Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in American-Occupied Japan

371 Pages·2019·2.208 MB·English

by  Jolyon Baraka Thomas

FAKING LIBERTIES
EditEd by Kathryn Lofton and
John Lardas Modern
FAKING LIBERTIES
Religious Freedom in
American- Occupied Japan
JOLYON BARAKA THOMAS
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2019 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief
quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact the
University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637.
Published 2019
Printed in the United States of America
28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19  1 2 3 4 5
iSbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 61879- 1 (cloth)
iSbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 61882- 1 (paper)
iSbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 61896- 8 (e- book)
dOi: https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226618968.001.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Thomas, Jolyon Baraka, author.
Title: Faking liberties : religious freedom in American-occupied Japan /
Jolyon Baraka Thomas.
Description: Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2019. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCn 2018037454 | iSbn 9780226618791 (cloth : alk. paper) |
iSbn 9780226618821 (pbk. : alk. paper) | iSbn 9780226618968 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Freedom of religion—Japan—History—20th century. |
Japan—History—Allied occupation, 1945–1952.
Classification: LCC KnX2472 .t48 2019 | ddC 323.44/2095209044—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018037454
♾ This paper meets the requirements of anSi/niSO Z39.48–1992
(Permanence of Paper).
For Kimberley Anh

CONTENTS
Prologue: The Drums of War ix
Conventions xiii
Introduction: The Universal Particularity of Religious Freedom 1
A PREOCCUPATION WITH RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
1 The Meiji Constitutional Regime as a Secularist System 17
2 Who Needs Religious Freedom? 49
3 Domestic Problems, Diplomatic Solutions 75
4 In the Absence of Religious Freedom 105
THE OCCUPATION OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
5 State Shintō as a Heretical Secularism 141
6 Who Wants Religious Freedom? 167
7 Universal Rights, Unique Circumstances 195
8 Out of the Spiritual Vacuum 223
Conclusion: The Bellicose Pacifism of Religious Freedom 249
Epilogue: Songs of Freedom 261
Acknowledgments 269
Abbreviations 273
Notes 275
References 317
Index 341
Figures follow page 130

PROLOGUE
The Drums of War
On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war
against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136
years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941.
Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a
great city on a peaceful morning.
Americans have known surprise attacks, but never before on thousands
of civilians.
All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a differ-
ent world, a world where freedom itself is under attack.
GEOrGE W. buSH (2001)1
by nOW it iS a famiLiar story. A surprise attack on American territory
perpetrated by fanatical pilots wrought unprecedented material destruction
and an unimaginable loss of life. Even as the smoke rose from the ashes, the
American president spoke to the nation to assuage its fears and to assure the
people that justice would be served. Whereas only a few people had pounded
the drum of war before the attack, suddenly the press resonated with its stac-
cato rhythm. The person on the street demanded vengeance. She was out for
blood. The American people were ready for war, and the enemy would have
no place to hide.
The story in the preceding paragraph is familiar not only because it is
an account of the fervor that swept through the United States in the wake of