mount Hiei are also well known as traditional holy places. One of the
most famous traditional religious journeys in Japan is the pilgrimage to the
eighty-eight temples on the island of Shikoku, although most pilgrims today
travel by car or bus rather than walking. Other Japanese may climb Mount
Fuji and Mount Ontake, which also remain well-known sacred mountains.
While the traditions of the religious journey and sacred place have
continued to remain popular, the sacredness of such journeys and places has
been challenged by the rapidly changing social conditions of postwar Japan.
For example, journeys to traditional religious places, including famous
Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, now feature the additional elements
of leisure and entertainment. Kyoto and Kamakura are home to numerous
historically important buildings, and visits to shrines and temples in those
cities often take the form of sightseeing. Most shrines and temples are aware
of this situation. Of course, the presence of the element of secular enter-
tainment was well known even prior to the modern period. The Grand
Shrines of Ise became known as the holiest of Shinto shrines in the Meiji
period because they represented the ancestral deities of the imperial family.
Its o-isemairi, or pilgrimage, involved many kinds of amusement, including
visits to bordellos located in the town. But despite that, it is nonetheless true
that the religious journey of the present age has increased its secularity.
24 Social Compass 47(1)

Even when people visit religious places, their religious aims are not crucial:
among the people who visit, the percentage of those confessing beliefs in
Shrine Shinto or Buddhism is gradually decreasing. In present-day Japan, a
glance at statistics from press agencies and research institutes makes it clear
that the younger generation has less concern for religion.4 Just the same,
many young people continue to visit famous shrines or temples in Kyoto,
Nara, Kamakura and elsewhere. Certain holy places known as sites where
mountain ascetics trained have even become picnic destinations. This trend
may be characterized as an increase in ‘‘secular journeys to sacred pla-
ces’’.
In addition, new, non-traditional perceptions of sacred place and religious
journey have appeared in recent years. These have become especially
remarkable since the 1970s. An important question here regards what
sociological and psychological differences can be noted between traditional
and new perceptions of sacred places, but this issue has not yet been fully
discussed in Japan. Not all scholars even share the recognition that such
phenomena exist, perhaps because they are at their first stages of appear-
ance. Because of this, I want to do some groundwork here to clear the way
for further research into these matters, by suggesting for present-day Japan
three new conceptual types of sacred place and space, to which or from
which religious journeys can be made. I will point out the characteristics of
each type and consider the social background of the new concepts. Special
emphasis is placed on the current social environment, since these new types
of behavior are particularly popular among the younger generations. The
three types are (1) inner sacred space, (2) outer sacred space, and (3) virtual
sacred space.

Journeying to Inner Sacred Space

The act of praying or meditating in various religions requires strict concen-

tration of mind. In that sense, a deep interest in one’s inner mind is not a
new phenomenon at all, and it has a crucial role in religious mysticism. What
I would like to discuss here, however, is the kind of religious phenomenon in
which a journey to the inner mind itself is consistently regarded as a central
part of daily religious activities, and sometimes becomes virtually their
ultimate goal.
One example suggesting this tendency is the concept of an ‘‘inner jour-
ney’’ advocated by the new religion of Reiyukai. One of the largest new
religions of Buddhist origin, Reiyukai was established in 1930 by Kubo
Kakutaro (1901–1971) and Kotani Kimi (1901–1944). After the war, Reiyu-
kai underwent schisms, leading to the creation of new groups like Rissho
Koseikai, Myochikai and other sects. As a result, among the Buddhist new
religions, those of Reiyukai origin are today quite influential. Reiyukai is
based fundamentally on ancestor worship and belief in the Lotus Sutra,
beliefs and practices that have not changed at all from its origins until today.
In the 1970s, however, the second president of the sect, Kubo Tsugunari,
instituted a new movement called the Inner Journey. The main targets of
 Inoue: From Religious Conformity to Innovation 25

