religion

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Terms for subject Religion (3849 entries)

Matsuri-bayashi	Festival music. See
Matsuri-goto	An ancient term for affairs of state; political administration. Matsuri-goto was paired with meaning religious ceremonial, imperial rites, to indicate that government and ritual were interfused. The notion was revived in a modern form in the period with the elevation of the emperor to the status of a "manifest kami" to whom the people owed both civic allegiance and ritual devotion. See also itchi
Matthew	M
Mayfair Youth Ministry	MYM
Megumi	Megumi means a blessing, grace or favour. The honorific form mi-megumi is used when referring to a blessing from the kami or a superior. Cf. mitama no fuyu
Meiji	The reign-period from 1868-1912 during which the Meiji emperor (Meiji tenno) was enthroned. It marked Japan's transformation from the feudal society of the Tokugawa period to a modern industrial state. It was a new era of direct imperial rule, portrayed by its advocates as a "restoration" of ancient practice (see Fukko-Shinto) which started with the collapse of the last Tokugawa shogun's government in 1867 and included brief civil wars (see Yasukuni Jinja) The first years of Meiji were marked by nationalist and anti-feudal sentiments roused against Buddhism which was officially characterised as a "foreign" religion and disestablished (see Shinbutsu bunri) The Charter Oath of April 1868 promulgated by the young emperor Meiji, whose court was moved to Tokyo, set out a broadly modernising framework of government which was gradually elaborated through constitutional reforms and imperial rescripts though the Meiji government remained essentially an oligarchy. The primary aim of the enterprising Meiji regime was to transform Japan as rapidly as possible into a rich and strong country, indeed empire, in conformity with the Western model of the industrialised nation-state. To this end, while elements of Tokugawa Confucian thought such as loyalty and filial piety were re-emphasised for the ordinary people, and many useful aspects of the Tokugawa administrative structure were preserved, archaic elements of the system such as the idea of itchi and (briefly) the were revived at least in name to enhance the sacred and inviolable status of the emperor and provide an ultimate focus for national loyalty. From 1868 onwards a central-ised imperial religious cult focusing on the divinity of the emperor was gradually developed which incorporated shrines as well as schools and other civil and military organs of the state. This came to be identified as "Shinto" and was from the 1890's declared "non-religious" (i.e. supra-religious) to differentiate Japan's supposedly indigenous sacred heritage from "foreign" faiths such as Buddhism and Christianity. It should be noted that the term "Meiji" is often used in a very broad sense to refer to the whole Meiji, Taisho and part-Showa reign-periods from 1868 right up to 1945 when the system of government next underwent radical change. Shinto-related events and personalities in the Meiji period are too numerous to list here and can be found throughout the dictionary. Most of the salient features of modern Shinto were established as a result of government legislation in the Meiji period
Meiji Constitution	The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Dai nihon teikoku kempo) promulgated in 1889 was the result of seventeen years of secret drafts and debate over issues including religious freedom and the role of Shinto in relation to the state. The constitution, based on a final draft by Ito Hirobumi and Inoue Kowashi, incorporated a distinction between private religious belief and public religious activity proposed by Herman Roesler, a German legal advisor to the Japanese government. Article 1 proclaimed that 'the empire of Japan shall be ruled over by emperors of the dynasty, which has reigned in an unbroken line of descent for ages past', while Article 3 stated that 'the person of the emperor is sacred and inviolable'. Article 28 of the Constitution made the provision that 'Japanese subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to peace and order, and not antagonistic to their duties as subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief'. From the 1890's participation in civic Shinto ritual was increasingly viewed as a non-religious civic duty. Consequently, freedom to withdraw from Shinto rites was unconstitutional
Meiji jingu	A large and major shrine in central Tokyo, a favourite venue for It is dedicated to the deified spirits of the emperor who died in 1912 and his empress, Shoken. The shrine was completed in 1920-21, the result of an unprecedented national construction project which involved a large outlay in public funds and volunteer labour by Buddhist, Shinto and other youth groups from all over Japan, reflecting a genuine affection and admiration for the Meiji emperor
Meiji Tenno	The emperor, who reigned from 1867 to 1912, son of the previous emperor Komei. His personal name was Mutsuhito. Meiji is the era-name, which began in 1868 when, after the last Tokugawa shogun had ceded power to the imperial household, the new emperor took actual power and with the ritual of the "Charter Oath" in the presence of the kami and government figures laid down the principles of imperial rule. The imperial capital was transferred to Tokyo (much against the wishes of the kokugaku traditionalists in the Jingikan) in 1869. From 1871 the emperor was educated in Japanese and Western thought under the direction of the Confucian scholar Motoda, Eifu and progressive samurai were brought in to staff the imperial household in place of the previous entourage. From the beginning the emperor dressed publicly in Western style and set an example in the adoption of Western technology and culture, combining a modernising outlook with a predilection for Japanese style poetry. He was personally involved in meeting influential foreign visitors, in military affairs and in the drafting and promulgation of the constitution, the Imperial Rescript on Education (kyoiku chokugo) and other edicts central to what became 'kokka shinto'. He was buried in Kyoto and is enshrined in the jingu
Mennonite Central Committee	MCC
Mennonite Christian Leadership Foundation	MCLF
Mennonite Church Eastern Canada	MCEC
Mennonite Congregational Resource Center	MCRC
Mennonite World Conference	MWC
Merciful, Selfless, And Adorable	MSA
Merry Meet	MM
Merry Part	MP
Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church	MELC
Messiah's Harvest Ministries	MHM
Messianic Literature Outreach	MLO

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