Aike Peter Rots
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Academic Interests
- Religion in modern and contemporary Japanese society
- Current developments and debates in "Shinto"
- Japanese Christianity
- Mythmaking and identity construction
- Discourses on "nature" and environmentalism
- Nationalism, utopianism and millenarianism
Current research project
Working title: Redefining Shinto: Paradigms, Power, Plurality
My PhD research project focuses on definitions and conceptualisations of ‘Shinto’ in postwar and contemporary Japanese society. In the course of modern history, the concept of Shinto has been defined by a variety of paradigms, closely related to social and political developments. Different notions of Shinto are intertwined with different notions of national and ethnic identity, as well as with normative notions of ‘religious’ and ‘secular’, that are constantly challenged and renegotiated.
The main questions driving this project are the following: what are the main paradigms by which Shinto has been, and continues to be, defined (in modern and contemporary Japanese society, by scholars as well as representatives of Shinto institutions); and what are the political subtexts underlying these competing paradigms? In particular, how do existing notions of ‘nature’, ‘nation’ and ‘religion’ resonate in contemporary developments and debates? And how are these abstract ideological narratives enacted and negotiated in local practices and institutional policies?
Whereas the topic of the reinvention of Shinto in nineteenth and early twentieth century Japan, and the relationship between Shinto and state ideology, has received considerable scholarly attention, so far little research has been done on postwar institutional and ideological developments. Thus, with this research project, I hope to contribute to a better understanding of the complex dynamics of redefining and representing Shinto in postwar Japanese society. In this, particular emphasis will be placed on the recent trend, advocated by some representatives of the Shinto establishment as well as some foreign observers, to define Shinto as a nature (or even environmentalist) religion.
The research consists of a combination of discourse analysis and ethnographic field research. It is connected to ongoing research at IKOS, as well as the interfaculty research network PluRel (Religion in Pluralist Societies).
Higher education:
2007-'08: MA Japanese Religions, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (with distinction)
2002-'07: BA World Religions, Leiden University (with distinction)
2002-'07: BA Japanese Language and Culture, Leiden University (with distinction)
2004-'05: One-year Study Abroad Program, Waseda University
Scholarships and awards
2011: First prize, Shinto Essay Competition, International Shinto Foundation
2010: Recipient PluRel doctoral research fellowship, University of Oslo
2007: Recipient MA Japanese Religions Bursary, Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions (CSJR), SOAS
2006: First prize, Japanese public speaking contest, The Hague
2004: Fourth prize, Japanese public speaking contest, The Hague
Articles:
'Ambigious Identities: Negotiating Christianity and "Japaneseness" ', in John K. Nelson and Inken Prohl, eds., Handbook of Religions in Contemporary Japan, Leiden: Brill, forthcoming.
'Shinto's sacred forests: Religious studies, environmentalism and the rediscovery of sacred space', on PluRel - en blog om religion og samfunn, 2012.
'Transformation or secularisation?', on PluRel - en blog om religion og samfunn, 2012.
'Staatscultus of natuurverering? 'Shinto', 'religie' en politieke ideologie in de moderne Japanse geschiedenis', in Leidschrift, 26 (2), 2011, pp. 51-75.
'Internationaal congres over religie en terrorisme,' in Tijdschrift voor Theologie, 51 (3), 2011, p. 331.
'Millenarianism - Monotheistic machinations or universal utopias?', on PluRel - en blog om religion og samfunn, 2011.
'Christian Millenarianism and Nationalism in Prewar Japan: Nakada Jūji's Politics of Identity', in Toru Aoyama, ed., Religion, Identity and Conflict: Proceedings of the Postgraduate Workshop, Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 2010, pp. 49-58.
'Japan, the Jews, and divine election: Nakada Jūji's Christian Nationalism', in The Newsletter, International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS), 54, 2010, p. 31.
'MA Japanese Religions Bursary 2007-'08', in Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions Newsletter, SOAS, 16-17, 2008, p. 17.
