Japan, beyond institutional religion. Private religion in the traditions of Shugendō, Komusō and non-church christianity of Kanzō Uchimura

Abstract

In this short article we will try to discuss a very peculiar phenomenon of the Japanese religious scene that can be identified throughout the history, showing similar characteristics in completely different religious settings. This phenomenon we should call non-institutional religious practices, non-organized individual religious practices or private religion. Due to a very specific character of Japanese religiousness, free individual religious quest have become an important part of Japanese religious life. After describing some factors that contributed to the emergence of religious tolerance and sincerity, we shall discuss instances of non-institutional individual practices of Shugendō, Komusō and the notion of non-church Christianity proposed by Kanzō Uchimura, thus building an image of Japanese religiousness not from the standpoint of historical development of religious organizations and their teachings, but from the point of view of an individual practitioner, giving the individual an opportunity and his or her intrinsic right not to depend on organized religions, but to freely follow their own religious pursuits.