was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 born son of a Shin

Shin

Shin may refer to:* Shinbone, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates* Shin , the twenty-first letter in many Semitic alphabets* Shin , origin of Shin name, which means "new"...

 Buddhist priest from Niigata Prefecture

Niigata Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...

. He was a student Kiyozawa Manshi

Kiyozawa Manshi

was a Japanese Shin Buddhist reformer of samurai background who studied at Tokyo University in Western philosophy under the American philosopher Ernest Fenollosa....

 and had taught for several years at Otani University

Otani University

is a private Buddhist university located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The university was founded in 1901 as "Shinshū University" in Tokyo with Kiyozawa Manshi as the president.-Notable alumni and faculty:*Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki*Kaneko Daiei*Keido Fukushima...

. In 1928 he was excommunicated from Jodo Shinshu for having charged the organization had become shrouded in materialism

Materialism

In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...

. A decade later his excommunication

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 was overturned and he was welcomed back.

Kaneko authored many essays on Shin thought that are held in very high regard today, helping to sculpt modern day Shin philosophy. He was a good friend of Soga Ryōjin

Soga Ryojin

was an influential thinker in the Higashi Honganji Jōdo Shinshū Buddhist tradition, and a President of Otani University. A disciple of Kiyozawa Manshi he developed an approach to Jōdo Shinshū doctrine that at times brought him into serious conflict with more conservative elements of the tradition...

 (1875–1971), another student of Manshi who likewise taught at Otani University.

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