Negotiating Otherness? Mission Discourse of Difference among the Swiss and German Schooling Projects in 19th Century Japan
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is a very well written article. It provides a good, in-depth look inside the Swiss Mission in general and Spinner's relationships and endeavor in particular. It however suffers from 1) formulating an argument that is too ambitious given the scope of the paper; 2) engagement with key scholarship on the same topic in Japan; 3) lack of Japanese sources (which is only truly problematic because of the argument made).
The author's argument of "beneficial otherness" is deeply problematic because in order to argue "benefit" a definition of benefit and, more importantly, perspectives showing or acknowledging benefit from the point of view of Japanese converts is needed. It would be much simpler to argue that the othering process was key to the development of new forms of belief and practice for Japanese converts. And the paper, does a fine job of showing that.
This argument has been made elsewhere and many of the figures and themes discussed in this article have also been discussed elsewhere. The author needs to read and much more deeply engage with (in English) the following sources which will help inform but also better shape the argument:
Robert S. Schwantes, "Christianity versus Science: A conflict of Ideas in Meiji Japan (Far Eastern Quarterly 21, no. 2 (Feb. 1952): 123-132
Helen Ballhatchet "The Religion of the West versus the Science of the West: The Evolution Controversy in Late Nineteenth Century Japan" in John Breen and Mark Williams eds., Japan and Christianity" Impacts and Responses pages
Mark Mullins, Christianity Made in Japan (Hawaii: 1998)
Scheiner (cited, but not fully engaged with),
John F. Howes, Japan's Modern Prophet: Uchimura Kanzō 1861-1930
F.G. Notehelfer American Samurai: L.L. Janes and Japan Princeton
The lack of Japanese-language scholarship (only a couple of scholars' names appear and are not given much attention) is fine if the author does not purport to make arguments about/for the Japanese converts. The historiography and theology of Japanese converts has been covered extensively, with particular emphasis on "Liberal Theology" in Japanese. The author should therefore focus on argument that can be made using English- and German-language sources. This is doable.
Author Response
First, I would like to thank both reviewers for their thorough review of my article. I am most grateful for the comments which have helped much to improve the article. The following is a list of the corrections the article has undergone as a result of the reviewer’s comments
- spell-check and corrections of highlighted problems to ensure consistency of capitalization, punctuation, verb agreement,
- a final proofreading by a native English speaker.
- On request of Reviewer 2, Japanese Kanjis for names and terms have been included in the text.
- After reflecting of Reviewer 1’s two points of critic 1) the “problematic nature of the argument “beneficial otherness”, and 2) “the articles argument being too ambitions”, I have simplified the argument to argue only that the othering process was key to the development of new forms of belief and practice for Japanese converts. In this process the use of “beneficial otherness” has been removed from the article. This can be seen in the beginning of the article where the title has been changed from, “Beneficial Otherness” – to “Negotiating Otherness.” Similarly, the last section of the Introduction, Discussion and the Conclusion have all been changed in order to include the new argument.
- Change of L.245 – In order to include more sources in Japanese language. I have changed this section and included a quotation from Minami Hajime on Spinner’s work.
- Following a comment of Reviewer 2, the last section of part 2 has been re-written.
- Following Reviewer 1’s comment on the lack of engagement with key scholarship on the same topic in Japan. An inclusion of the suggested literature at key places has been added. Furthermore, some Japanese language sources has also been added to the text.
- Following Reviewer 2’s wish for a definition of Liberal Christianity and German Idealism, a definition has been given in a footnote in the beginning of the text¨
I sincerely thank both reviewers for their time and effort and I hope that the listed changes are to the satisfaction of the reviewers.
Yours sincerely,
Reviewer 2 Report
Overall Comments
This paper largely fulfills the objectives set out in its introductory paragraphs: To reconsider the framing of “otherness” as a one-way discourse of colonial control and reposition it as a human dialectic that can open new possibilities for identity formation; and to focus on instances of personal interactions among individuals. (“Rather than considering the mission schools to be 67 manifestations of social transformations, this paper will examine the personal encounter 68 of the missionaries and their students” (L67-69).) The case studies draw on archival research that would not otherwise be widely available and that offers nuanced insights into at least one (the German) side of these interaction. These theoretical and empirical attainments make the article a welcome contribution to the history of Japanese modernization processes, interactions with the West, as well as Japan’s encounter with ideas of “religion” as a putatively universal category of human experience.
General Editorial Comments
While the quality of English writing is generally very good, it would benefit from another careful reading either by the author or a English-language editor for such things as consistency of capitalization, punctuation, verb agreement, etc. Some specific comments follow below.
Given that this paper will be read by scholars familiar with the Japanese historical setting as well as those new to it, the consistent inclusion of Japanese language (kanji) equivalents and English translations would be helpful to readers.
Certain terms, such as Liberal Christianity, German Idealism, are used in a manner that suggests their meaning is self-evident. Both these terms represent complex, multi-strand traditions of thought and worldview, and a few words explaining the specific sense in which the author is using them here would help the reader follow the contours of the argument.
The judicious use of quotation marks to indicate subjective perceptions would be helpful.
Comments by line
L24: Doitsugaku might be better than Doitsugaku. This would consistent with the way various intellectual disciplines (gaku) are typically treated, such a Rangaku, tetsugaku, etc.
