Luther Goes East: Buddhism and the Protestant Reformation in 1880s Japan

This article examines how, in the late nineteenth century, Japanese Buddhists reinterpreted the European Reformation and repurposed it as a tool for their own renewal. While “Reformations East and West”—a 1911 short essay by historian Hara Katsurō (1871–1924) that systematically compared German Protestantism and Japanese Buddhism—is often cited as the foundational work in this discourse, earlier examples abound. Although sixteenth-century European missionaries had noted similarities between Martin Luther’s movement and certain local religious groups, by the mid-nineteenth century, it was Japanese Buddhists themselves who began emphasizing these parallels. Unlike early modern Catholic priests, who viewed Protestantism as a dangerous heresy, these Buddhists framed it as a positive and progressive force. Focusing on the mid-to-late 1880s, this article traces the genealogy of this association, examining how Japanese Buddhists appropriated the image of Luther and the trope of “reformation” to advance their own agendas. From early figures like Kitabatake Dōryū (1820–1907) and Mizutani Jinkai (1836–1896) to intellectuals such as Inoue Enryō (1858–1919), Takahashi Gorō (1856–1935), and Nakanishi Ushirō (1859–1930), Japanese thinkers integrated various strands of social evolutionism into their discourse, asserting that religion must adapt to the times. This trend ultimately culminated in the popularization of the idea of a “New Buddhism,” characterized by an emphasis on progress, openness to lay participation, and individual faith. In short, this study explores how Japanese Buddhists’ engagement with the European Reformation helped shape the trajectory of modern Buddhism during the Meiji period and beyond.