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2024 Pou Aronui Award: Understanding religious fundamentalism in Japan

Professor Mark Mullins, of Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, has been awarded the Pou Aronui Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for a career of scholarship on religion in modern Japanese society, and decades of service that have positioned Aotearoa New Zealand at the forefront of global thinking on the sociology of religion.

Mark Mullins

Mark's recently published book, ‘Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration’, has been internationally acclaimed for expanding scholarly understanding of Japanese religious nationalism.

Professor Mullins is among the world's foremost experts in the comparative study of religion, culture, and politics in Japan. For over four decades he has published widely on topics such as Japanese religions in diaspora and the cultural reshaping of Christianity in Japan.

Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration’ examines religious nationalism and fundamentalism in Japan.

The publication analyses the role of religion in Japanese political life from the Occupation era (1945–1952) to the present. It engages with the long shadow of State Shinto, which has become known as the emperor-centric nationalist ideology that the imperial Japanese government promoted before 1945 through patriotic education, military training and service, and participation in rites at Shinto shrines as a civic duty.

Mark’s work  illuminates the issues surrounding the role of Shinto in public life, which remains among the most contentious topics in Japanese society today.

The publication was honoured with an American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence in 2022 and the prestigious New Zealand Asian Studies Society Book Award in 2023. In 2019, Mark received The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, one of Japan's highest civilian honours.

As director of the Japan Studies Centre at the New Zealand Asia Institute, Mark has demonstrated exemplary leadership by organising international conferences and workshops to foster high-impact academic exchanges between Japan and New Zealand, and by supporting the next generation of researchers in this field.

Since his appointment at the University of Auckland in 2013, Mark has concentrated on the interplay between religion, politics, and neo-nationalism in Japan. His work in this area, supported by collaborative research projects in Japan and Germany, has entrenched his reputation as a pioneer in cross-disciplinary humanities scholarship. 

Mark says he is honoured to receive the 2024 Pou Aronui Award from the Society.

“I spent most of my academic career in Japan and must admit that I was a bit worried about how I would be able to continue my research focused on Japan when I moved to the University of Auckland in 2013. Fortunately, over the past decade I have consistently received strong support from my faculty to return regularly to Japan and continue individual and collaborative research projects with colleagues there.”

“I would also like to acknowledge that the academic exchange activity promoted through the Japan Studies Centre during my time as Director has also been generously supported by the Japan Foundation and the staff of the Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland.”

Mark says he is grateful for the scholars and friends who have supported him along the way and to his partner, Cindy, who has journeyed with him for close to five decades.

“In my line of work, it is especially fortuitous that she is a professional editor and has always been willing to read one more draft. Again, it is very gratifying to receive this award in our new home of Aotearoa, and I’m encouraged to continue research and teaching for some time to come.”

 

Pou Aronui Award:

The Pou Aronui Award is for distinguished service and sustained contributions to the field of humanities research.

Citation:

To Mark Mullins for his scholarship on religion and politics in Japan that has positioned Aotearoa New Zealand at the forefront of sociology of religion.