J.W.T. Mason presents rare insight not only into the basic beliefs of Shinto, but also into the importance of mythology and creativity to the evolution of our understanding of life and the universe. Mason begins by establishing his view of the development of man, language, and spiritual expression. Early man had an innate, intuitive understanding of the universe. This understanding was expressed through mythology and ritual.Shinto's traditions and practices still reflect this ancien...

"An excellently rounded introduction by an eminent Shinto scholar."—Library JournalShinto, the indigenous faith of the Japanese people, continues to fascinate and mystify both the casual visitor to Japan and the long-time resident. Relatively unknown among the religions of the world, Shinto: The Kami Way provides an enlightening window into this Japanese faith.In its general aspects, Shinto is more than a religious faith. It is an amalgam ...

The martial arts are shrouded in the mystique of Asian lore and nuances. Information is well-known by experienced practitioners, but is often kept as an "open secret" among themselves.Aikido is a self-defense martial art (budo) methodology established in Japan by Morihei Usehiba (O'Sensei; 1883-1969), who blended his techniques and weapons experience with deeply held philosophical beliefs into what is often referred to as "the art of peace."Aikido has a rich history origina...

A study of how Japan once had no concept of "religion," and what happened when officials were confronted by American Commodore Perry in 1853.Throughout its long history, Japan had no concept of what we call "religion." There was no corresponding Japanese word, nor anything close to its meaning. But when American warships appeared off the coast of Japan in 1853 and forced the Japanese government to sign treaties demanding, among other things, freedom of religion, the...

Okinawa is a fascinating account of the most unusual religious practices of the Okinawan people.Subject throughout their long history to many foreign influences, the Okinawan people still retain to a remarkable degree a strong reverence for their prehistoric animistic beliefs. nevertheless, in accommodating themselves to the infiltration of Buddhist, Confucian, Shinto, and Christian influences they have been most receptive, with the result that what might ...

The mythological tanuki was originally depicted as an evil and mischievous animal. After centuries of evolution, it has been turned into a lovable icon of luck and wealth. Tanuki statues are popular souvenirs of Japan.

The present work examines the controversies inherent to the issues on shamanic practices, by comparing the different outlooks of the scholars and their methodological approaches, Then, applying to the case of Japan, it will give a theoretical systematization of trance and possession going through the figures of the ascetic and that of the medium to demonstrate that none of them can be associated to the Eliade's Siberian type of shaman, with the former experiencing a different kind of “stat...

This Japanese Shinto book profiles each of the "Seven Luck Gods"—important deities in Japanese culture.The Seven Lucky Gods of Japan are a group of deities whose origins stem from Indian, Chinese, and indigenous Japanese gods of fortune. Not all of the gods are mythical beings. One of them is an actual historical person. Each of the seven gods has been recognized as a deity for more than a thousand years and each has had its own large following of believer...

The Japanese Middle Ages were a period when forms of secrecy dominated religious practice. This fascinating collection traces out the secret characteristics and practices in Japanese religion, as well as analyzing the decline of religious esotericism in Japan.The essays in this impressive work refer to Esoteric Buddhism as the core of Japan’s "culture of secrecy". Esoteric Buddhism developed in almost all Buddhist countries of Asia, but it was of particular importance in Japan wher...

In Mountain Mandalas Allan G. Grapard provides a thought-provoking history of one aspect of the Japanese Shugendo tradition in Kyushu, by focusing on three cultic systems: Mount Hiko, Usa-Hachiman, and the Kunisaki Peninsula. Grapard draws from a rich range of theorists from the disciplines of geography, history, anthropology, sociology, and humanistic geography and situates the historical terrain of his research within a much larger context.This book includes detailed ana...

This book presents, for the first time, a collection of ancient Japanese Shinto prayers in a format where English speaking readers can both understand the deep meaning of the translated text and can also pronounce the original Japanese words.Shinto is an ancient spiritual tradition, primarily practiced in Japan, which is now spreading its traditions to the western world. Its primordial rituals and traditions touch a deep chord within one's spiritual self. Shinto's focus on divinity ...

Immortal Wishes is a powerful ethnographic rendering of religious experiences of landscape, healing, and self-fashioning on a northern Japanese sacred mountain. Working at the intersection of anthropology, religion, and Japan studies, Ellen Schattschneider focuses on Akakura Mountain Shrine, a popular Shinto institution founded by a rural woman in the 1920s. For decades, local spirit mediums and worshipers, predominantly women, have undertaken extended periods of shugyo (...