Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia | Austrian Academy of Sciences (original) (raw)

Edited Volumes by Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia

Research paper thumbnail of Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan

Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan, 2021

This book sheds new light on the relationship between religion and state in early modern Japan, a... more This book sheds new light on the relationship between religion and state in early modern Japan, and demonstrates the growing awareness of Shinto in both the political and the intellectual elite of Tokugawa Japan, even though Buddhism remained the privileged means of stately religious control.

The first part analyses how the Tokugawa government aimed to control the populace via Buddhism and at the same time submitted Buddhism to the sacralization of the Tokugawa dynasty. The second part focuses on the religious protests throughout the entire period, with chapters on the suppression of Christians, heterodox Buddhist sects, and unwanted folk practitioners. The third part tackles the question of why early Tokugawa Confucianism was particularly interested in “Shinto” as an alternative to Buddhism and what “Shinto” actually meant from a Confucian stance.

The final part of the book explores attempts to curtail the institutional power of Buddhism by reforming Shinto shrines, an important step in the so called “Shintoization of shrines” including the development of a self-contained Shinto clergy.

Papers by Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia

Research paper thumbnail of The Bunkyū Restoration: The Restoration of Imperial Tombs and Re-Design of Imperial Ancestor Worship

Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies, 2017

This paper aims to analyse a possible connection between the renovation of imperial tombs in the ... more This paper aims to analyse a possible connection between the renovation of imperial tombs in the Bunkyū era (1861-1864) and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. While there is no direct continuity between these two events, a connection certainly exists. In a time when Japan faced foreign threats and domestic turmoil, certain groups and persons felt it was time to elevate the institution of the emperor to the-supposed-former glory. One way of doing this was the restoration of the imperial tombs that had fallen into disrepair and the renewal of imperial ancestor worship. The Bunkyū Restoration can be seen as one of the many puzzle pieces that together formed the process that led to the Meiji Restoration.

Research paper thumbnail of Geschichte(n) aus erster Hand

Research paper thumbnail of “Kami is kami, Buddha is Buddha”

Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Job Hunting Experiences of Bicultural Students in Japan

Transcultural Marketing for Incremental and Radical Innovation

The subject of this chapter is the Japanese job application process from the perspective of half-... more The subject of this chapter is the Japanese job application process from the perspective of half-Japanese university students. The chapter first introduces the reader to the Japanese labor market and the topic of biculturals in general and hāfu (half-Japanese) in Japan in particular. The main part of the chapter is an empiric study consisting of interviews with five half-Japanese students in various stages of the process of finding a job after graduation. In addition to possessing multiple language skills, biculturals benefit from a broader cultural perspective, which might be assumed to be an advantage when seeking a job. However, hāfu are often viewed as outsiders wherever they go due to their being different. This chapter aims to show the difficulties hāfu encounter as well as the benefits from which they profit.

Thesis by Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia

Research paper thumbnail of Die "Bunkyū-Restauration

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Restaurierung der kaiserlichen Grabstatten in Japan i... more Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Restaurierung der kaiserlichen Grabstatten in Japan in der bakumatsu-Zeit. In der Mitte der 19. Jahrhunderts sah sich Japan sowohl innen- als auch ausenpolitischen Herausforderungen gegenuber, denen die soziale und politische Ordnung des Shōgunats nicht mehr gewachsen war. Es formierten sich verschiedene politische Fraktionen und Ideologien, darunter jene, die eine Wiederherstellung der kaiserlichen Autoritat anstrebten. Das Verhaltnis zwischen dem Kaiserhof und dem bakufu verschlechterte sich immer mehr. Grunde dafur waren unter anderem die Unterzeichnung der ungleichen Vertrage und eine vom bakufu angestrebte Vermahlung zwischen dem Shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi und der kaiserlichen Prinzessin Kazu no miya. Mit beidem war der Hof nicht einverstanden und druckte dies auch unmissverstandlich aus. Die Stellung des bakufu, die sich immer uber die Autorisierung durch den Tennō legitimiert hatte, war ins Wanken geraten. Innerhalb dieser Spannungen s...

