NEWS & EVENTS

On Thursday October 11th, 2018, Dr. Kent E. Calder and the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies hosted Dr. Helen Hardacre, the Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society at Harvard University, to give a presentation on the role of the Shinto religion in the culture and politics of modern Japan.

Drawing upon her recently published book, Shinto: A History, Dr. Hardacre argued that Shinto is now widely known through the medium of popular culture. She explained that most of Japan’s 80,000 Shinto shrines belong to the Association of Shinto Shrines and that many financially struggling shrines operate side-businesses like parking lots in order to stay afloat. Finally, Dr. Hardacre described the increasing politicization of the Association of Shinto Shrines in the post-war era.