The thought of Rene Girard on violence, sacrifice, and mimetic theory has exerted a strong influence on Japanese scholars as well as around the world. In this collection of essays, originating from a Tokyo conference on violence and religion, scholars call on Girardian ideas to address apocalyptic events that have marked Japan's recent history as well as other aspects of, primarily, Japanese literature and culture. Girard's theological notion of apocalypse resonates strongly with those grappling with the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as events such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In its focus on Girard and devastating violence, the contributors raise issues of promise and peril for us all.
The essays in Part I of the volume are primarily rooted in the events of World War II. The contributors employ mimetic theory to respond to the use of nuclear weapons and the threat of absolute destruction. Essays in Part II cover a wide range of topics in Japanese cultural history from the viewpoint of mimetic theory, ranging from classic and modern Japanese literature to anime. Essays in Part III address theological questions and mimetic theory, especially from a Judeo-Christian perspective.
Contributors: Jeremiah L. Alberg, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Yoko Irie Fayolle, Eric Gans, Sandor Goodhart, Shoichiro Iwakari, Mizuho Kawasaki, Kunio Nakahata, Andreas Oberprantacher, Mery Rodriguez, Thomas Ryba, Richard Schenk, OP, Roberto Solarte, Matthew Taylor, and Anthony D. Traylor.
Jeremiah L. Alberg is professor of philosophy and religion at International Christian University, Tokyo. He is the author of a number of books, including Beneath the Veil of the Strange Verses: Reading Scandalous Texts.
The thought of Rene Girard on violence, sacrifice, and mimetic theory has exerted a strong influence on Japanese scholars as well as around the world. In this collection of essays, originating from a Tokyo conference on violence and religion, scholars call on Girardian ideas to address apocalyptic events that have marked Japan's recent history as well as other aspects of, primarily, Japanese literature and culture. Girard's theological notion of apocalypse resonates strongly with those grappling with the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as events such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In its focus on Girard and devastating violence, the contributors raise issues of promise and peril for us all.
The essays in Part I of the volume are primarily rooted in the events of World War II. The contributors employ mimetic theory to respond to the use of nuclear weapons and the threat of absolute destruction. Essays in Part II cover a wide range of topics in Japanese cultural history from the viewpoint of mimetic theory, ranging from classic and modern Japanese literature to anime. Essays in Part III address theological questions and mimetic theory, especially from a Judeo-Christian perspective.
Contributors: Jeremiah L. Alberg, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Yoko Irie Fayolle, Eric Gans, Sandor Goodhart, Shoichiro Iwakari, Mizuho Kawasaki, Kunio Nakahata, Andreas Oberprantacher, Mery Rodriguez, Thomas Ryba, Richard Schenk, OP, Roberto Solarte, Matthew Taylor, and Anthony D. Traylor.
Jeremiah L. Alberg is professor of philosophy and religion at International Christian University, Tokyo. He is the author of a number of books, including Beneath the Veil of the Strange Verses: Reading Scandalous Texts.
Jeremiah L. Alberg is professor of philosophy and religion at International Christian University, Tokyo. He is the author of a number of books, including Beneath the Veil of the Strange Verses: Reading Scandalous Texts.
"This is the first major interdisciplinary response to Girard's
apocalyptic-themed late work Achever Clausewitz. The Japanese
cultural material explored here not only reveals evidence for
aspects of the mimetic theory from folk history, literature,
theatre, and popular culture (e.g., anime), but from a non-Western
nation it raises the question of necessary Judeo-Christian input
into the revealing of scapegoating dynamics." —Scott Cowdell,
Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia
"Rather than a compendium of essays, this book comprises an entire
curriculum for rethinking our understanding of religion and
scientific rationality and everything in between, including and
especially the looming prospect of planetary catastrophe. Through
the lens of René Girard’s mimetic anthropology, the essays in this
volume by scholars on both sides of the Pacific range from issues
in geopolitics to folk customs, from biblical exegesis to Japanese
film, anime, and manga. Abounding with stunning insights into the
explanatory scope of Girard’s ideas, every contribution is cogently
argued and abundantly researched. It delights the intellect,
stretching its potential; it collectively provides an urgently
needed epistemology for the role of violence in our globally
challenging controversies." —Andrew J. McKenna, emeritus professor
of French, Loyola University Chicago
“While readers from diverse fields will find specific chapters—the
atomic bombings, folk rituals, anime, popular film—of interest,
this reviewer suspects every reader will find something new—and
quite possibly challenging or rewarding—in this collection. By
extending Girard’s mimetic theory to Japan, these essays
demonstrate its usefulness and validity in non-Judeo-Christian
contexts.“ —Reading Religion
“[A] compendium of essays in which religion and scientific
rationality intertwines with folk history, literature, theatre,
biblical exegesis, and Japanese film, anime, and manga characters.
. . . [I]n Apocalypse Deferred: Girard and Japan, the sense of an
inevitable nuclear confrontation is taken seriously by the pool of
international scholars.” —Catholic Library World
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