WI: Orthodox Japan and its effects?

Sebbywafers

Banned
Not much- maybe the mass conversion of Koreans and a more "asia for asians" racial approach to the Empire as opposed to a "ebul western cultural influences" one.
 
Japan's industrialization was more or less inevitable by the time Russian missionaries were in Japan. The Russo-Japanese war will probaly still happen, but with more favourable terms to Russia.
 
The devil is in the details, of course.

HOW does Japan convert to Orthodoxy? Is it because the Russians conquered them? If so, how?

How it happened will have enormous bearing on what happens later.
 
Maybe you could have Catholicism become really big in Japan, before the Emperor/Shogun pulls a Henry VIII and has himself declared head of the Church in Japan. If he doesn't change any other doctrines, you'd have a Japan which is essentially an Orthodox country. If so, you'd probably have no Sakoku policy, although I don't feel qualified to say what effect that would have.
 
Maybe you could have Catholicism become really big in Japan, before the Emperor/Shogun pulls a Henry VIII and has himself declared head of the Church in Japan. If he doesn't change any other doctrines, you'd have a Japan which is essentially an Orthodox country. If so, you'd probably have no Sakoku policy, although I don't feel qualified to say what effect that would have.

Kind of odd to call it an Orthodox country, since it's arguably applicable only to those of the Byzantine Rite (or non-Chalcedonian rites in the case of Oriental Orthodoxy). Protestant seems like a closer description, despite clear contrasts in doctrines and all.
 
This is very similar to a thread I posted several years ago of Japan going Nestorian (Church of the East). If you want, you could use my thought of missionaries from Persia following the trade routes to Japan. The missionaries start among the lower classes and converting some of the minor Japanese ladies. Eventually, a few converted ladies end up as the wive or concubines of powerful Japanese lords who are able to convince their lords to convert. This would have a gradual, multi century long process.
 
Kind of odd to call it an Orthodox country, since it's arguably applicable only to those of the Byzantine Rite (or non-Chalcedonian rites in the case of Oriental Orthodoxy). Protestant seems like a closer description, despite clear contrasts in doctrines and all.

One of the main distinguishers of Protestantism is its belies in Sola Scriptura, but assuming that the Church of Japan is just "Catholicism without the Pope", it would reject this belief. In terms of ecclesiology, it would be most similar to OTL's Orthodox Churches, even if its liturgy would be different (presumably following the Roman Rite, since that's what the missionaries to Japan would have used).
 
Would rather see a Buddhist/Hindu/Zorastrian Europe thread than another of the plethora of "what if Christians took over everything" wank.
 
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