Deities in the Interwar Period

Various Aspects of “Polytheism”

Abstract

The term “polytheism” emerged during the Meiji period. While it can be used in its literal sense to refer to a religion that believes in multiple gods, it also acquired the image of a less evolved and backward religion when contrasted with monotheism in the context of religious evolution theory. Particularly among Shintoists, objections arose against classifying Shinto as polytheistic.

This article points out that the play Polytheism by Izumi Kyōka, published in 1927 during the interwar period, is a work based on the assumption of such a polytheistic complex. It also discusses how the interwar period marked a turning point in the image of polytheism. This shift involved liberating polytheism from the framework of evolutionary theory and emphasizing the developmental nature of Shinto as a polytheistic religion. This discourse resonated with the assertion made during the fascist era of colonial domination that polytheistic Japan had an advantage over monotheistic religions in terms of domination.