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<p>This paper explores the concept of a secular spiritual pilgrimage in the context of modern democratic societies, drawing on the pioneering educational project of the Japanese Unitarian and advocate of free religion, Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881–1988). At a 2024 conference in Cambridge on Artificial Intelligence and Society, a dialogue session on ethics and the <i>Res publica</i>—understood as the public good—prompted a reflection on Imaoka’s 1934 initiative at Seisoku Academy in Tokyo. Seeking to provide his students with an “integrated education” (<i>sōgō kyōiku</i>), Imaoka reimagined the traditional Buddhist Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage as a secular journey through thirty-three sites in Greater Tokyo. This pilgrimage encompassed religious shrines, historical landmarks, and institutions central to civic life, including government buildings, financial institutions, industrial sites, and public utilities. By engaging with these diverse locations and their custodians, students developed a holistic understanding of the interdependence between the sacred and the secular, the self and society. The project ultimately functioned as a means of cultivating trust, humility, and a sense of shared responsibility for the <i>Res publica</i>. Contemporary interest in reviving such secular pilgrimages, as evidenced by discussions at the Cambridge conference, suggests their potential relevance in addressing the civic and ethical challenges of our time. This paper argues that reintroducing similar practices could play a vital role in fostering civic engagement and sustaining democratic values in an era of increasing social fragmentation.</p>

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A secular spiritual pilgrimage around the Res publica

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月29日

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  • Andrew James Brown

摘要

This paper explores the concept of a secular spiritual pilgrimage in the context of modern democratic societies, drawing on the pioneering educational project of the Japanese Unitarian and advocate of free religion, Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881–1988). At a 2024 conference in Cambridge on Artificial Intelligence and Society, a dialogue session on ethics and the Res publica—understood as the public good—prompted a reflection on Imaoka’s 1934 initiative at Seisoku Academy in Tokyo. Seeking to provide his students with an “integrated education” (sōgō kyōiku), Imaoka reimagined the traditional Buddhist Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage as a secular journey through thirty-three sites in Greater Tokyo. This pilgrimage encompassed religious shrines, historical landmarks, and institutions central to civic life, including government buildings, financial institutions, industrial sites, and public utilities. By engaging with these diverse locations and their custodians, students developed a holistic understanding of the interdependence between the sacred and the secular, the self and society. The project ultimately functioned as a means of cultivating trust, humility, and a sense of shared responsibility for the Res publica. Contemporary interest in reviving such secular pilgrimages, as evidenced by discussions at the Cambridge conference, suggests their potential relevance in addressing the civic and ethical challenges of our time. This paper argues that reintroducing similar practices could play a vital role in fostering civic engagement and sustaining democratic values in an era of increasing social fragmentation.