New Religions in Kōshien: Religious Identity and High School Baseball

This article examines the holy ground of Kōshien, Japan’s annual high school baseball tournament, and the national festival and cultic fever that accompanies it. Some of the most successful schools that participate in Kōshien were founded by new religious groups such as Tenrikyo, PL Kyodan, and Bent...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Michiaki, Okuyama (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Nanzan Institute 2021
In: Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 48, Issue: 2, Pages: 341-364
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Japan / New religion / High school / Religious identity / Kōshien
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AH Religious education
AZ New religious movements
KBM Asia
RB Church office; congregation
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Summary:This article examines the holy ground of Kōshien, Japan’s annual high school baseball tournament, and the national festival and cultic fever that accompanies it. Some of the most successful schools that participate in Kōshien were founded by new religious groups such as Tenrikyo, PL Kyodan, and Bentenshū. I offer some suggestions why this is the case, since none of these religions espouse either sports or competition in their formal creed. Furthermore, I consider the success of these schools in a postwar Japanese social context that has changed substantially since their establishment. The article will also touch on the most recent criticism of Japanese collectivism and how this criticism may effect baseball culture.
Contains:Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.18874/jjrs.48.2.2021.341-363