Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo

by Ian Reader

The Tokyo subway attack in March 1995 was just one of a series of criminal activities including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and the illegal manufacture of arms and drugs carried out by the Japanese new religious movement Aum Shinrikyo, under the guidance of its leader Asahara Shoko. Reader looks at Aum's claims about itself and asks, why did a religious movement ostensibly focussed on yoga, meditation, asceticism and the pursuit of enlightenment become involved in violent activities? Reader discusses Aum's spiritual roots, placing it in the context of contemporary Japanese religious patterns. Asahara's teaching are examined from his earliest public pronouncements through to his sermons at the time of the attack, and statements he has made in court. In analysing how Aum not only manufactured nerve gases but constructed its own internal doctrinal justifications for using them Reader focuses on the formation of what made all this Aum's internal thought-world, and on how this was developed.

Reader argues that despite the horrors of this particular case, Aum should not be seen as unique, nor as solely a political or criminal terror group. Rather it can best be analysed within the context of religious violence, as an extreme example of a religious movement that has created friction with the wider world that escalated into violence.

Genres: Japan, Religion, Nonfiction, Cults, Crime, History, Asia

323 pages, ebook

First published April 20, 2000

About the author

Ian Reader is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Manchester, UK.

Reviews

[Ale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first learned of Reader while watching a documentary on YouTube about the Tokyo sarin attack of 1995, and even while not knowing of him the knowledge he owns was clear from the first moment he spoke. I then had the chance of reading more of his publications during one of my classes in university, and now that I have finished reading this book of his, all I can say is that the image I had of him had done nothing but improve. Reader writes in a way that is easy to understand even to non-English native speakers, and all of his affirmations give context to what is being read. This book is definitely a great introduction to all who want to learn more about the Tokyo sarin attack and the group behind it.

[Jerrica · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only truly remarkable thing about this book was that it managed to take an incredibly interesting topic, a Japanese murder cult, and muddle it with dense, space-filling text that didn't seem to serve any immediate purposes.

[Prismo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gripping yet methodical study of Aum Shinrikyō which provides an extremely clear explanation for how Asahara Shōkō's group went from a small yoga congregation to a highly hierarchical organization that used chemical weapons multiple times against its perceived "enemies" in little over a decade. Reader does a great job distancing his study from the sensationalism that so often surrounds Aum, and his use of comparative analysis with other new religions & cult movements helps with avoiding the pitfall of considering Aum as a wholly unique phenomenon.

8/10 highly recommend if you want an authoritative account of Aum Shinrikyō

[Chris Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - much better than I was expecting.

Thorough and well grounded.