Happy New Year 2026

[Susan Tsumura]

This year is also 丙午年, a fire-horse year. The sexagenary cycle 干支 (eto) starts every 60 years, such as in the years 604 and 1984. 丙 (hinoe) is the 3rd character in the 10-element stem 干 cycle, and 午 (uma) is the 7th in the 12-element branch 支 cycle, so this is the 43rd year of the full eto.
In the ancient Chinese tradition it is a dangerous year. In the Warring States period the stems and branches were given association with the 5 phases (elements), and both 丙 and 午 are associated with fire, and furthermore 午 is the south direction, so 丙午 is considered to be particularly dangerous.
In the Edo period it became popularly associated with a woman Yaoya Oshichi who was said to have been born in a fire-horse year and started fires. It became a superstition that a woman born in that year would cause the death of her husband, so even in 1906 and 1966 births fell dramatically. What will happen this year?
But hae a good year.

Susan Tsumura

[Maribeth Graybill]

Thank you, Susan, for this clear explanation.

My first time in Japan was in the summer of 1966 as an AFS exchange student. Among the things I noted in my diary was that pregnant women must be staying at home, since I saw none. It wasn't until many years later that I learned it was a fire-horse year!

Does anyone have statistics on whether there were drops in the number of students in school, university admissions, or employment hires for those born in 1966? More specifically, how have women born this year fated? Were they shunned as marriage partners?

Maribeth Graybill

Curator Emerita of Asian Art, Portland Art Museum

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[Or Porath]

Dear Susan,

Thanks for the thoughtful overview of the Fire-Horse year. One small historical nuance that might be worth adding is that in the Chinese tradition 丙午 was regarded (by some) as inauspicious, associated with disasters, unrest, and ominous signs affecting the realm, rather than being specifically gendered. The idea that women born in a Fire-Horse year would bring disaster to their husbands seems to be a distinctly Japanese development that crystallized in the Edo period.

The Yaoya Oshichi story certainly helped popularize this image, but the link between her and 丙午 appears to be a later cultural overlay rather than part of the original incident. In other words, Edo-period popular culture (jōruri, Saikaku, etc.) repurposed Chinese cosmological and hemerological ideas and combined them with local anxieties about women, fire, and the social order more broadly. Niels van Steenpal wrote a fascinating piece about this topic. 

A recent book by the sociologist Yoshikawa Tōru argues that the dramatic drop in births in 1966 reflected shifts in birth timing and family-planning practices, driven largely by media attention and deliberate changes in reproductive behavior, rather than a simple resurgence of traditional or religious belief. Regarding 1906, Yoshikawa argues that there was no comparable decline in births, largely because demographic patterns were shaped by the disruptions of the Russo-Japanese War rather than by concern over the Fire-Horse year itself, though these points remain open to debate. 

Best regards,

Ori

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Or Porath, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor 

Department of East Asian Studies

Max Webb Building, Room 517
Tel Aviv University

P.O. Box 39040

Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel

Vice-President, Society for the Study of Japanese Religions

Rituals of Initiation and Consecration in Premodern Japan: Power and Legitimacy in Kingship, Religion, and the Arts (with Fabio Rambelli)

Japan’s Forgotten God: Jūzenji in Medieval Texts and the Visual Arts

[Mary Louise Nagata]

Satomi Kurosu has been studying the demographic effects of fire horse years.

Mary Louise Nagata

2026年1月2日(金) 19:38 Maribeth Graybill <graybi...@gmail.com>:

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[Christopher Hepburn]

Thanks for your wonderful insight, Ori.

It does seem plausible that, due to the influence of elitist Confucian thought on the culture of Edo, the term became a misogynist trope in Japan. At the same time, I can also see where one might argue it’s a bit early for such influence, even though I Razan is providing counsel to Tokugawa by this time. 

Christopher Hepburn, PhD

Southern Methodist University

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[Rotem Kowner]

Dear Ori and all,

This discussion is fascinating, especially because it touches on so many different fields, including history, ethnology, sociology, and demography.  Thank you all for your thoughtful contributions.

With regard to the recent book by the sociologist Yoshikawa Tōru, I feel that some of the explanations offered are not entirely persuasive. 

