View Book

Exploring Shinto

ID: 2877 - View Book Page - Edit In OJS

Shinto permeates the religious landscape of Japan and is a major key to the understanding of Japanese culture and society. But what is it? If ideological shortcuts are avoided there is no simple answer. Yet this book will guide students and general readers through many aspects of Shinto both today and in its history. It contains much information about sacred Shinto shrines and the divinities (the kami) which are the focus of devotion there. These numerous divinities have been viewed in different ways in the course of time, and contributions by specialists shed much light on the role played by Buddhism in this regard. Moreover, several fascinating religious movements or “sects” which share in the wider pattern of Shinto are also introduced and discussed. Oversimplified views may be challenged here, but the result is a volume in which “Shinto” is explored in a wide and illuminating perspective by an international team of scholars. It provides a refreshing and much-needed resource for all who are interested in the subject.

Published: Jul 15, 2020

Section Chapter Authors
Preliminaries
Preface and Acknowledgements Michael Pye
1 Concepts and Viewpoints
1. What is Shinto? Michael Pye
2. Essentialism in Early Shinto Studies Gaétan Rappo
3. On Writing the History of Shinto Marcus Teeuwen
2 Exploring Borderlands of Shinto
4. Medieval Tendai Buddhist Views of Kami Yeonjoo Park
5. Conceptions of Kami in the Writings of Tendai Monk Jien Vladlena Fedianiya
6. Buddhist-Shinto Syncretization at the Medieval Suwa Shrine Iwasawa Tomoko
7. Underground Buddhism at the Ise Shrines D. Max Moermann
8. Shinto Spaces and Shinbutsu Interaction in the Noh Dunja Jelesijevic
9. Buddhist-style Pilgrimage with Shinto Meanings Michael Pye
10. Why does Shin Buddhism Reject the Worship of the Kami? Robert Rhodes
11. Multiple Divinities in Shin Buddhist Temples Markus Ruesch
12. Responsive Reflections on Buddhism and Shinto Katja Triplett
3 The Puzzle and Fascination of Sect Shinto
13. Sect Shinto and the Case of Ooyashirokyo Michael Pye
14. Meiji Government Policy, Sect Shinto and Fusokyo Shishino Fumio
15. Introducing the Faith of Shinshukyo Yoshimura Masanori
16. Tenrikyo and Omotokyo in the Context of Kyoha Shinto Avery Morrow
Postscript
17. A Postscript on Shinto Diversity Michael Pye
End Matter
Index Michael Pye

Reviews

Pye (Philipps Marburg Univ., Germany) has put together a groundbreaking collection of essays on Shinto in Japanese history, society, and religious life. The volume is divided into three parts. The first, “Concepts and Viewpoints,” offers new insights into the definition of Shinto and its history. Avoiding the problems inherent in explaining Shinto from the inside, Pye bravely answers the question “What is Shinto?” in a thought-provoking essay. Marcus Teeuwen’s thoughtful essay on writing the history of Shinto will be of great interest for its examination of the various historiographical approaches to Shinto taken heretofore. The second part of the book, “Exploring Borderlands of Shinto,” examines the ways in which Shinto and Buddhism interacted, influenced each other, and combined to form a unique syncretism. Here, D. Max Moerman’s study of underground Buddhism at the Ise Shrines is particularly revealing. The third part, “The Puzzle and Fascination of Sect Shinto,” offers studies of various “new religions” and Shinto offshoots that reveal the diversity of Shinto influence in the religious life of the Japanese people. The overall intent of the book is to challenge the view that Shinto is a single coherent religion with distinct and regular characteristics. For all who are interested in Japanese religion and history.
Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.
CHOICE