"A rich source for the study of folk religion in Japan, and Shugendô in particular. . . . This collection is most welcome."
--Paul L. Swanson in Japanese Journal of Religious Studies

"This elite religion, and Miyake's exposition of it, is rich and learned."
--George J. Tanabe, Jr. in The Journal of Asian Studies

This volume of essays is the first comprehensive publication in English of the work of Miyake Hitoshi, a distinguished scholar of Shugendô (mountain asceticism) and one of the foremost researchers on Japanese folk religion. Miyake defines folk religion as "religion that emerges from the necessities of community life." In Miyake's systematic methodological and theoretical approach, Shugendô is a classic example of Japanese folk religion, for it blends many traditions (shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Shinto) into a distinctive Japanese religious worldview and is typical of Japanese religion generally.

The first part of the book is devoted to Shugendô and introduces the results of Miyake's research on Shugendô's history, organization, ritual, austerities, thought, and cosmology. Related subjects include exorcism and the exclusion of women. The second part of the book provides research and reflection on Japanese folk religion, including essays on the idea of nature, worldly benefits, new religions, death and rebirth, and the structure of folk religion.

Shugendô: Essays on the Structure of Japanese Folk Religion clarifies the logic behind the religious syncretism of the Japanese people. It is must reading not only for those interested in Japanese history, culture, and religion, but also for those studying world religions and folk culture.