L72: Is “sheer” the best word here? “Sole” focus?
L118: What is meant by “progressive” here? In much discourse about this era, this has been used as code for “pro-Western(ization).” The term should defined or dropped.
L119: Katō Hiroyuki was not, to my knowledge, ever a Christian. In later years, he became a prominent and vociferous critic of Christianity. See: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/824300
L135: 100,000 is standard in English for one hundred thousand.
L144: Quotation marks should be removed when a quoted passage is indented. Passim.
L155. What is meant by “Japanese preschool”?
L182. Suggest: Education and “improve” non-Chrisitian people… to indicate missionaries’ subjective valuation of “improvement.”
L235-36. Not clear; did Spinner translate Schleiermacher?
L297: “equal-minded” should be “like-minded” to accord with the language in the preceding quote?
L355: Suggest: Remained: (colon rather than comma)
L397: ōyatoi should be oyatoi (no macron); meaning should be defined.
L441: The discussion of Minami and Spinner’s divergent views on the proper relationship between faith and politics/church and state growing in part of Minami’s internalized/localized understanding of Christian teachings is fascinating. This is an area of continuing interest in Japan studies (as well as religious, historical and other studies) and a more in-depth exploration would be welcome, if not here, on a future occasion.
L484: The Meiji Constitution and its Article 28 were promulgated (not renewed) in 1889.
L514-16: “Discussing the world of National Politic and Education through the Rejection of Tennō Worship.” (Goshinpitsu raihai jiken o ronjite kokka seitō kyōsō seiraiku ni oyobu) (Minami 1890b)
There seems to be some distance between the Japanese original—which is a reference to the Uchimura Lese Majesty incident?—and the English translation. For example, Minami’s argument in “The Nation and the Church” for the universality of Christianity and its ability to go beyond national borders (475) relates direct to one of Inoue Tetsujirō’s concerns about religion expressed in his “Clash of Education and Religion.”
L569: “Let us” is probably better than “Let’s” in formal academic writing.
603: Spinner’s inability to appreciate the agency (independent ambitions and goals) of students given the opportunity to study in Germany and the career paths beyond the theological nicely illustrates the theme of othering and its ramifications.
641: Japanese theologian again. Or whether… Suggest: replace the period with a comma to avoid incomplete sentence.
697: Shortly. Suggest: Briefly. Shortly can be mean “in what follows soon after.”
650: What does the two cases… What do the two cases. Verb agreement. Passim.
Final comment. The article touches up against, but does not seem to actively reference, the important research that has been done in recent years to problematize the idea of “religion” as a universally valid and meaningful concept—an assumption that is at the heart of the work of Spinner and his AEPM colleagues. If not at this junction, some of the following research (in parallel with the important post-colonial discourse already cited here) might be useful in enriching the frame of reference for future research, particularly regarding how different traditions developed their modes of cohabitation and accommodation with state power.
Asad, Talal. 2003. Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Cultural Memory in the Present. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.
Fitzgerald, Timothy. 2000. The Ideology of Religious Studies. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Horii, Mitsutoshi. 2018. The Category of ‘Religion’ in Contemporary Japan: Shūkyō and Temple Buddhism. Palgrave Macmillan.
Isomae, Jun’ichi. 2014. Religious Discourse in Modern Japan: Religion, State, and Shinto. Translated by Lynne E. Riggs and Galen Amstutz. Leiden: Brill.
Josephson, Jason, A. 2012. The Invention of Religion in Japan. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
As well as the recently published special issue of Religions:
Horii, Mitsutoshi. 2022. “Introduction: Critical Approaches to ‘Religion’ in Japan: Case Studies and Redescriptions.” Religions 13 (8): 763. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13080763. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/Religion_Japan
Author Response
First, I would like to thank both reviewers for their thorough review of my article. I am most grateful for the comments which have helped much to improve the article. The following is a list of the corrections the article has undergone as a result of the reviewer’s comments
- spell-check and corrections of highlighted problems to ensure consistency of capitalization, punctuation, verb agreement,
- a final proofreading by a native English speaker.
- On request of Reviewer 2, Japanese Kanjis for names and terms have been included in the text.
- After reflecting of Reviewer 1’s two points of critic 1) the “problematic nature of the argument “beneficial otherness”, and 2) “the articles argument being too ambitions”, I have simplified the argument to argue only that the othering process was key to the development of new forms of belief and practice for Japanese converts. In this process the use of “beneficial otherness” has been removed from the article. This can be seen in the beginning of the article where the title has been changed from, “Beneficial Otherness” – to “Negotiating Otherness.” Similarly, the last section of the Introduction, Discussion and the Conclusion have all been changed in order to include the new argument.
- Change of L.245 – In order to include more sources in Japanese language. I have changed this section and included a quotation from Minami Hajime on Spinner’s work.
- Following a comment of Reviewer 2, the last section of part 2 has been re-written.
- Following Reviewer 1’s comment on the lack of engagement with key scholarship on the same topic in Japan. An inclusion of the suggested literature at key places has been added. Furthermore, some Japanese language sources has also been added to the text.
- Following Reviewer 2’s wish for a definition of Liberal Christianity and German Idealism, a definition has been given in a footnote in the beginning of the text¨
I sincerely thank both reviewers for their time and effort and I hope that the listed changes are to the satisfaction of the reviewers.
Yours sincerely,
