Japanese religion and society scholar honoured

Professor Mark Mullins has been awarded this year’s premier award for the humanities from the Royal Society Te Apārangi: the Pou Aronui Medal.

 As a professor of Japanese Studies in the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts, he is among the world's foremost experts in the comparative study of religion, culture and politics in Japan.

Over the past four decades, he has published widely on topics like Japanese religions in diaspora and the cultural reshaping of Christianity in Japan.

He has also fostered significant academic exchanges between Japan and New Zealand through years of leadership and service in the field.

Since his appointment at the University of Auckland in 2013, Professor Mullins has concentrated on the interplay between religion, politics and neo-nationalism in post-war Japan.

His work in this area, supported by collaborative research projects in Japan and Germany, has entrenched his reputation as a pioneer in cross-disciplinary humanities scholarship.

He says he’s honoured to receive this award and delighted that after spending most of his academic career in Japan, he’s been able to continue his Japanese-focused research while based in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Fortunately, over the past decade I’ve consistently received strong support from my faculty to return regularly to Japan and continue individual and collaborative research projects with colleagues there.”

He’s also grateful for the scholars and friends who have supported him along the way, and especially to his partner of close to 50 years, Cindy Mullins.

“In my line of work, it’s especially fortuitous that Cindy is a professional editor and has always been willing to read one more draft. Again, it is very gratifying to receive this award in our new home of Aotearoa, and I’m encouraged to continue research and teaching for some time to come.”

He particularly wants to acknowledge that the academic exchange activity promoted through the Japan Studies Centre during his time as director has also been generously supported by the Japan Foundation and the staff of the Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland.

 Mullins’ internationally acclaimed book, Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration (University of Hawaii Press, 2021) has expanded scholarly understanding of religious nationalism and fundamentalism in Japan.

The book analyses the role of religion in Japanese political life from the Occupation era (1945-1952) to the present.

"It engages with the long shadow of State Shinto, which has become known as the emperor-centric nationalist ideology that the imperial Japanese government promoted before 1945 through patriotic education, military training and service, and participation in Shinto shrine rites as a civic duty," he says.

He wanted to illuminate the issues surrounding the public role of Shinto, which remains a topic of serious debate in Japanese society.

“Shinto is often identified as the indigenous tradition of Japan, but it’s widely regarded as a cluster of customary practices rather than identified as a ‘religion’, such as Buddhism and Christianity, which complicates the debate about its role in national life since the postwar Constitution incorporated the principle of religion-state separation.”

The book won an American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence in 2022 and was awarded the New Zealand Asian Studies Society Book Award in 2023.

Mark Mullins serves as director of the Japan Studies Centre at the New Zealand Asia Institute, where he has organised international conferences and workshops and supported early-career researchers.

In 2019, he received The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, one of Japan's highest civilian honours.

Pou Aronui Medal

The Pou Aronui Award is an honorary title bestowed by the Royal Society Te Apārangi on scholars who have provided distinguished and dedicated service to the humanities over a sustained period.

It was one of ten medals and awards given in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on 20 November by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

The accolades recognise researchers who have achieved excellence in scholarship or innovation or who have made a significant contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand through their research careers.

President of the Royal Society, Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding,  said the Society has a vision for an Aotearoa New Zealand guided and inspired by science and research, and an ambitious long-term strategy to achieve it.

“The Research Honours Aotearoa form a very important part of the Society’s mandate to encourage, promote and recognise excellence in science, technology, and the humanities.

“This year’s winners include leaders who have advanced the frontiers of knowledge across a broad range of disciplines and worked tirelessly to share their expertise."