[Report] “Two Honganjis’ Pre-World War II Propagation in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines”
2025.08.05
A public workshop entitled “Two Honganjis’ Pre-World War II Propagation in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines” was held online on the afternoon of Saturday, June 28, 2025. The presenter was Professor Michihiro Ama (Dean, Faculty of International Studies, Otani University); the respondent was Professor Aya Honda (Faculty of Lifelong Welfare, Hyogo University); and the moderator was Professor Eisho Nasu (Faculty of Letters, Ryukoku University).
In this workshop, Professor Ama focused on the propagation of Buddhism in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines. This topic has received little attention in historical research into the international expansion of Japanese Buddhism, his field of study. During the workshop, he meticulously introduced relevant materials, including photographs and letters. In approximately 1898, Nishi and Higashi Honganji began overseas propagation activities in line with the modern Japanese state. Until now, however, the main areas of research in this regard have been Manchukuo, the Korean Peninsula, Hawaii, and North America. However, Nishi and Higashi Honganji were also active in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines. Professor Ama has examined the colonial propagation activities of these two religious centers from a new perspective, based on the materials that he has obtained to date. Topics include the effect that the geopolitics of the South Sea Islands and the Philippines had on these activities, the relationship to such activities in Okinawa, and the relationship with indigenous peoples.
The following is a summary of Professor Ama’s presentation. From the Meiji period onwards, Nishi and Higashi Honganji initiated overseas propagation activities in line with the modern Japanese state. Until now, the focus of research on overseas propagation activities has been East Asia, including Manchukuo and the Korean Peninsula, as well as Hawaii and North America. The former are considered colonial propagation activities, and the latter are considered immigrant propagation activities. However, when we look at the religious activities of Nishi and Higashi Honganji in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines from a geopolitical perspective, it is clear that these overseas propagation activities were not necessarily bipolarized. Given that Japan received a Type C Mandate from the League of Nations in 1921 and subsequently began governing the South Sea Islands, the South Sea Islands were not a Japanese “colony.” Also, although the propagation activities in the Philippines were initially characterized as immigrant propagation activities, after the Japanese military occupied the Philippines, they took on the character of colonial propagation activities, although only briefly.
It should also be noted that the South Sea Islands and the Philippines were places where monks frequently interacted with Okinawan immigrants and indigenous peoples. For example, in 1941, 90 % of the lay followers of Higashi Honganji on Koror Island were Okinawans, and missionaries attempted to spread the Buddhist teachings to the islanders (then divided into the Chamorro and Kanaka peoples). They also made contact with the Bagobo people in Davao, Mindanao, Philippines. By focusing on propagation in the South Sea Islands and in the Philippines, research on propagation in Okinawa, as well as research on propagation among indigenous peoples, which was previously limited to the Ainu people, will no doubt become more multi-layered. Also, it is likely that by broadening the focus to the Pacific and Buddhism, studies of religion and colonialism, which have previously focused on the Atlantic and Christianity, will become more interdisciplinary.
After Professor Ama’s presentation, Professor Aya Honda commented as the respondent. Professor Honda noted that during the lecture, he was fascinated by Professor Ama’s reexamination of the propagation activities of the Honganji sect in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines; activities that cannot be understood within the dichotomy of colonial propagation activities or immigrant propagation activities, as used in previous studies of the overseas propagation activities of Japanese Buddhism. He was also deeply intrigued by Professor Ama’s focus on the geopolitical perspective and contact with islanders and indigenous peoples.
From the perspective of religions that cross borders, future research topics could include the relationship with policies toward Japanese immigrants on the American mainland, as well as the influence and interactions of Christianity and other religions, which was an early leader in propagation activities in the region. She also stated that she would like to see further documents unearthed to clarify the organization and activities of religious groups at local temples, as well as the ideas they were trying to convey to children and adolescents.
In response to questions from participants, Professor Ama also reported that in some cases, overseas propagation efforts resulted in the forging of friendly relations between the islanders and indigenous people and the monks in the region. However, he said that it was also evident that the overseas missionaries were preaching conventional Buddhist beliefs as a gateway to Buddhism during their activities. It is fascinating that, conversely, it is reportedly unclear to what extent they were able to promote faith based on the pure teachings of Jōdo Shinshū.
After Professor Honda’s comments, a discussion took place that incorporated the other participants in addition to the lecturer and commentator. Professor Ama pointed out that, in addition to unearthing further materials related to the Okinawan immigrants, it is also important to investigate materials related to the impact of American immigration policies at the time, as well as the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines. He also said that although the presentation was limited to the activities of Nishi and Higashi Honganji, he would ideally like to build a comprehensive picture of Buddhist propagation activities in the South Sea Islands and the Philippines, including the activities of the various Japanese Buddhist sects that were actually engaged in propagation in the region. With that, the workshop concluded.
• This open workshop was jointly planned and held by the International Research Division of the Research Center for World Buddhist Cultures (RCWBC) and the Japan branch of the International Association of Shin Buddhist Studies.
• Professor Ama’s research presentation was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP25K03597.