JJRS > Volume 52 From Disciples to Dissidents: Student Protests and Reform Movements in Meiji-Era Buddhist Universities

Montrose, Victoria R.

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In the second half of the nineteenth century, Buddhist higher educational institutions in the Jōdo Shin Ōtani and Sōtō Zen sects became sites of dramatic student protests. This article situates these movements within three overlapping contexts: student strikes in Japan, parallel activism in the United States and parts of Europe, and institutional changes that contributed to the professionalization of the Buddhist priesthood. Student-priests, emboldened by a growing conviction that they had the right to participate in institutional governance, challenged traditional authority and staged collective actions, which were far from isolated incidents. Instead, these protests reflected a broader national and global phenomenon of late nineteenth-century student activism and a shift in attitudes toward educational and religious authority. Student-led campaigns resulted in significant reforms, including the removal of lay administrators and the establishment of public discussion halls. Drawing on frameworks from sociology and the history of higher education, this study argues that such activism was pivotal in the modernization of Japanese Buddhism. These protests not only catalyzed institutional change but also played a crucial role in establishing academic freedom within Buddhist universities and reshaping the relationship between religious authority and educational independence, leaving a lasting impact on Japanese Buddhism.