In the case of the sharp decline in the birth rate in 1966, it is difficult to attribute it to broader changes in birth timing or family-planning practices, supposedly driven by media attention and deliberate reproductive behavior. If this had truly been the case, we would expect to observe a continued decline in the following years as well. In fact, Japanese birth rates had been rising since 1961 and reached a peak in 1965. Apart from the sharp drop in 1966, they rose again in 1967, which marked the highest birth rate since 1956 (and have not reached that level since), almost as a compensatory effect, and then remained relatively high until 1974. Only then did a long period of decline begin, continuing to the present and reaching its lowest levels in recent years.

The sudden drop in 1906 is equally revealing. If this pattern had truly been shaped by the disruptions of the Russo-Japanese War, we would expect the decline to be most visible in 1905, after eleven months of fighting in 1904 with no clear end or decisive victory in sight. By contrast, 1906 actually followed a year marked by a series of military successes that concluded in peace within eight months, yet fertility still continued to fall: 4.61 in 1904, 4.52 in 1905, and 4.38 children per woman in 1906 (the lowest in 1900s). Generally speaking, postwar years are often marked by a baby boom, and Japan likewise experienced rising fertility in 1907 (5.03), 1908 (5.13), and 1909 (5.16), before returning in 1910 to a level comparable to 1901 (5.01). It is true that baby booms do not always occur after wars, particularly when there has been severe male mortality, economic collapse, or widespread displacement. However, none of these conditions applied to Japan after the Russo-Japanese War. In other words, had 1906 not been a Fire Horse year, we would reasonably expect the 1907-1909 baby boom to have started already in 1906.

For these reasons, I believe that in both 1906 and 1966 the Fire Horse year did exert an influence. This was not the result of a sudden revival of traditional or religious beliefs, but rather of their continued lingering presence. It will therefore be of particular interest to observe developments in Japan in 2026, especially given that there appears to be limited scope for further decline.

Best regards,

Rotem

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Dr. Rotem Kowner

Historian, Professor of Japanese Studies

Department of Asian Studies

The University of Haifa

199 Abba Khoushy Ave., Mt. Carmel, POB 3338

Haifa 3103301, ISRAEL

 

 

Forthcoming publications

A Hardening Hierarchy: The Japanese in the Global Formation of Racial Ideologies, 1735–1854 (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2026)

https://www.mqup.ca/Books/A/A-Hardening-Hierarchy2

[Or Porath]

Dear Rotem,

Thank you for this careful and stimulating contribution. I was intentionally cautious in presenting Yoshikawa’s arguments as open to debate rather than rejecting them outright. I agree that the demographic patterns you shared make it difficult to account for the declines in 1906 and 1966 without acknowledging some lingering influence of the Fire Horse year. You also strike a thoughtful balance between avoiding the reification of “belief” and allowing room for the real social effects of religion. I share your curiosity about how 2026 will unfold.

This discussion clearly also belongs within the field of religious studies.

Thanks again to Susan Tsumura for bringing this topic to our attention.

Best regards,

Ori

Sent from my IPhone

[Leonardo Wolfe]

Dear Dr. Porath and all,

For what it's worth, I'm inclined to argue that this belongs more to the realm of superstition than religion, although there is naturally some crossover. In other words, even the most non-religious still give weight to yakudoshi, but their interaction with the concept is arguably little more than "covering the bases". Shrines and temples are also now distributing horse-themed objects, as they have done with previous zodiac animals, but seemingly without reservation.

One factor that separates yakudoshi belief with Fire Horse belief, is that the former is not a choice-based consequence, but, rather, something that is thrust upon everybody as they pass through life, therefore we need to take agency into account.

Regarding agency, omiai has declined substantially since the last Fire Horse year, as has the role of parents in such arrangements. Consequently, I don't envision a dramatic drop as the parents of a child born in a Fire Horse year simply don't need to give as much weight to the child's future marriageability due to the decline of associated inter-family politics. Furthermore, there also appears to be evidence that those born in the last Fire Horse year didn't suffer any major consequential negative effects. Perhaps, then, this can be attributed to the fact that, akin to yakudoshi, the Fire Horse has been trust upon them, rather than being an active choice that they've made.

A further involuntarily attribute to take into account is that of a person's blood type, and whilst cases of burahara allegedly still occur, there also appears to be a general shift towards treating blood types with increasingly less superstitious relevance.

As a final note, whilst some people will actively attempt to align a birth with a specific zodiac animal, such as the Dragon, the elemental factor, which, here, is Fire, is somewhat secondary, or even ignored entirely, due to the twelve-year cycle and the impracticality of waiting.

As always, I welcome any comments.

