Introducing Japanese religion / Robert Ellwood.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ellwood, Robert S., 1933- author.

Series:

World religions (Routledge (Firm))

World religions series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shinto.

Japan--Religion.

Japan.

Religion.

Buddhism--Japan.

Buddhism.

Shinto--Japan.

Physical Description:

xiv, 292 pages : illustrations (black and white), map ; 25 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Routledge, 2016.

Summary:

Offers a portrait of traditional and contemporary Japanese culture, and a understanding of the history and practice of religions in Japan. Ellwood explores the spiritual heritage of this country, from the Ise Shrine and Nara to the present day. He gives special attention to the traditions of Shinto, the different forms of Buddhism in Japan, including Shingon and Tendai, and Confucianism. He also explores new Japanese religious movements, including Aum Shinrikyo. Each religion is clearly described in terms of its history, practice, sociology and organization, and Ellwood emphasizes how in practice Japanese religion interacts and intermingles. Finally, Ellwood discusses the influence of Japan on popular culture, including discussion of anime, and the transmission of Japanese spiritual, mythical and religious themes to the rest of the world. This edition features new material on folk and popular religion, including shamanism, festivals, and practices surrounding death and funerals. Ellwood also updates the text to discuss recent events, such as religious responses to the Fukushima disaster. --Adapted from publisher description.

Contents:

Encountering the Japanese religious world

The past in the present: vignettes of Japanese spiritual life

The way of the kami: Shinto then and now

Interlude: introduction to Buddhism

Early times: pre-Buddhist Japan and how Buddhism arrived

Magic mountains and the old court: Heian Buddhism and its culture

Warrior culture, simple faith: the Kamakura Buddhist reformation

Swords and satori: Zen and its culture

Christ and Confucius: the West arrives, and then Japan turns inward

The rising sun and the dark valley: from the Meiji Restoration until 1945

Chanting and dancing: Shugendo and the "new religions" of Japan

Pilgrimages: religion in Japan 1945 to the present

Appendices: Membership figures for Japanese religions

Japanese religion timeline.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Ebook version :

ISBN:

9781138958753

1138958751

9781138958760

113895876X

OCLC:

944385574