the movement were members of the younger generation, and it aimed at

respect for human relations and the development of mind.
The monthly magazine Inner Trip was launched in 1972 as an organiza-
tional periodical. The slogan ‘‘inner trip’’ has since been used during each
summer seminar for young persons held at the group’s center Mirokusan,
located in the middle of the Izu peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. The
slogan ‘‘inner trip’’ has been commented on widely, and some have said that
the words may suggest new potential for the discovery of identity by young
people. The interest in inner mind is observed also in beliefs about the
spiritual world and the prevalence of faith healing. The movement or
phenomenon, commonly called the Spiritual World, has become partic-
ularly popular since the 1970s. A variety of elements and beliefs are
involved, however, and full-scale analysis of the movement has only just
begun. However, one of its central characteristics is that the primary
concern is not society, but the individual, and there is a strong emphasis on
the concept of healing the mind or soul. While earlier new religious and
social movements frequently insisted upon social reform or revolution
together with individual awakening, the Spiritual World movement places
its emphasis exclusively upon the issue of the inner mind of each individ-
ual.
Interestingly enough, concerns about the inner mind overlap the analyt-
ical psychology of Jung and his school. As is widely known, this analytical
psychology places heavy emphasis on the concept of individuation. In the
process of individuation, the self is directed toward a higher level within a
dynamic relationship between consciousness and unconsciousness. In
Japan, Jungian theory is often applied to the discussion of religious matters
without referring to any god. As a result, the motif of a trip to an inner world
seems to be related to the idea of a mental cure or healing, and also to the
practice of psychoanalysis. A tendency appears to be taking shape in which
the individual inner journey provides more religious and authentic meaning
than a visit to an actual or traditional holy place. These trends might thus be
called a consecration or sacralization of inner space.

Outer Sacred Space

Another characteristic of some of the new religious developments since the

1970s is a deeper interest in outer space. Within these new religions, sacred
places are frequently depicted as existing on remote planets rather than on
the earth. Likewise, the gods they worship live within the solar system or on
remote planets. This trend may be related to recent tendencies toward
imagining aliens not as invaders, but as beings who bear divine messages to
human beings. The expression ‘‘cosmic deity’’ is found in the teachings of
some sects, and it makes us wonder whether the concept of cosmic sacred-
ness, or of a sacred contained by the universe, may be gradually changing as
a result of space age technology. On rare occasions, we find groups who
believe in a specific planet as home to deities. An exceptional example is
Yamato no Miya, with headquarters in Yamagata city. Establishing the sect
26 Social Compass 47(1)

in 1977, the founder Aziki Tenkei (1952–) stated that she received divine
messages from a figure called W.A. Terebeto, as well as from Sakyamuni
Buddha and Amitabha Buddha.5 She said that Terebeto, a resident of the
planet Venus, came to the earth on a UFO as a messenger from the god
Arah, ruler of the universe. Terebeto’s reason for coming to earth was to
inform human beings that the crisis on earth was now reaching critical
proportions. The idea of such a space messenger seems related to the
familiarity with aliens that has spread especially among recent younger
generations in Japan.
Another example can be found in the group called Zushi Yo Yo, which
can be included within the spiritual world movement. The leader of the
group, Ai Yoko (1941–) admits that she was influenced by Takahashi Shinji,
founder of the earlier new religion God Light Association (GLA), a new
religion of Buddhist origin. Ai established her ‘‘Healing Hill’’ (Zushi Yo
Yo) at Zushi city, Kanagawa prefecture in 1993. She claims that the purpose
of her activities is to promote the spiritual awakening of persons who gather
at the site.6 The group’s building is said to have been constructed by taking
into account its ‘‘tuning to the cosmic waves’’, and it is claimed to be located
at an intermediary position between the universe and the earth. Since it is
also said to be a base for the release of energy into the universe, the group
claims that UFOs often visit the site for recharging. Meetings are composed
of members aged mostly 20–40. For these members, aliens and UFOs are
not the stuff of science fiction, but genuine happenings. These cases indicate
that the concept of the sacredness of the universe is becoming a familiar
pattern, even though it may not represent a majority view.
Here, we should also consider a change in the function of holy places in
modern society. When considered from the perspective of their process of
formation, two types of holy place can be suggested in Japan. The first is the
place whose sacred quality is based primarily on natural geographic or
topographic conditions, such as mountains or places beyond the sea. In this
category would fall numerous mountains and forests which have been
considered sacred since ancient times. Also, large, impressive rocks are
often considered symbolic of the holy. Needless to say, not all mountains,
forests or big rocks are viewed as sacred. They must be particularly impres-
sive, possessing natural conditions making them exceptionally beautiful,
attractive or mystical in appearance, or difficult to access.
The second type is that kind of place viewed as sacred for uniquely
historical reasons, ancient or modern. For example, the Grand Shrines of
Ise are regarded as sacred places since the shrines have been maintained
from ancient times. An example from the modern age might be the jiba that
is located at the center of Tenrikyo’s headquarters. The founder of Tenri-
kyo, Nakayama Miki (1798–1887), said to her disciples that the jiba was the
center of the earth, the place where creation was first accomplished, and that
the source of human salvation would be revealed here first and foremost.
Because of this teaching, a place in a village inhabited by a mere 30 families
came to acquire highly sacred meanings. More recently, the cases of Sekai
Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan and Sukyo Mahikari, a sect that separated from
it, are well known. Sekai Mahikari Bunmei Kyodan constructed a sacred
 Inoue: From Religious Conformity to Innovation 27