Kind regards,

Leonardo Wolfe

[Leonardo Wolfe]

Dear all,

Apologies for another reply in quick succession, but since my original reply I've discovered that there's a new book on the topic coming out in a matter of days.

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000002521.000047877.html

Hopefully it will provide a more in-depth analysis and perspective on my surface-level passing remark that, "[...] those born in the last Fire Horse year didn't suffer any major consequential negative effects". It will also be interesting to see what the reception is in terms of sales figures and reviews, where available.

Kind regards,

Leonardo Wolfe

[Christopher Hepburn]

Dear Leonardo,

Indeed. The distinction between “legitimate” religious belief and “irrational” superstition is not as clear or solid as people like to think.

Best,

Christopher Hepburn, PhD

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[Nosco, Peter]

In an unpublished 1964 review of Ivan Morris’ World of the Shining Prince (included in Madly Singing in the Mountains, p. 375), Arthur Waley mocked Morris’ effort to distinguish religion from superstition writing, “I would prefer simply to say that ‘superstition’ is any belief that the speaker thinks silly.”  He had a way with words.

 

 

From: pm...@googlegroups.com <pm...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Leonardo Wolfe
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To: PMJS: Listserv <pm...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [PMJS] Happy New Year 2026

 

[CAUTION: Non-UBC Email]

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[Or Porath]

Dear Leo and others,

I would only add one conceptual caveat. The distinction you draw between “religion” and “superstition” is itself historically contingent. As scholars such as Jason Ānanda Josephson-Storm have argued, “superstition” often functions less as a neutral analytical category than as a polemical one. It is a way of designating forms of belief and practice deemed less legitimate, less rational, or less modern in relation to a dominant or hegemonic religious (or secular) framework. From this perspective, what counts as superstition is always relative rather than intrinsic.

For this reason, I cannot help but echo what Peter has already noted. I would hesitate to treat superstition and religion as separate domains. They are better understood as positions within a hierarchy of legitimacy, one that is constantly renegotiated as political contexts and social conditions change. In other words, believing in a Fire Horse year is no less “religious” than worshipping Amaterasu at a shrine.

Best,

Ori

Sent from my IPhone

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[Claire-Akiko Brisset]

Dear Or,

This is so perfectly phrased! Many thanks.

Best wishes and happy new year,

Claire-Akiko Brisset
Full Professor, Japanese Cultural History,

Head of East-Asian Studies Department 

Faculty of Humanities
University of Geneva

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[Tomoe Steineck]

Dear colleagues

Allow me to add Orion Klautau's nuanced contribution on this issue:

Klautau, Orion (2014): The Concept of Shūkyō and Japan. The Encounter with Religion and Rearrangement of Local Ideas. In Susumu Shimazono, Toshihiko Takano, Makoto Hayashi, Masaki Wakao (Eds.): The Japanese and Religion Series. From the Early Modern to the Modern Era, vol. 2. 6 volumes. Tokyo: Shunjūsha (2), pp. 241–267.

Tomoë I. M. Steineck

Lecturer OAKG & AOI UZH

Visiting Researcher UZH AOI Japanese Studies & HIJAS Hosei University Tokyo

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Betreff: Re: {SOCIAL NETWORK} Re: [PMJS] Happy New Year 2026

 

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[Leonardo Wolfe]

Dear Dr. Porath and all,

​Thank you for your insightful caution regarding the historical baggage of the religion/superstition binary.

My intention in using the term "superstition" was not to imply a hierarchy of legitimacy, but rather to capture a mode of engagement in an environment where many self-report to be of 'no religion' (musūkyō, 無宗教). In relation to this, attached is table from p. 34 of the chapter linked below.

https://brill.com/display/book/9789004234369/B9789004234369_003.xml

On a related note, another problematic term that comes to mind is the word cult, and I've see it quite a few times on the Kokugakuin University website, e.g., it appears as the second word in the below article concerning Inari shinkō.

https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9027

Kind regards, and a belated Happy New Year,

Leonardo Wolfe

[Michael Pye]

Dear honourable Colleagues,

In the academic study of religions today there are few, if any, who
use either of the terms "superstition" or "cult" in their research or
analysis.

The discussion of "superstition" more or less covered the question,
but the basic point is that to refer to something as superstition is
to adopt a position "within the field" which (jn the trade) we purport
to eschew. It has no value as an independent analytical category.

