Shinto Kokusai Gakkai Commemorative Symposium at the United Nations University, Tokyo

To commemorate its official incorporation in February 1995, the Shinto Kokusai Gakkai held an international symposium with the theme 'Shinto - Its Universality' on Saturday, 8th July 1995, in the hall of the United Nations University in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Some 360 participants were there for the day's proceedings.

Various international conferences on religion have been held in recent years, but international gatherings devoted specifically to the consideration of Shinto are still a rarity. Although Shinto can be said to be at the core of Japanese culture, recent history has seen it subject tto continued misunderstanding. The Shinto Kokusai Gakkai, a private, non-profit making organisation, was founded with the aim of furthering understanfing of Shinto at home and abroad, bringing together scholars of religion, practitioners of Shinto, researchers and others from Japan an overseas in a broad-based network.

The commemorative symposium was divided into two sessions with the overall theme 'Shinto - Its Universality'. Each session consisted of keynote speeches and a panel discussion.

The opening keynote speech of the firt session came from Dr. Katsunoshin Sakurai, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kogakkan University, former President of the Association of Shinto Shrines and an advisor to the Internationa Shinto Foundation. Dr. Sakurai spoke on 'Shinto's roles in the formation of communities'. This was followed by a presentation from Dr. Mark Teeuwen of the Japanese Studie Centre, University of Cardiff, on 'Western Understanding and Misunderstanding of Shinto'. Dr. Sakurai based his discussion of the universality of Shinto on the role of the kami in interating communities, drawing on instances where Shinto shrines have been found necesary in providing unifying influences in villages which have recently undergone development. Dr, Teeuwen highlighted point of difficulty in the understanding of Shinto in the West and the vagueness of the term 'Shinto', in a paper illustrated with examples from the work of Western scholars researching into Shinto.

Those who took part in the panel discussion that followed were Prof. Toji Kamata of Musashigaoka Junior College, Mr. Georgy Komarovski, Russian Consul General in Osaka, Mr. Yoshinobu Miyake, Planning and Operations Director of the Konko Church of Izuo, and Prof. Masaru Toda of Kobe University, with Prof. Minoru Sonoda of Kyoto University as coordinator. Because of the wide-rangin nature of the theme, there was not as much time for questions as might have been wished for, but a lively discussion of universality and internationality in Shinto took place, with muvch participation from the audience.

The second session began with a presentation by Prof. Yasuo Ohara of Kokugakuin University on 'Characteristics of the Japanese Royal Family'. This was followed by a panel discussion chaired by author and Asian arts researcher Alex Kerr, with panelists Prof. Ohara, Rev. Toshu Fukami, leader of the World Mate Association, and Dr. John Breen from the Japan Research Centre of London University's School of Oriental and Asian Studies. The discussion produced extensive observations on the nature of the Japanese Imperial house, a subject which cannot be avoided in the study of Shinto.

Major figures of shrine and denominational Shinto were present at the symposium, and representatives from foreign diplomatic missions provided a cosmopolitan atmosphere. The audience included a remarkable number of young people, indicating a broad interest among the public in this inaugural symposium of the Shinto Kokusai Gakkai.

The Shinto Kokusai Gakkai had rpeviously held an international symposium on 'Shinto and Japanese Culture' in November 1994 at London University, in association with the School of Oriental and African Studies and in collaboration with the School of East Asian Studies of the University of Sheffield. Participants in the symposium in Tokyo were presented with a copy of the proceedings of the London event. A record of the presentations at the Tokyo symposium is also now in preparation, and will be available on request at cost price. Inquiries regarding both documents should be made to the ISF's Secretariat in Tokyo.