Shi Shin Bukkyo: The New Buddhism In Meiji Japan
In the early years of the Meiji Japan entered the international community and began to industrialize, modernize and urbanize. These were hard times for Buddhism in Japan, as it became the subject of a critique and censorism and also a symbol of corruption or decadence in opposite to Japan's need for scientific and technological development. As a group of modern Buddhist leaders emerged, they agreed that to fit the new, nationalistic policy of the Japanese government, Buddhism is in need of revitalization. Before that Westerns treated Japanese Buddhism as superstitious, institutional or ritual-based religion and such ideals directly influenced the creation of the new tradition. The result came to be known as the New Buddhism (shin bukkyo), shaped and promoted in reference to West.