shrine in the Izu peninsula, and Sukyo Mahikari did similarly in Takayama
City, Gifu Prefecture in the 1970s. Both structures were based on revela-
tions which Okada Kautama (1901–1974), the founder of both sects,
claimed to receive from a deity. As a result, new holy places were estab-
lished at those locations (Okada, 1970). The modernization process does
not threaten the second type of holy place. As long as there exist believers
who support the claim that a place is holy, any holy place remains holy.7
Just as in the case of Jerusalem or Mecca, the second type of holy place
does not lose its function as sacred space among believers merely due to
modern social change. Sacredness as observed in the first type of holy place,
however, is largely based on natural conditions, and this type may some-
times be affected by rapid change in the social function of those natural
places deemed sacred. While Mt Fuji was long considered a sacred moun-
tain, modern changes have led to inevitable transformations in attitudes
toward its sacredness, and today the mountain can be accessed by car to the
halfway point of the climbing route.8 This convenient means of climbing to
more than 2000 m makes it easy for large numbers of visitors to climb the
mountain. As a result, large quantities of garbage are found everywhere on
the route, and in turn, it is inevitable that the sacredness of the mountain
under this condition is affected. Other holy places based on natural features
are likewise affected both physically and culturally.
On the other side of this coin, however, may be the trend to attribute
greater sacredness to outer space, a trend that may represent a modern
development of traditional ideas about sacred places. The mystical rever-
ence directed since ancient times toward high and precipitous mountains,
deep lakes, or remote places beyond the sea may have been partly lost
through the attacks of our modern lifestyle on these elements of natural
scenery. The sacredness of mountains may be damaged by setting up golf
courses. Again, the provision and enlargement of roads has made it possible
for ordinary people to climb steep mountains previously inaccessible. In
short, places that were formerly open only to mountain ascetics or trained
Buddhist priests are now open to everyone. In the case of holy places where
remoteness or inaccessibility formed one of the bases for their sacredness,
modern society has tended to deprive them of such power.
In that sense, this element of remoteness or inaccessibility may make it
possible for more people to consider areas of outer space as sacred space
providing a mystical atmosphere. Remaining untouched by human beings,
its sacredness may be kept more easily than most holy places on earth. Of
course, outer space is not completely an unknown element today. Space
probes are constantly gathering more information about the moon, planets,
and other celestial bodies. As a result, familiarity with space and planets is
increasing.
Worship of the sun, the moon or stars has been common to many tribes
and ethnic groups since ancient times. To the degree that this worship was
based on familiarity with such phenomena, the reason for the familiarity can
be found in the fact that celestial phenomena could be observed regularly
and directly. In an age when nights were quite dark, and people relied on the
moon and stars to calculate time and day, they might be quite familiar with
28 Social Compass 47(1)

