| Summary: | This paper makes the case for Alternative Religion as an intellectual concept, and uses it to uncover previously overlooked patterns of thought in the late-Meiji and Russo-Japanese War period. It examines Arai Ōsui (1846-1922), an overlooked religious figure, who I argue was vitally influential despite his erasure from our historical knowledge. By using his writing and writings of those interacting with Arai, I make the case for an alternative religious movement operating between the bounds of reli- gious and secular, and East and West bifurcations. This approach elucidates not only Arai’s significance, but also lends reinterpretations of Tanaka Shōzō (1841-1913), and artists Ogiwara Rokuzan (1879-1910) and Takamura Kōtarō (1883-1956) in the early twentieth century.
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