Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan

A nuanced study that is historically informed while remaining timely ... Rots' prose is clear, his attention to detail, history, and nuance replete, and his interventions timely. Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan is a trans-disciplinary work that sheds light on subject matter often mischaracterized by scholars without the proper background. * Journal of Religion in Japan * A significant and valuable contribution to the fields of religious studies, Japanese studies, Shinto studies, and Asian studies generally ... [It] provides the kind of thorough, fair, and at times sharply critical expose of contentious issues pulsing through current shrine Shinto and Japanese nationalism. * Contemporary Japan * A comprehensive overview ... [Aike P. Rots] focuses not only on what these paradigms say but also what they leave out, and how they relate to actual practices and campaigns at the local and national levels. He is generous with his sources but pays attention to the distance between their rhetoric and reality. * Reading Religion * Shinto's latest iteration as a green religion is critically examined in this timely volume. Is the new environmental paradigm a rebranding strategy aimed at gaining legitimacy? Can Shinto activism expand beyond local preservation activities to engage national and global issues? How is it related to the imperial-ethnic paradigms, which define the Shinto establishment's neonationalistic political agenda? These questions and more are seriously engaged here. * Mark R. Mullins, Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Auckland, New Zealand * In this illuminating book, Aike Rots critically analyses the much-vaunted image of Shinto as a 'nature religion' promoting environmentalism, showing that Shinto environmentalism is infused with themes of nationalism and full of ambiguities. As he demonstrates, Shinto 'sacred forests' that are depicted as manifestations of the natural world may be highly manufactured, while the shrines that promote them may take sponsorship from businesses involved in environmentally-damaging activities. * Ian Reader, Professor Emeritus, The University of Manchester, UK * This well-researched analysis of the Shinto environmentalist paradigm centred on sacred forests (chinju no mori) makes an important and timely contribution to the study of religion in Japan and to current debates regarding Shinto ideology. * Erica Baffelli, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies, University of Manchester, UK *