‘I am a New Swedenborg, a New Khan’
Aries June 4, 2026 DOI: 10.1163/15700593-bja10002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Keywords | Gautama buddha Intellectual history History of religions Context archaeology Theosophy Adaptation eye Meiji period Literature Asian studies Interpretation philosophy Chinese buddhism Epistemology Comparative religion |
| Key points | Argues that the reception of Swedenborg in Meiji-era Japan, particularly through Deguchi Onisaburō, has been underconsidered in esotericism studies and proposes a combined Buddhist and Shintoist perspective for analyzing this reception. |
Abstract
Abstract This article discusses the reception and adaptation of Swedish visionary Emanuel Swedenborg’s thought in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Japan. It situates this reception in the context of Japanese esoteric thought during the Meiji era. Japanese intellectuals called Swedenborg the world’s greatest theologian, even the Buddha of the North. Yet his importance to Meiji-era intellectual life remains underconsidered in esotericism studies. This article first illuminates how Deguchi Onisaburō, co-founder of the Ōmoto faith, applied Swedenborg’s teachings in uniquely Japanese contexts while pursuing the goal of introducing the entire world to its primordial ancestry in Japan. The article then sketches some of the Buddhist interpretations of Swedenborg, which Deguchi used to elucidate his reading. The article introduces a combined discourse by applying both Buddhist and Shintoist perspectives to Swedenborgian studies. It aims to encourage more scholars of esotericism to consider East Asian receptions of Western esoteric thinkers.