Paper short abstract:

This paper brings into focus the case of a noblewoman Matsudaira Toshiko (1890-1985) to examine her religious life and social activities and show how they were related to Nichirenism.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is an attempt to illuminate the gender dimension of Nichirenism through the analysis of faith and practice of Matsudaira Toshiko (1890-1985), probably the most high-profile figure in the Nichirenist women movement. Born as the sixth daughter of Nabeshima Naohiro (1846-1921), the last feudal lord of Saga Domain and later a marquis, Toshiko was raised as a princess. She married Matsudaira Yutaka (1879-1945), a navy captain and the younger brother of Count Matsudaira Yorinaga. It is apparent that at the beginning of her religious life, her devotion to the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren was influenced by her husband, who had converted to Nichiren after his "mystical" experience in the Russo-Japanese War. Toshiko actively lectured and wrote on her religious beliefs. She published several books on her faith, for example, Nichiren Shōnin no Kotoba no Mama ni (In the Words of Saint Nichiren, 1921), Hokekyō Raisan (In Praise of the Lotus Sutra, 1928), Nichirenshugi to Jyosei (Nichirenism and Women, 1931). She also was a leader of a women religious group the Risshō Fujinkai founded in 1927. Toshiko's case is remarkable because she also made efforts to improve the status of women in Japan through a vast array of social and political activities, most especially after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, including the adoption of western clothing, the juvenile protection, female migration and education. This paper discusses how such activities relate to her religious beliefs and thus argues that Nichirenism inspired women social activism in prewar Japan.