Now comes "cult". This used to play a role in the sequence "church,
sect, cult" but now,it has been taken over in media- talk to imply a
badly secretive,group with outlandish teachihgs. I suggest therefore
that it is not such a good translation into English for 信仰 as in Inari
Shinko or Myoken shinko. or Kannon shinko (sorry no superscripts). Of
course, it can just mean "faith" (in anything) But in such contexts
what it means is more like "faith orientation“., implying both a
psychological and a social orientation. Cult is not really a helpful
transltion for it, at least not any more.

galloping on, with best wishes all round
Michael Pye,



.................................................................................................................
Professor of the Study of Religions (em.), University of Marburg, Germany

[Leonardo Wolfe]

Dear Prof. Pye and all,

I would only like to ask how can one impose the label of being "religious" on a person if they emphatically reject it? In such cases, surely the accused would find a term such as "superstitious" to be a more suitable alternative. Superstition is being treated as a dirty word, but it is often the label of religion that is considered to be so. If we are writing with a view to respecting those that we discuss, then perhaps the terms more accurately need to be applied on a case-by-case basis, along with being included in future surveys.

Kind regards,

Leonardo Wolfe

[Michael Pye]

Dear Leonardo,

> I would only like to ask how can one impose the label of being "religious"
> on a person if they emphatically reject it? In such cases, surely
> the accused would find a term such as "superstitious" to be a more
> suitable alternative.

Well, one doesn't need to "impose" it, but if an interlocutor (e.g. in
Japan) volunteers the information that they are not religious, I
usually ask a few questions such as what the person does at New Year,
whether they ever attend funerals, if so, do they light incense, do
they dance at o-bon, carry an amulet (Tenmangu?), and so on. I would
not ask a person claiming rationality if they are superstitious
because they would very probably just say no.

.In general, there is a lot going on out there.
I once wrote an article about "getting into trouble with the
believers" and it applies to "non-believers" too. It's ofren quite
interesting to ask peope what it is that they don*t believe. In
general it's best to try not to "get into ttrouble with the
believers", but it sometimes can't be avoided...

best wishes,
Michael


Zitat von Leonardo Wolfe <leonardo...@gmail.com>:

> Dear Prof. Pye and all,
>
> I would only like to ask how can one impose the label of being "religious"
> on a person if they emphatically reject it? In such cases, surely the
> accused would find a term such as "superstitious" to be a more suitable

> alternative. *Superstition* is being treated as a dirty word, but it is
> often the label of *religion* that is considered to be so. If we are

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[Ross Bender]

Since the question of "cult" as a translation for  信仰 has arisen , this is what I adopted in my dissertation The Political Meaning of the Hachiman Cult in Ancient and Early Medieval Japan." At my doctoral defense in 1980, some questioned my use of the term, but I insisted that Hachiman was the object of religious devotion - hence his cult. With all due respect to Dr. Pye, this is still the best of translations for the term. The opening line in my "Hachiman" for the Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism Is:

"The kami Hachiman is one of the most popular Shinto deities in Japan today, with estimates that a third of the nation's shrines are dedicated to his cult"

For those who like dictionary definitions, here is Merriam Webster:

: a system of religious beliefs and rituals

also : its body of adherents

the cult of Dionysus

an ancient fertility cult

Ross BenderAmazon.com: IMPERIAL RULE: ESSAYS ON ANCIENT JAPAN eBook : BENDER, ROSS: Kindle Store

> On Friday, 9 January 2026 at 16:51:34 UTC Michael Pye wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear honourable Colleagues,
>>
>> In the academic study of religions today there are few, if any, who
>> use either of the terms "superstition" or "cult" in their research or
>> analysis.
>>
>> The discussion of "superstition" more or less covered the question,
>> but the basic point is that to refer to something as superstition is
>> to adopt a position "within the field" which (jn the trade) we purport
>> to eschew. It has no value as an independent analytical category.
>>
>> Now comes "cult". This used to play a role in the sequence "church,
>> sect, cult" but now,it has been taken over in media- talk to imply a
>> badly secretive,group with outlandish teachihgs. I suggest therefore
>> that it is not such a good translation into English for 信仰 as in Inari
>> Shinko or Myoken shinko. or Kannon shinko (sorry no superscripts). Of
>> course, it can just mean "faith" (in anything) But in such contexts
>> what it means is more like "faith orientation“., implying both a
>> psychological and a social orientation. Cult is not really a helpful
>> transltion for it, at least not any more.
>>
>> galloping on, with best wishes all round
>> Michael Pye,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> .................................................................................................................
>> Professor of the Study of Religions (em.), University of Marburg, Germany

