ABSTRACT
In studying Honmon Butsuryūshū in Brazil, with a focus on religion and migration, three aspects are especially worthy of attention. First, a certain religious person was aboard the first migrants’ ship to Brazil with the inten tion of spreading a religion there. Secondly, after having suffered initial difficulties, this person eventually decided to dedicate himself solely to the expansion of the religion; and thirdly, the religion successfully took hold among the Japanese immigrant community, who recognized this person as the founder of Honmon Butsuryūshū in Brazil. Honmon Butsuryūshū offers us important data for understanding the relationship between religion and the ways of life of the first Japanese immigrants. The structure of this chapter is parallel to the life history of the aforementioned person, as a migrant, as a priest, and as a religious founder, focusing on the religious life of the immigrants in relation to the foundation of Honmon Butsuryushu in Brazil.
