The non-modern confronts the modern: dating the Buddha in Japan

This paper examines the emergence of a distinctly 'modern' style of history and some of its uses as applied to Buddhism by Buddhist scholars within the early Meiji Period (late nineteenth century) in Japan. After a discussion of the importance of 'area studies' in the formation of conceptions germane to history as practiced in Japan, the paper proposes a new category of the 'non-modern' as a means to counter the historiographical dominance of modern categories in the formation of the historical discipline, especially as formulated in Japanese studies. As a case study, the emergence of the discourse dealing with the quest for the historical Buddha is examined. By showing the methods and accomplishments of modernist historians, and the concomitant slippage of non-modern categories in their work, this paper sketches a method of analysis particularly applicable to the intersection of religion and history.