Plesae read the atricle and answer - Assignment Example

Dte Section/# The Political Use of Shrines Jonathan Reynold’s article “Ise Shrine and a Modernist Construction of Japanese Tradition” helps to acquaint the reader with the truism concerning how shrines and holy sites in Japan have been used to various ends by a plethora of political forces over the past 100 years. The author begins the piece by describing the way in which nationalism upheld these shrines and worked to develop the national consciousness of the populace so that they would understand the beauty and peaceful perfection of these shrines from an imperialistic and overtly nationalist point of view/mindset (Reynolds 316).

Subsequently, the author details how during the post war years different actors helped to re-define the shrines in terms of pre-Imperial power and greatness of Japanese tradition. Likewise the article details the historical meanings and religious connotations that the shrine has had on various groups throughout Japanese history to include: Buddhist monks, Yamato dynasty, Imperial Japan, and Post-World War II Japanese culture and society. In a sense, by analyzing the way that this shrine has had such a profound effect on the determination of the society and the different factions within it, the author is able to emphasize how locations and images have a profound effect on the identify of given groups and how they in turn relate to the rest of the world around them.

The greater understanding that the reader is about to walk away from this piece with is that humanity ascribes its own unique values and belief systems to historic relics or shrines that exist in contemporary society. This truism is especially helpful in understanding how religious movements and radical political movements are able to gain such a great deal of influence and form a clear (albeit oftentimes patently false) connection to some point in history. Naturally one immediately recalls the Nazi’s attempts to bend history and various shrines to their own distinct interpretation of history.

Work CitedReynolds, Jonathan M. "Ise Shrine And A Modernist Construction Of Japanese Tradition." Art Bulletin 83.2 (2001): 316. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.