the celestial bodies. But such familiarity with space and planets was based
on a world of imagination, since earlier peoples knew no means of reaching
those bodies. Today we can see the surface of the moon on film and we know
the image of earth from space. The religious meanings of space and planets
may have changed as a result of the modern situation produced by natural
science and technology. The ancient idea that space and the planets influ-
ence the human mind and spirit might produce a new and different level of
sensation today. As a result, the fact that younger generations embrace the
idea that spiritual information might be generated from a certain planet can
be understood as a product of our recent times and technology.
Although not directly related to religion, the comic book or manga called
Galaxian Express 999, achieved high popularity among young people in the
1970s and 1980s, and that popularity may serve as a good example to
illustrate changes in the recent meaning of space and the planets. Published
serially in the weekly magazine Shonen Kingu, the story was made into a
popular animated movie in 1979. The leading character of the story is
named Hoshino Tetsuro, a young boy who heads off into space on a steam
locomotive. He travels to the Andromeda galaxy to obtain a mechanical
body. A review of the story’s narrative might prove interesting as a reflec-
tion of the mysticism and hope directed toward outer space among recent
younger Japanese generations. Such trends have probably been rapidly
enhanced in recent years as space and the planets have become objects
capable of provoking the imagination on more familiar and intimate lines,
and are viewed as furnishing energy for revival through their mystic power.
How this trend is connected with genuine religious feeling is not yet clear,
although it is possible that space and specific planets may come to be
referred to as concrete holy places.

Virtual Sacred Space

The third element would appear at first glance to be located at a different

topical level from the others, and indicates the appearance of what might be
called virtual sacred space. This phenomenon has become notable as a
result of the rapid spread of Japanese computer users since the 1980s and
the similar expansion of the Internet in the 1990s. As display technology
allows the reproduction of increasingly realistic scenes, and feedback from
the user can be employed to change the image as desired, the boundaries
between virtual and ordinary reality become vaguer, and the former may
tend to become more influential than the latter.
Recent events may cause more people to think about how virtual reality
influences religious activities. We recall the methods of proselytizing used
by the new religious sect Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for the sarin gas
incidents at Tokyo subway stations in 1995. Then there were the activities of
the Heaven’s Gate organization, which used the Internet in its eventual
mass suicide in California in 1997. However, it is currently rare for a
Japanese religious organization to use the Internet for anything more than
providing general organizational information. But one must bear in mind
 Inoue: From Religious Conformity to Innovation 29

that one of the important characteristics of the Internet is that it easily

transcends national boundaries, or that it has no boundaries at all. Although
the language barrier certainly continues to exist, Japanese religious organi-
zations will inevitably be influenced by foreign religious organizations that
undertake missionary work via the Internet. Others can easily imitate
methods successfully used by one group or movement. Each influence will
be more rapid, and wider in scope as a result of the appearance of this new
tool.
From the perspective of the concept of holy places and religious journeys,
the recent practice of virtual visits to temples and shrines and virtual visits to
ancestors’ graves should be mentioned. Certain temples and shrines, as well
as other groups and individuals, have recently created websites that offer
virtual visits to temples and shrines. And when an individual makes a virtual
visit to an ancestor’s grave by means of an Internet website, their religious
affiliation is, of course, unknown. Virtual visits to temples and shrines
usually take the form of simple introduction to the various parts of the
temple or a shrine involved, allowing the user to click on hyperlinks to pages
describing the main structures, gardens, attached museums, and landscape
features of the site. In short, such sites represent little more than the
transposition of earlier introductory brochures to the medium of the Inter-
net. In some cases, merely entering one’s name in the site’s guest page is
regarded as a substitute for actual registration at the temple or shrine.
A virtual visit to an ancestral grave is a simple device. The Japanese
people conventionally visit their ancestors’ graves during equinoctial weeks
of spring and autumn, and during the summer festivals of obon in August.
As a result, the grave of each individual family represents a sacred place for
that family. On websites offering virtual grave visits, an ancestor’s grave-
stone may be shown on the screen; by clicking on the image at some point,
the tombstone will be automatically decorated with flowers, and the voice of
a sutra recitation can be heard. As proof of a visit, the visitor can then
register or enter his or her message in the site’s guest book (see Tamura,
1997). When this type of grave visit first became known to traditional
religious organizations in the mid-1990s, some representatives of the tradi-
tional religions denounced such virtual visits as heretical activities. This is
quite interesting, since it suggests the opinion that such virtual visits to
graves are viewed as a profanation of the normal idea of a holy place. As is
shown in this case, virtual holy places have not yet gained general recogni-
tion as genuine sacred space. But as the case of Aum Shinrikyo suggests, the
utilization of this new technology, combined with the aforementioned
element of sacralization of mind, might make it possible to accept virtual
mystical experience as an imaginative inner journey to the mind.9
New technology and its virtual reality have brought about transforma-
tions in the sensation of the religious journey and sacred space. The first
effect of virtual holy places and virtual pilgrimage is the sensation of reality
resulting from advances in computer technology. This can be more easily
understood by considering it as a religious version of online shopping via
computer. This sense will be further enhanced by continuing technical
innovations which reduce the gap in sensation between conventional and
30 Social Compass 47(1)

