Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo remains a highly disputed space because of its symbolic role. This is seen most clearly in the adjacent museum, which takes a one-sided view of Japan’s role in WW2. The use of the shrine for nationalist … Read the rest
Category: Politics (Page 1 of 5)
Over the next month there will be two major events marking the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito. One is clearly state oriented, but the other is very much a Shinto rite. The Daijosai on Nov14 can be seen indeed as the … Read the rest
ISSA is the International Shinto Studies Association, the head of which is emeritus professor Michael Pye based in Kyoto. In the past it’s been something of a shadowy organisation, with little attempt at outreach. Now however there seems a … Read the rest
The article below from the Japan Times caught my attention for two reasons. First of all, I was puzzled by the motives of Prince Akishino, brother of the next emperor, because I had always found him more conservative than the … Read the rest
The new edition of the Asia-Pacific Journal contains an overview of the recent books about the influential rightwing group, Nippon Kaigi, which Green Shinto has written about previously because of its close involvement with official circles in Jinja Honcho (Association … Read the rest
Jolyon B. Thomas in a review of Shinto books for H-Japan notes the amazing upturn in scholarly and popular interest in Shinto during recent decades. I remember when I first came to Japan, there was one solitary book available in … Read the rest
Leading Shinto scholar Mark Teeuwen, has written several influential books on matters related to Japan’s indigenous faith. He’s known in particular for disputing the idea that there was such a thing as ‘Shinto’ in Japan’s ancient past, but that