|
|
Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers >
Graduate School of Humanities and Human Sciences / Faculty of Humanities and Human Sciences >
Journal of the Faculty of Humanities and Human Sciences >
Volume 4 >
Kanzo Uchimura's Christian Faith as “パウロ道(Paul-Dou)”
| Title: | Kanzo Uchimura's Christian Faith as “パウロ道(Paul-Dou)” |
| Authors: | Sasaki, Kei Browse this author →KAKEN DB |
| Issue Date: | Mar-2009 |
| Publisher: | Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University |
| Journal Title: | Journal of the Graduate School of Letters |
| Volume: | 4 |
| Start Page: | 37 |
| End Page: | 46 |
| Abstract: | The Japanese word or (Chinese) character "道," which can be pronounced either "Michi" or "Dou," means "way" (or "road," "street," etc.) and has very special meanings. We Japanese have many "道"s, like "剣道(Ken-dou)," "柔道(Ju-dou)," "茶道(Sa-dou)," etc. Kanzo Uchimura himself also liked this word/concept "道(Michi/Dou)." But for him, it is more conscientious, namely more moralistic, than the traditional Japanese one and the true "道(Michi/Dou)" must be the most religious. He wrote straightforwardly that "Christianity is the "道" of God." He favored also the word/concept "武士道(Bushi-dou)" (the 道 [way] of the warrior) in particular, all through his life. For him, "武士道" is the most important traditional Japanese "道," the only one that leads to the true "道," namely the Christian faith. So, for Uchimura, Paul and even Jesus himself end up being "武士"s, who embody the most respectable Japanese "道," "武士道." And also it is impossible to fail to see his virtual preference for Paul's "途(Michi)" (road) over Jesus' for the true "道(Michi)." He wrote "The faith of Paul is my faith." Therefore I would like to conclude that Uchimura's Christian faith is the "道(Michi/Dou)" and also suggest that we can even call Uchimura's Christian faith "パウロ道(Paul-Dou)" (The Way [道] of Paul). But this conclusion is not only a kind of word-play. If we scrutinize many more literary aspects, I would like to say, idiosyncratic styles of Uchimura's discourses, as I discussed in this paper, then we are sure to find the answer to my ultimate question of how we Japanese become Christians. |
| Type: | bulletin (article) |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2115/37064 |
| Appears in Collections: | Journal of the Faculty of Humanities and Human Sciences > Volume 4
|
|
