Exploring Shinto

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.

Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgements Michael Pye 1 Concepts and Viewpoints 1. What is Shinto? Michael Pye 2. Essentialism in Early Shinto Studies Gaétan Rappo, Nagoya University 3. On Writing the History of “Shinto” Mark Teeuwen, University of Oslo 2 Exploring Borderlands of Shinto 4.Tendai Buddhist Views of Kami Yeonjoo Park, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture 5. Conceptions of Kami in the Writings of the Tendai Monk Jien Vladlena Fedianina, Moscow City University 6. Buddhist-Shinto Syncretization at the Medieval Suwa Shrine Iwasawa Tomoko, Reitaku University 7. Underground Buddhism at the Ise Shrines Max D. Moerman, Columbia University 8. Shinto Spaces and Shinbutsu Interaction in the Noh Dunja Jelesijevic, Northern Arizona University 9. Buddhist-style Pilgrimage with “Shinto” Meanings Michael Pye 10. Why does Shin Buddhism Reject the Worship of the Kami? Robert Rhodes, Otani University 11. Multiple Divinities in Japanese Buddhist Temples Marcus Ruesch, Ryukoku University 12. Responsive Reflections on Buddhism and Shinto KatjaTriplett, University of Leipzig 3 The Puzzle and Fascination of Sect Shintō 13. Sect Shintō and the Case of Ooyashirokyō Michael Pye 14. Meiji Government Policy, Sect Shinto and Fusōkyō Shishino Fumio, Shinto Priest and current Kanchō of Fusōkyō 15. Introducing the Faith of Shinshūkyō Yoshimura Masanori, Chief priest of Sakura Shrine and Kyōshu of Shinshūkyō 16. Tenrikyō and Ōmoto in the Context of Kyōha Shintō Avery Morrow, Brown University A Postscript on Shinto Diversity Michael Pye

About the Author :
Michael Pye is Professor (emeritus) of religious studies at Marburg University and a visiting Research Associate of Otani University in Kyoto. He is currently the president of the International Shinto Studies Association.