(With Ike Gerritsen) ' "U hoeft dat juk niet te dragen!" De Levensstroom in Leiderdorp', in Joantine Berghuijs and Aike Rots, eds., Bezield Leiden: Wereldgodsdiensten aan de Rijn, Leiden: LDSR Kosmikos, 2007, pp. 57-66.
Edited book:
(With Joantine Berghuijs) Bezield Leiden: Wereldgodsdiensten aan de Rijn, Leiden: LDSR Kosmikos, 2007.
Conference papers and lectures:
'Japan's New Mission? 'Animism', 'Sacred Forests' and Environmentalist Rhetoric in Contemporary Academic Discourse'. 'Workshop on Tōzai Bunmeiron and Other Perspectives on a Unique Japanese Position in this World'. Oslo, 29-30 March 2012.
'The Totoro Paradigm: Shinto, Nature and Environmentalism in Japanese Popular Discourse.' International workshop 'Religion Across Media: Theoretical Perspectives and Case Studies'. Oslo, 13-15 February 2012.
'Shinto Environmentalism? The Rediscovery of 'Sacred Forests' in Contemporary Japan.' Kansai Modern Japan Group anniversary meeting. Kyoto, 12 November 2011.
'The Discourse on Chinju no Mori: Redefining Shinto and Sacred Space in Contemporary Japan.' PhD Workshop, European Association for Japanese Studies. Käsmu, Estonia, 21-24 August 2011.
'Comparative Perspectives: Utopianism and Millenarianism in Modern Japanese Religious Ideology.' Conference 'The Root Causes of Terrorism: A Religious Studies Perspective'. Leiden, 18-19 May 2011.
'Defining and Reinventing Shinto in Contemporary Japan: Religion, Secularism and Nationalism in the Context of Modern Japanese History'. PluRel lecture. Oslo, 31 March 2011.
「現代の日本社会の中の神道」 [Gendai no Nihon shakai no naka no shintō]. International House of Japan Workshop 'Access to the Culture and Society of Contemporary Japan'. Tokyo, 14-21 February 2011.
'Nature or Nation? Reinventing Shinto in Contemporary Japanese Society'. PluRel Conference 'Complexity and Legitimacy: Religion, Secularity, and Values in the Polis'. Oslo, 18-20 November 2010.
'The Myth of the Japanese Love of Nature: A Barthesian Deconstruction'. PhD Workshop 'The Heritage of Structuralism'. Paris, 8-10 November 2010.
'Christian Millenarianism and Nationalism in Prewar Japan: The Case of Nakada Jūji'. JSA-ASEAN Second International Conference. Hanoi, 22-23 October 2009.
'Christian Millenarianism and Nationalism in Prewar Japan: Nakada Jūji's Politics of Identity'. CAAS International Symposium on Religion, Identity and Conflict. Leiden, 26-28 August 2009.
'The Sei Iesu Kyōkai: Rejection, Indigenization and the Formulation of Identity in a Japanese Pentecostal Community'. Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions, Japanese Religions Forum, SOAS. London, 17 April 2008.
Theses:
'The Angel from the East: Zionism, Millenarianism and Nationalist Mythmaking in the Theology of Nakada Jūji', MA Thesis, SOAS, 2008.
'Indigenization and Social Identity: An Exploration of Japanese Expressions of Pentecostalism', BA Thesis, Leiden University, 2007.
Media:
Radio interview about Shinto, Utenriksmagasinet Mir, Studentradioen i Bergen. 30 March 2012.
「鎮守の森や神道など日本の宗教・自然観を研究」[Chinju no mori ya shintō nado Nihon no shūkyō / shizenkan o kenkyū], in Shintō Forum, vol. 8-1, 15 January 2012. Interview article.
'Hva er en ninja?', on P3.no, 19 August 2011. Article by Maria Lindberg.
'Ik weet dat de leraren alles geprobeerd hebben', on NOS.nl, 22 March 2011. Translation of an article by Mihoko Nishio.
'Japan i naturens vold', on NRK.no, 20 March 2011. Article by Anne Linn Kumano-Ensby.
'-Det japanske samfunn er i kraftig endring', in Adresseavisen, 19 March 2011. Article by Svein Inge Meland.
Weblog: