Uniquest PublishingFreeing, Liberating, Enlightening

Freeing, Liberating, Enlightening

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Carl Jung looked for but did not find an instance of what he called an integral personality – not in Europe, not in India. If only he had met Imaoka Shin’ichirō, he would have had an example other than himself.
Cosmic Sage chronicles Prof. Williams’ fascinating encounter with an enigmatic human being whom Buddhists thought to be a Bodhisattva, Shintoists a living Kami and Christians a virtual saint. Religious liberals and scholars considered him the Emerson of Japan. Imaoka Shin’ichirō lived multiple religious identities, yet preserving the integrity of each.
Williams had the fortune of spending hundreds of hours with him over the last seven years of his 106 year-long life. Imaoka’s egoless personality masked the extraordinary role he played on the national and international stage of progressive movements and institutions in 20th century Japan. A model of an unusual spirituality, he was a penultimate enabler, taking no credit, yet leaving his mark everywhere. No one except for his family knew about his two Imperial Awards for his role in modern Japanese education. Even his essays were lost to history. Imaoka Shin’ichirō needed to be discovered – for Japan, for America – for anyone seeking a liberating spirituality (free religion). He was an exemplar of an integral state of spiritual development. Yet, he would have dismissed it, saying: “I am only learning, growing. There is no graduation from the university of life.”

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George M. Williams is a Professor Emeritus of religious studies at California State University, Chico. He was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1972, specializing in religions in modern India. After retirement he held a research chair at the National Institute for Advanced Studies in India, taught twice on Semester At Sea, lectured extensively and published about Asian religions – including, Handbook of Hindu Mythology (2002) and Shinto (2004). While a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawai‘i, Williams has become an archivist for Hawaiian indigenous religion, Kanenuiakea.
Williams was fortunate enough to know personally and work with some of the major religious leaders of 20th century Japan, including Dr. IMAOKA Shin’ichirō, President-Founder NIWANO of Rissho Kosei-kai, and Rev. Dr. YAMAMOTO. For his contributions toward inter-religious understanding and cooperation, the American Chapter of IARF presented Williams a Distinguished Service Award in 1989. His work with liberal and liberating religions of Asia led to the award of Litterarum Humanorum Doctor from Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley, California in 1994, and Doctor Honoris Causa from the United Protestant Theological School of Kolozsvár [Cluj], Romania in 1996.
Currently living in Wai‘anae, Hawai’i, Williams was hanai-ed (adopted) into the Hawaiian community. He helped the indigenous faith, Kanenuiakea, become a member of the International Association for Religions Freedom (IARF).
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