On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 5:26 PM Ross Bender <rosslyn...@gmail.com> wrote:

Since the question of "cult" as a translation for  信仰 has arisen , this is what I adopted in my dissertation The Political Meaning of the Hachiman Cult in Ancient and Early Medieval Japan." At my doctoral defense in 1980, some questioned my use of the term, but I insisted that Hachiman was the object of religious devotion - hence his cult. With all due respect to Father Pye, this is still the best of translations for the term. The opening line in my "Hachiman" for the Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism Is:

"The kami Hachiman is one of the most popular Shinto deities in Japan today, with estimates that a third of the nation's shrines are dedicated to his cult"

For those who like dictionary definitions, here is Merriam Webster:

3

: a system of religious beliefs and rituals

also : its body of adherents

the cult of Dionysus

an ancient fertility cult

Ross BenderAmazon.com: IMPERIAL RULE: ESSAYS ON ANCIENT JAPAN eBook : BENDER, ROSS: Kindle Store

> On Friday, 9 January 2026 at 16:51:34 UTC Michael Pye wrote:
>
>>
>> Dear honourable Colleagues,
>>
>> In the academic study of religions today there are few, if any, who
>> use either of the terms "superstition" or "cult" in their research or
>> analysis.
>>
>> The discussion of "superstition" more or less covered the question,
>> but the basic point is that to refer to something as superstition is
>> to adopt a position "within the field" which (jn the trade) we purport
>> to eschew. It has no value as an independent analytical category.
>>
>> Now comes "cult". This used to play a role in the sequence "church,
>> sect, cult" but now,it has been taken over in media- talk to imply a
>> badly secretive,group with outlandish teachihgs. I suggest therefore
>> that it is not such a good translation into English for 信仰 as in Inari
>> Shinko or Myoken shinko. or Kannon shinko (sorry no superscripts). Of
>> course, it can just mean "faith" (in anything) But in such contexts
>> what it means is more like "faith orientation“., implying both a
>> psychological and a social orientation. Cult is not really a helpful
>> transltion for it, at least not any more.
>>
>> galloping on, with best wishes all round
>> Michael Pye,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> .................................................................................................................
>> Professor of the Study of Religions (em.), University of Marburg, Germany
>>
>>
>
> --

rg.de.

[Leonardo Wolfe]

Dear Prof. Pye and all,

Thank you for your thoughtful perspective.

To add some clarity to my reasoning, I'm of the view that a person can introspectively self-examine their actions to be "irrational" whilst still performing them, in turn classifying them as "superstition", and that they can do so without the label of it being called religion. Likewise, where acts are self-defined as being the products of tradition and culture, a conscious distinction is being made.

To quote a salient point made by Ian Reader, which originates from a response to criticisms raised by Richard Anderson,

"Quite often, too, as Anderson is no doubt aware, respondents are keen to show that they are not 'superstitious,' and this may also have the effect of coloring the way that they express their attitudes when talking to researchers."

What Constitutes Religious Activity? (I)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/30233453

What Constitutes Religious Activity? (II)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/30233454

As an anecdotal continuation of this, last night, during our anniversary dinner, I asked my (Japanese) wife about her view, given that she had purchased an omamori (お守り) connected to yakudoshi (厄年), which can be viewed below.

https://kinomiya.or.jp/shrine/yakuyoke/

Despite the fact that she had distinctly raised the connection with yakudoshi around the time of purchasing it, yesterday, she was a lot more dismissive about its purpose, relegating it to the role of a mere souvenir. She also made a distinction between worship and tourism, classifying herself as partaking, primarily, in the latter. Having said that, in connection to yakudoshi, she also mentioned that a friend had participated in oharai (お祓い).

Whilst the discussion with my wife is but one example, I find the potential liminality interesting, especially given that she denied being meishinbukai (迷信深い); perhaps, in part, due to the negative associated negative connotations, but connotations that are comparatively distinguished below.

https://doi.org/10.18910/8170

On that note, and to briefly return to the topic of the Fire Horse, it's perhaps also important to mention that it is explicitly highlighted under entries for the word meishin (迷信).

https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%BF%B7%E4%BF%A1-141107

As many have already graciously given their time and effort, I don't intend to drag out the conversation any further, but I felt that this last response from myself was perhaps worth adding.

