Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan
eBook - PDF

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan

Making Sacred Forests

  1. 272 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan

Making Sacred Forests

About this book

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan is the first systematic study of Shinto's environmental turn. The book traces the development in recent decades of the idea of Shinto as an 'ancient nature religion, ' and a resource for overcoming environmental problems. The volume shows how these ideas gradually achieved popularity among scientists, priests, Shinto-related new religious movements and, eventually, the conservative shrine establishment. Aike P. Rots argues that central to this development is the notion of chinju no mori: the sacred groves surrounding many Shinto shrines. Although initially used to refer to remaining areas of primary or secondary forest, today the term has come to be extended to any sort of shrine land, signifying not only historical and ecological continuity but also abstract values such as community spirit, patriotism and traditional culture. The book shows how Shinto's environmental turn has also provided legitimacy internationally: influenced by the global discourse on religion and ecology, in recent years the Shinto establishment has actively engaged with international organizations devoted to the conservation of sacred sites. Shinto sacred forests thus carry significance locally as well as nationally and internationally, and figure prominently in attempts to reposition Shinto in the centre of public space.

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Yes, you can access Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan by Aike P. Rots in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Asian Religions. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Bloomsbury Academic
Year
2017
Print ISBN
9781350105911
eBook ISBN
9781474289955
Edition
1
Topic
Theology & Religion
Subtopic
Asian Religions
Introduction
23
on 
different 
levels: 
locally, 
it 
serves 
to 
mobilize 
community 
members 
around 
the 
shared 
ecological 
and 
cultural 
capital 
of 
a 
particular 
shrine 
forest; 
nationally, 
it 
is 
employed 
to 
substantiate 
claims 
concerning 
Shinto’s 
public 
character; 
and 
internationally, 
it 
provides 
Shinto 
with 
new 
legitimacy, 
is 
used 
to 
dissociate 
it 
from 
its 
imperial 
past 
and 
even 
draws 
new 
worshippers. 
Indeed, 
as 
this 
chapter 
shows, 
the 
environmental 
turn 
has 
contributed 
to 
the 
popularization 
of 
Shinto 
internationally: 
for 
instance, 
Jinja 
Honchō 
has 
donated 
a 
mikoshi
(portable 
shrine) 
to 
the 
Brooklyn 
Botanic 
Garden 
in 
New 
York 
and 
supported 
the 
construction 
of 
a 
shrine 
in 
San 
Marino. 
Other 
Shinto 
shrines 
have 
been 
established 
in 
the 
Netherlands 
and 
the 
United 
States, 
and 
there 
are 
also 
online 
communities 
of 
non-Japanese 
Shinto 
practitioners, 
who 
embrace 
the 
notion 
of 
Shinto 
as 
nature 
spirituality.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. List of Figures
  6. Preface
  7. Note on Style
  8. Japanese Historical Periods
  9. Chapter 1 Introduction
  10. Chapter 2 Defining Shinto
  11. Chapter 3 Love of Nature
  12. Chapter 4 The Shinto Environmentalist Paradigm
  13. Chapter 5 Chinju no mori
  14. Chapter 6 Landscapes of the Past
  15. Chapter 7 Forests for the Future
  16. Chapter 8 Acorns for Tohoku
  17. Chapter 9 Going Green, Going Global
  18. Conclusion
  19. Notes
  20. References
  21. Index