WWII Imperial Japanese 1941 Wartime Religion Control Law Reference Book For Sale

DescriptionThis is an original Japanese reference book titled “Collection of Laws and Regulations for Religious Organizations”, published in 1941.Although small in size, this is a fascinating historical document showing how religion was organized and regulated by the Japanese state during the wartime era.In prewar and wartime Japan, the Emperor stood at the center of the national ideology, and shrine rites and the values associated with State Shinto were treated as an important part of national unity.An important point is that the Japanese government did not officially define shrine observance simply as one religion among others. Instead, shrine rites were presented as national and civic observances connected to loyalty to the Emperor and the state.At the same time, Buddhism, Christianity, new religious movements, and other religious organizations were subject to increasing government supervision.The Religious Organizations Law, enacted in 1939 and implemented in 1940, established rules concerning the organization, leadership, property, registration, administration, and official recognition of religious bodies.This book therefore provides a direct window into an important question:How did wartime Japan place religion within the legal and administrative structure of the state?Some religious organizations cooperated with national policy, while groups or believers considered incompatible with government policy could face surveillance, restrictions, suppression, or persecution.For this reason, this is much more than simply an old book of religious law.It is a document connected to the relationship between:* the Emperor-centered state system
* wartime mobilization
* State Shinto
* religious regulation
* freedom of belief
* government control of civilian societyThe publication year is also especially significant.1941 was the year Japan entered the Pacific War against the United States and Britain.As Japanese society moved rapidly toward total wartime mobilization, religion was not entirely separate from the institutions and policies of the state.The book contains approximately 190 pages of regulations, procedures, administrative forms, and related legal material concerning religious organizations.It does not tell the story of war through tanks, aircraft, or uniforms.Instead, it shows another side of wartime history:how a modern state attempted to organize society, regulate institutions, and define the boundaries of religious activity during a period of intense national mobilization.An interesting historical reference for collectors and researchers of Imperial Japan, WWII history, Japanese religious history, State Shinto, wartime law, and political or social history.A surviving piece of the institutional machinery behind wartime Japan.Own a Piece of History.Shipping

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