2023 Volume 97 Issue 2 Pages 51-74
The Japan Buddhist Federation (Zen-Nihon Bukkyōkai), which is an alliance of Japanese Buddhist sects and schools, has its roots in a group that opposed the state's control of religious policy in 1900.
The true origin of the alliance was the Bukkyō Kakushūha Konwakai (Group of Buddhist Sects), which was formed in 1912. This organization changed its name to the Bukkyō Rengōkai (Federation of All Japanese Buddhists Sects and Schools) in 1916.
The organization appealed to the government to establish a secular legal system for the Buddhist world and rectify the legal treatment of monks. Through this organization, Japanese Buddhist sects united to form a coalition to strongly advocate systemic reform in the interwar period.
In 1938, after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the organization became an incorporated foundation to strengthen its management base. Subsequently, the name of the organization was changed to the Dai-Nihon Bukkyō Rengōkai in 1940 and then to Dai-Nihon Bukkyōkai in 1941.
The Bukkyō Rengōkai, while working with the government, sometimes confronted and objected to its policies. It has been an organization that guides the research on the relationship between politics and religion surrounding the Buddhist world in the interwar period.