virtual reality, and it will also be boosted by the appearance of religious

groups which aggressively utilize this technology for instruction of members
and proselytizing of prospective new members.10
There may be another intriguing aspect to the effect of virtual reality.
Here, I want to use the example of the ‘‘tamagotchi temple’’. As many
people know, tamagotchi was a popular game toy among Japanese young
people in 1996 and 1997. Long queues formed in front of computer game
shops each time a new version of the toy went on sale. The word tamagotchi
itself is compounded from the words egg (tamago) and watch. It is a small
game machine toy shaped somewhat like an egg in appearance. Inside the
game is a computer chip which displays a small being that is born, lives, and
eventually dies, so it could be considered a kind of mechanical pet, or even
a pseudo human being. If the owner of the tamagotchi does not take proper
care of his pet, namely, he does not pay attention by making regular and
proper inputs, the pet will ‘‘die’’, and the game is over. Of course, one can
then reset the game and start again. So it might be said that this game
contains a pseudo-death situation, and in response to that situation, tama-
gotchi temples began appearing as ‘‘virtual temples’’ on the Internet for the
purpose of giving a memorial service to one’s dead electronic tamagotchi
pet. Here, the tamagotchi, originally a pseudo living being, undergoes
pseudo death and pseudo burial. Everything that happens is in an electronic,
virtual world. In the conventional world, this kind of phenomenon might be
similar to the Japanese term mitate. Mitate describes the practice of viewing
one object fictionally as something else. For example, a comic storyteller
(rakugoka) often uses his sensu or folding fan to imitate a pair of chopsticks.
On a larger scale, the practice of building fujizuka is famous. Fujizuka are
tiny hills constructed in gardens so as to resemble small images of Mount
Fuji.
While the development of computer technology has made it possible to
produce more realistic mitate in this sense, it also has made it possible to
produce new stories that are quite independent from the real world. In this
virtual world, holy places and religious journeys themselves take on a virtual
character, each with its own new meanings. Sacred places and journeys
experienced solely electronically are now appearing, with narratives which
are born, live, and die entirely in the virtual world.

Mystical Feelings Produced by the Unknown

The three types of sacred place and journey that I have described above may
be viewed as results of different causes. But at the same time, each of these
phenomena can also be understood as deeply connected or related to the
others. Free from traditional religious devices, they might be symptomatic
of an emerging and new religious sensitivity. Through the process of
modernization, the collective, uniting power of families and local commu-
nities has been gradually weakened, and this tendency has progressed even
further during the past 25 years. As a natural course of events, those
religious rituals and practices that were based solely on traditional social
 Inoue: From Religious Conformity to Innovation 31

structures have lost their vivid meanings. However, most new religions have
responded to the modernization process by restructuring families and local
communities. They have functioned in the role of intensifying family unity,
or as a substitute for former local communities.
Apart from these general responses among traditional religions and new
religions, other new movements and phenomena seem to appear, and
without attempting to stop the collapse of traditional structures, they point
to new ways of organizing people and teachings, as I have indicated in my
examples here. In the light of this last trend, it may be that drastic changes
are occurring in the structure itself that has supported traditional holy
places and religious journeys. And the current high-level information age
and globalization process cannot be excluded as fundamental conditions of
this situation. Both elements are promoting quite rapid intercourse between
various cultures. Famous holy places around the world are now consumed
as sightseeing commodities. Japanese travelers today travel the globe to
visit new holy places as a means of obtaining information of interest to them,
regardless of their personal religious affiliation. As a result, the enigma or
mystery attached to such holy places is instantly consumed, and just as
instantly lost. Under these circumstances, it may be difficult for holy places
and religious journeys to maintain the element of mystery that is crucial to
religion.
In spite of this, modern individuals are continuing to pursue true holiness,
somewhere. If this holiness cannot be provided by traditional religious
means or by the renewal of that tradition, it is only natural that some people
will seek a substitute for them. Whether the three cases I note here are
capable of serving as genuine substitutes is not yet clear. It may be that the
release from traditional religious devices suggests the potential for the
appearance of new feelings or sentiment toward religion. At present,
however, these new developments appear to be without definite goal or
destination. It will be necessary to further examine and analyze these
tendencies carefully, in order to determine whether or not they are becom-
ing stronger and more influential. In closing, we must ask whether it is not
possible that this ‘‘journey without a goal’’ might bear sacred meanings
precisely because it has no goal.

