Caring as Serving: Lay Buddhist Childcare as Reflective Responses to Societal and Organizational Expectations

This paper examines contemporary Japanese lay Buddhist childcare through a case study of the Tendai-derived lay Buddhist organization, Kōdō Kyōdan, and its childcare programs. Against the backdrop of Japan’s low birth rate, Kōdō Kyōdan established its three childcare programs at its headquarters in the city of Yokohama at the turn of the 21st century to address demographic concerns at both the national and organizational levels. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted since 2018, this paper explores lay Buddhists’ understanding and practice of hōshi (serving) in their relationships with the religious organization, family, and society in the context of public caution against religious proselytization. This paper argues that by reflectively responding to societal and organizational expectations, the childcare staff members at Kōdō Kyōdan negotiate their religious and social identities in a dynamic context marked by changes in their parent religious organization and in Japanese society at large.