Religion in Contemporary Japan

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. Turning to the Gods in Times of Trouble: The Place, Time and Structure of Japanese Religion

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 1-22

3. Unifying Traditions, Cosmological Perspectives and the Vitalistic Universe

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 23-54

4. ‘Born Shinto …’: Community, Festivals, Production and Change

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 55-76

5. ‘… Die Buddhist’: Zen, Death and the Ancestors

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 77-106

6. Individuals, Ascetics and the Expression of Power

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 107-133

7. Sites and Sights: Temples and Shrines as Centres of Power and Entertainment

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 134-167

8. Actions, Amulets and the Expression of Meaning: Reflections of Need and Statements of Desire

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 168-193

9. Spirits, Satellites and a User-Friendly Religion: Agonshū and the New Religions

   • Ian Reader

   Pages 194-233

10. Conclusion: Mystery, Nostalgia and the Shifting Sands of Continuity

    • Ian Reader

    Pages 234-243

11. Back Matter

    Pages 244-277

    PDF

What role does religion play in contemporary Japanese society and in the lives of Japanese people today? Through a series of case-studies of religion in action - at crowded temples and festivals, in austere Zen meditation halls, at home and work, at dramatic fire rituals - it illustrates the immense variety, energy and colour inherent in Japanese religion while discussing the continued relevance and responses of religion in a rapidly modernising and changing society.

• community
• Japan
• religion

• Scottish Centre for Japanese Studies, University of Stirling, UK

  Ian Reader

IAN READER

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