NOTES
1.
In 1951 the Religious Corporation Ordinance was set aside in favor of the
Religious Corporation Law. The latter is presently in practice. After the March 1995
sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system committed by Aum Shinrikyo, the Diet
enacted major revisions of the law in December 1995.
2.
As a general introduction to new religions after the war, see Inoue (1991). The
full text of this book (New Religions) can be obtained on the homepage of IJCC. The
URL of IJCC is as follows: http://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/
3.
For my discussion on the influence of globalization on religion, see Inoue
(1997).
4.
Important here is the research survey on students begun in 1995 by the Japanese
Association for the Study of Religion and Society. Its results show 5–6 percent of
32 Social Compass 47(1)

respondents having some kind of religious faith. Numbers for the samples are 3773
for 1995, 4344 for 1996, 5718 for 1997 and 6248 for 1998.
5.
See Aziki (1985). Information on Yamato no Miya was obtained by author
interview with Aziki in 1994.
6.
Information on Zushi Yo Yo was obtained by author interview with Ai in
1994.
7.
One quite rare case of a holy place that was abandoned or destroyed can be seen
in the case of the Shohondo of the Buddhist sect Nichiren Shoshu. The Shohondo
was a building that had been constructed at the foot of Mt. Fuji through cooperation
with Soka Gakkai; however, as a result of the schism between Nichiren Shoshu and
Soka Gakkai the site was destroyed in 1998.
8.
The route up Mt Fuji is divided into 10 stages. From Lake Kawaguchi at the foot
of the mountain to the fifth stage, a paved road, Fuji Subaru Line, climbs to the
height of 2305 m.
9.
Information on Aum Shinrikyo is based on my interview with Asahara, the
founder of Aum Shinrikyo, in 1991 as well as on many publications of the sect.
Several videotapes were also obtained.
10.
Analysis of the influence of the Internet on religious ideas and activities has
only just begun in Japan. The Internet project started in 1997 as one of the projects
of the Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society.

REFERENCES

Aziki, Tenkei (1985) Shingyokukai karano Yogen no Sho [The Book of Words
Given from the Divine World]. Tokyo: Sanju shobo.
Inoue, Nobutaka (ed.) (1991) New Religions. Tokyo: Institute for Japanese Culture
and Classics, Kokugakuin University.
Inoue, Nobutaka (ed.) (1997) Globalization and Indigenous Culture. Tokyo: Insti-
tute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University.
Inoue, Nobutaka (1999) ‘‘Shinshuukyo no Genzai: Atarashii Nami no Touraika?’’
[New Religion Now: Arrival of New Waves?], in Haruo Suwa (ed.) Gendai Nihon
no Shukyo Jijo [The Religious Situation in Current Japan]. Tokyo: Bensei
Shuppan.
Inoue, Nobutaka et al. (eds) (1996) Shinshukyo Kyodan Jinbutsu Jiten [Encyclope-
dia of Groups and Leaders of New Religions]. Tokyo: Kobundo.
Okada, Kautama (1970) Goseigen [The Holy Words]. Tokyo: Sekai Mahikari
Bunmei Kyodan.
Tamura, Takanori (1997) ‘‘Intaaneto no shuukyo joho: sono kanousei to kikensei
[Religious Information on the Internet: Possibilities and Dangers]’’, Religion &
Society 3. Tokyo: Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society.

Nobutaka INOUE is professor of sociology of religion at Kokugakuin

University. He has written widely on new religious movements and new
developments in traditional religion in contemporary Japan. His works
include the edited volumes New Religions and Globalization and
Indigenous Culture, both of which are referenced above. ADDRESS:
Kokugakuin University 4–10–28, Higashi, Shibuya, Tokyo, 150–8440,
Japan. [email: n-inoue@kt.rim.or.jp]