Folk Religion in Japan: Continuity and Change

by Ichiro Hori, Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa (Editor), Alan L. Miller (Editor)

Ichiro Hori's is the first book in Western literature to portray how Shinto, Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist elements, as well as all manner of archaic magical beliefs and practices, are fused on the folk level.

Folk religion, transmitted by the common people from generation to generation, has greatly conditioned the political, economic, and cultural development of Japan and continues to satisfy the emotional and religious needs of the people. Hori examines the organic relationship between the Japanese social structure—the family kinship system, village and community organizations—and folk religion. A glossary with Japanese characters is included in the index.

Genres: Japan, Religion, Nonfiction, History, Japanese Literature

294 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1983

Reviews

[Cymru Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book but far too erudite for me. Its depth and specialization are better suited for university majors in Japanese Religion. I do have a greater understanding of the film "Ringu" (the pervasive belief in goryo) and its remake for American audiences is likewise understandably more terrifying.

[Philip McCarty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly elaborate book detailing various practices and ideas behind the less formalized aspects of Japanese religion. It uses a lot of traditional Japanese terms to detail abstract practices which can get a little confusing, so keep a notebook on hand. Having been living in Japan for a while I found this book to be quite enlightening in terms of understanding the deep reverence for mountains and the elaborate Buddhist systems that are in place across the country. I thought that the book's emphasis on the popularization of shamanism in times of strife was an interesting one to ruminate on. Especially since the sudden surge in fans of the amabie in the modern age of Covid-19 seemed to follow the same lines discussed in the book. The highlight of the book was definitely it's discussion on the rise of the popular Nembutsu sects and the mountain practices that one can still see performed to this day. The age of the book did show in its lack of graphics and limited bibliographical sources. But this didn't really make much of an issue for me.

[Othy · Rating 3 out of 5]

unfortunately disappointing, though maybe because it is around sixty years old. I had hoped that the book would be more exhaustive a study, but the chapters are each derived from lectures, and so they do not dive all that deep. There is also a dearth of dates, which makes a lot of the information bleed together into one big assumption of continuity and practice. The topic is interesting, though, and the book is a good read. I'm sure there is much that could be updated, especially the primary reliance on Eliade's work.

[Fabio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Although a bit dated, it contains a lot of interesting informations about japanese folk religion. I'm not a native english speaker, but i enjoyed a lot and read it in couple of weeks. Each chapter has its fascinating implications and i wish i couple read more from Ichico Hori.

[Jason Marciak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for those looking for more depth in the discussion and description of the various paths that Japanese religion has taken from its very early days. Anyone with an interest in Japanese history and religion should be happy to add this to this library.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ridiculously out of date and difficult to take seriously at points, though there are many useful points.