Kind regards,

Leonardo Wolfe

[Michael Pye]

Dear Ross,
It seems that the meaning intended by your use of the word "cult"
was perfectly clear from the way you use it, and I wouldn't see any
particular need to criticise it. Moreover its traditional use was
surely dominated by classical examples.
At the same time the usage has spread out quite a bit, as in
church-sect-cult typology, which would see a "cult " as being a
paricularly tightly knitted form of religion. This has led to its
adoption in reference to paricularly secretive and highly disciplined
new religions, by the sociological NRMs brigade. So the very fact
that there are so many Hachiman shrines makes it less of a "cult" ,
and yet nor is it a "sect".

This just goes to show that typologies often don't really match as
between cultures, and that in any case.one-to-one translations often
fail to work, - or to work any more.

best wishes, Michael Pye

Zitat von Ross Bender <rosslyn...@gmail.com>:

> Since the question of "cult" as a translation for 信仰 has arisen , this is

> what I adopted in my dissertation *The Political Meaning of the Hachiman
> Cult in Ancient and Early Medieval Japan*." At my doctoral defense in 1980,

> some questioned my use of the term, but I insisted that Hachiman was the
> object of religious devotion - hence his cult. With all due respect to Dr.
> Pye, this is still the best of translations for the term. The opening line
> in my "Hachiman" for the Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism Is:
>

> *"The kami Hachiman is one of the most popular Shinto deities in Japan

> today, with estimates that a third of the nation's shrines are dedicated to

> his cult"*

>
> For those who like dictionary definitions, here is Merriam Webster:
>
>
> : a system of religious beliefs and rituals
> also : its body of adherents
> the cult of Dionysus
> an ancient fertility cult
> Ross BenderAmazon.com: IMPERIAL RULE: ESSAYS ON ANCIENT JAPAN eBook :
> BENDER, ROSS: Kindle Store

> <https://www.amazon.com/IMPERIAL-RULE-ESSAYS-ANCIENT-JAPAN-ebook/dp/B0FFZVRX2Z?crid=313ERU6UH8S7I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BPY7r-Va-C_81bE4wUGe9Q.WK4bEYtHfV9SMblMITNVgut1KbO9Bs_n1uVn7hqpVlQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ross+bender+imperial+rule&qid=1767997494&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C112&sr=1-1>

>> what I adopted in my dissertation *The Political Meaning of the Hachiman
>> Cult in Ancient and Early Medieval Japan*." At my doctoral defense in

>> 1980, some questioned my use of the term, but I insisted that Hachiman was
>> the object of religious devotion - hence his cult. With all due respect to
>> Father Pye, this is still the best of translations for the term. The
>> opening line in my "Hachiman" for the Brill Encyclopedia of Buddhism Is:
>>

>> *"The kami Hachiman is one of the most popular Shinto deities in Japan

>> today, with estimates that a third of the nation's shrines are dedicated to

>> his cult"*

>>
>> For those who like dictionary definitions, here is Merriam Webster:
>>
>> 3
>> : a system of religious beliefs and rituals
>> also : its body of adherents
>> the cult of Dionysus
>> an ancient fertility cult
>> Ross BenderAmazon.com: IMPERIAL RULE: ESSAYS ON ANCIENT JAPAN eBook :
>> BENDER, ROSS: Kindle Store

>> <https://www.amazon.com/IMPERIAL-RULE-ESSAYS-ANCIENT-JAPAN-ebook/dp/B0FFZVRX2Z?crid=313ERU6UH8S7I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BPY7r-Va-C_81bE4wUGe9Q.WK4bEYtHfV9SMblMITNVgut1KbO9Bs_n1uVn7hqpVlQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=ross+bender+imperial+rule&qid=1767997494&s=digital-text&sprefix=%2Cdigital-text%2C112&sr=1-1>

>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pmjs/20260109204139.Horde.4qlEAPIWHfqtfIqSQhunG-H%40home.staff.uni-marburg.de>
>>> .

>>>
>>
>
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[Robert Borgen]

Once, in one of my classes, I was talking about Tenjin worship and referred to it as a cult. My students seemed mystified. Apparently, to them, “cult” had only one meaning, the negative one Michael Pye describes, not Ross Bender’s (and my own) neutral sense of the term. For me, the problem was solved when I retired and no longer needed to worry about using words in the classroom that had fallen out of fashion, but I am left wondering if there is a better term that I might use in my writing? Suggestions would be welcome.

Robert Borgen

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