• Home
• Issues
• 1877

Defining Post-Bubble Religious Communities in Japan: The Case of Konohana Family

Select Volume / Issue:

• Volume 8,Issue 5,Sept. 2021

Year:

2021

Type of Publication:

Article

Keywords:

Neo-New Religions, Japanese Religions, Konohana Family Community, Spiritual Groups, Community

Authors:

• Griffin, Lilia Shahar

Journal:

IJIRES

Volume:

8

Number:

5

Pages:

313-334

Month:

September

ISSN:

2349-5219

BibTex:

@article{1877, author = "Lilia Shahar Griffin", abstract = "In Japanese society, some spiritual groups have been defined as NRM (New Religious Movements) or NNR (Neo-New religions) by scholars; however, there are also spiritual groups that are yet to be discussed comprehe--nsively and do not have a clear definition. This article discusses the spiritual group Konohana Family Community, which is referred to as an ecovillage, as a case study to examine how contemporary Japanese spiritual communities are categorized. Although the community shares many practices with ecovillages, some of their beliefs, such as faith in the divine’s will, communication with the world of the kami, mythologies regarding ancient Japanese ancestors and the structure of the universe and existence, together with various practices led by a charismatic spiritual leader, are in line with NRM and NNR. Accurate identification of the category the Konohana Family belongs to will help scholars to analyze other groups and communities operating in contemporary Japan, understand the processes happening within these groups, and better evaluate the structure of contemporary Japanese society.", issn = "23495219", journal = "IJIRES", keywords = "Neo-New Religions, Japanese Religions, Konohana Family Community, Spiritual Groups, Community", month = "September", number = "5", pages = "313-334", title = "{D}efining {P}ost-{B}ubble {R}eligious {C}ommunities in {J}apan: {T}he {C}ase of {K}onohana {F}amily", volume = "8", year = "2021", }

Abstract:

In Japanese society, some spiritual groups have been defined as NRM (New Religious Movements) or NNR (Neo-New religions) by scholars; however, there are also spiritual groups that are yet to be discussed comprehe--nsively and do not have a clear definition. This article discusses the spiritual group Konohana Family Community, which is referred to as an ecovillage, as a case study to examine how contemporary Japanese spiritual communities are categorized. Although the community shares many practices with ecovillages, some of their beliefs, such as faith in the divine’s will, communication with the world of the kami, mythologies regarding ancient Japanese ancestors and the structure of the universe and existence, together with various practices led by a charismatic spiritual leader, are in line with NRM and NNR. Accurate identification of the category the Konohana Family belongs to will help scholars to analyze other groups and communities operating in contemporary Japan, understand the processes happening within these groups, and better evaluate the structure of contemporary Japanese society.

Full text: IJIRES_1877_FINAL.pdf Online version [Bibtex]