Book Reviews by Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia

Research paper thumbnail of Faith in Mount Fuji: The Rise of Independent Religion in Early Modern Japan, by Janine Anderson Sawada

Journal of religion in Japan, Jun 11, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of A Social History of the Ise Shrines: Divine Capital. By Mark Teeuwen and John Breen

Religious Studies Review, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Matsuri and Religion: Complexity, Continuity, and Creativity in Japanese Festivals. Edited By Elisabetta Porcu and Michael Dylan Foster

Religious Studies Review, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The Namban Trade: Merchants and Missionaries in 16th and 17th century Japan. By Mihiko Oka

Religious Studies Review 48/2, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Rituals of Initiation and Consecration in Premodern Japan: Power and Legitimacy in Kingship, Religion and the Arts. Edited b Fabio Rambelli and Or Porath

Religious Studies Review 48/4, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Defining Shinto: A Reader. Edited by Mark W. MacWilliams and Okuyama Michiaki.

Religious Studies Review 49/1, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan

Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan, 2021

This book sheds new light on the relationship between religion and state in early modern Japan, a... more This book sheds new light on the relationship between religion and state in early modern Japan, and demonstrates the growing awareness of Shinto in both the political and the intellectual elite of Tokugawa Japan, even though Buddhism remained the privileged means of stately religious control.

The first part analyses how the Tokugawa government aimed to control the populace via Buddhism and at the same time submitted Buddhism to the sacralization of the Tokugawa dynasty. The second part focuses on the religious protests throughout the entire period, with chapters on the suppression of Christians, heterodox Buddhist sects, and unwanted folk practitioners. The third part tackles the question of why early Tokugawa Confucianism was particularly interested in “Shinto” as an alternative to Buddhism and what “Shinto” actually meant from a Confucian stance.

The final part of the book explores attempts to curtail the institutional power of Buddhism by reforming Shinto shrines, an important step in the so called “Shintoization of shrines” including the development of a self-contained Shinto clergy.

Research paper thumbnail of The Bunkyū Restoration: The Restoration of Imperial Tombs and Re-Design of Imperial Ancestor Worship

Vienna Journal of East Asian Studies, 2017

This paper aims to analyse a possible connection between the renovation of imperial tombs in the ... more This paper aims to analyse a possible connection between the renovation of imperial tombs in the Bunkyū era (1861-1864) and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. While there is no direct continuity between these two events, a connection certainly exists. In a time when Japan faced foreign threats and domestic turmoil, certain groups and persons felt it was time to elevate the institution of the emperor to the-supposed-former glory. One way of doing this was the restoration of the imperial tombs that had fallen into disrepair and the renewal of imperial ancestor worship. The Bunkyū Restoration can be seen as one of the many puzzle pieces that together formed the process that led to the Meiji Restoration.

Research paper thumbnail of Geschichte(n) aus erster Hand

Research paper thumbnail of “Kami is kami, Buddha is Buddha”

Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Modern Japan, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Job Hunting Experiences of Bicultural Students in Japan

Transcultural Marketing for Incremental and Radical Innovation

The subject of this chapter is the Japanese job application process from the perspective of half-... more The subject of this chapter is the Japanese job application process from the perspective of half-Japanese university students. The chapter first introduces the reader to the Japanese labor market and the topic of biculturals in general and hāfu (half-Japanese) in Japan in particular. The main part of the chapter is an empiric study consisting of interviews with five half-Japanese students in various stages of the process of finding a job after graduation. In addition to possessing multiple language skills, biculturals benefit from a broader cultural perspective, which might be assumed to be an advantage when seeking a job. However, hāfu are often viewed as outsiders wherever they go due to their being different. This chapter aims to show the difficulties hāfu encounter as well as the benefits from which they profit.

Research paper thumbnail of Die "Bunkyū-Restauration

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Restaurierung der kaiserlichen Grabstatten in Japan i... more Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit der Restaurierung der kaiserlichen Grabstatten in Japan in der bakumatsu-Zeit. In der Mitte der 19. Jahrhunderts sah sich Japan sowohl innen- als auch ausenpolitischen Herausforderungen gegenuber, denen die soziale und politische Ordnung des Shōgunats nicht mehr gewachsen war. Es formierten sich verschiedene politische Fraktionen und Ideologien, darunter jene, die eine Wiederherstellung der kaiserlichen Autoritat anstrebten. Das Verhaltnis zwischen dem Kaiserhof und dem bakufu verschlechterte sich immer mehr. Grunde dafur waren unter anderem die Unterzeichnung der ungleichen Vertrage und eine vom bakufu angestrebte Vermahlung zwischen dem Shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi und der kaiserlichen Prinzessin Kazu no miya. Mit beidem war der Hof nicht einverstanden und druckte dies auch unmissverstandlich aus. Die Stellung des bakufu, die sich immer uber die Autorisierung durch den Tennō legitimiert hatte, war ins Wanken geraten. Innerhalb dieser Spannungen s...