Articles
Women in Modern Nichiren Buddhism
Teachings and Guidance for Women in Modern Japan’s Nichiren Buddhism : The Activities of the Murakumo Women’s Association and its Journal
Abstract
In this article, I examine teachings and guidance for women in modern Japan’s Nichiren Buddhism. I focus on the activities of the Murakumo Women’s Association, formed in 1906 by the Nichiren nun Murakumo Nichiei (1855–1920), and particularly on its journal, Murakumo Women. I consider the teachings of male Nichiren priests, the voices of female members, and the Buddhist sermons of Nichiei. My analysis reveals a pattern: male priests quoted from the same Nichiren passages and then presented their own interpretations for modern society. Through this, they attempted to solve “the women’s issue” of the time using Nichiren Buddhism, drawing from Nichiren’s writings to justify patriarchy and the “good wife, wise mother” ideology.Unlike Jōdo Shinshū and other Buddhist schools, Nichiren Buddhism discusses women’s salvation in terms of the attainment of buddhahood by the dragon king’s daughter. This episode frequently appeared in the association’s journal, but in the context of male priests preaching to women about theirsalvation. The evidence also suggests that Nichiei’s ideas, although different from those of male priests, were reinterpreted by them into views of women and the household that conformed to gender-asymmetrical relationships.