eShop USA > Books > Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places
Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places
Price: $70.60 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 299.561
EAN: 9780195218862
ISBN: 0195218868
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 112
Publication Date: May 02, 2002
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:
In Japan, two religions predominate--Buddhism and Shintoism--and the Japanese people see no contradiction in practicing both: worshipping Buddha even as they revere the kami, the divine beings that populate the country and define the indigenous faith of Shintoism.
In Shintoism and the Religions of Japan, C. Scott Littleton illuminates this unusual spiritual pluralism and shows how it has fertilized a vast and varied religious landscape. Littleton describes the origins and development of Shinto (or Kami no Michi, "Way of the Gods"), the introduction of Buddhism a millennium and a half ago, the rise of various sects of Buddhism (some indigenous to Japan), and the role of the imperial court and the shogunate in the nation's religious life. Here too is a clear and succinct summary of Shintoism's teeming pantheon of spiritual figures, the holy writings of Shintoism, and the islands' landscape of holy sanctuaries. Littleton explains how Buddhism has been reinterpreted in light of Japan's indigenous traditions (some monumental statues of the Buddha are worshipped as manifestations of kami), and describes the "new religions" that flourished during the Meiji period of the late nineteenth century, after Japan once again opened up to the outside world. Writing with grace and clarity, he captures the essential features of Japanese religious life, including the countless local festivals and rituals, the importance of harmony and enlightenment, and concepts of death and salvation.
Lavishly illustrated with some thirty color photographs, sprinkled with boxed features that focus on fascinating issues, this volume offers a marvelous tour of Japan's distinctive spiritual experience.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Shinto for the uninitiated only...
Those who have little to no background in Japanese religion, culture and history can gain a decent foundation with this short book. Others who have such background, even a cursory one, should look elsewhere for more detailed information. "Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places" represents a good zero level launching pad for the study of Shinto. But it's a bad place to stop for those seeking deeper understanding.
The book, divided into 9 short chapters, tends to repeat ... Read More
Rating:  - Not to Be Taken Too Literally
Shinto is a religion that is never the same way depending on who one asks. One could get thousands of responses, all different, from Shintoists all over. This book may seem like the foundation for Shinto, but Shinto is a religion that really was never founded in the first place, and it cannot be condenced into such a small book. To accurately put Shinto to words would take many volumes of literature.
Rating: - good intro to the basics
This tiny book (100 pages in length and of small dimensions) explores the basics of the origins, rituals, festivals, spirits, sacred places, conception of sacred time, sacred texts and the afterlife as pertains to Shinto.
Also interesting is the author's discussion of how Shinto fits into the greater framework of Japanese society and how it is often practiced right alongside Buddhism with no feeling of contradiction. He says many Japanese often have Shinto weddings but Buddhist funerals. ... Read More
Rating:  - A pretty LITTLE book
This is a pretty little book which might be suitable if you know nothing whatsoever about shinto, and wish to learn a little about Japan's indigenous religion. It is attractive, quickly read, and not too desert-religion biased.
I you already know anything at all about shinto, or if you are interested in the faith and wish to get a good and full introduction to it, this is definitely not the book for you. It is much too superficial in its scope for that, and its outlook is much too westernized.
Read More
Rating:  - Shinto - The Way of the Gods, condenced for your convenience
C. Scott Littleton's "Shinto: Origins, Ritual, Festivals, Spirits and Sacred Places" is a surprisingly good guide to Japan's native religion, considering its small size and ease of reading. This thin book takes a respectful look at Shinto's origin, main tenants, major characters, sacred texts and theology. The information is quite scholarly, as befits an Oxford Press publication.
It is a very brief overview, and should be considered as an introductory book for anyone who wants to quickly ... Read More
Related Categories:
|
