Rethinking the relationship between state and religion: the role of Japanese Buddhism in the early stages of Japan’s modernisation (1870s-1880s)

This research project focuses on the role of Buddhist thinkers in the intellectuel movement known as the Japanese Enlightenment. It follows them on their journeys through Europe and analyses their contributions to Japanese Buddhist and secular journals and newspapers after their return to Japan. More generally the project looks at the impact of religion on the modernising processes of nations.