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The Invention of Religion in Japan Kindle Edition

by Jason Ananda Josephson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
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Winner of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion: 2013 Distinguished Book AwardThroughout its long history, Japan had no concept of what we call "religion." There was no corresponding Japanese word, nor anything close to its meaning. But when American warships appeared off the coast of Japan in 1853 and forced the Japanese government to sign treaties demanding, among other things, freedom of religion, the country had to contend with this Western idea. In this book, Jason Ananda Josephson reveals how Japanese officials invented religion in Japan and traces the sweeping intellectual, legal, and cultural changes that followed. More than a tale of oppression or hegemony, Josephson's account demonstrates that the process of articulating religion offered the Japanese state a valuable opportunity. In addition to carving out space for belief in Christianity and certain forms of Buddhism, Japanese officials excluded Shinto from the category. Instead, they enshrined it as a national ideology while relegating the popular practices of indigenous shamans and female mediums to the category of "superstitions"--and thus beyond the sphere of tolerance. Josephson argues that the invention of religion in Japan was a politically charged, boundary-drawing exercise that not only extensively reclassified the inherited materials of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shinto to lasting effect, but also reshaped, in subtle but significant ways, our own formulation of the concept of religion today. This ambitious and wide-ranging book contributes an important perspective to broader debates on the nature of religion, the secular, science, and superstition.
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  1. Print length
    403 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
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  4. Publisher
    The University of Chicago Press
  5. Publication date
    October 3, 2012
  6. File size
    4178 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Invention of Religion in Japan is truly revolutionary. Original, well researched, and engrossing, it overturns basic assumptions in the study of Japanese thought, religion, science, and history.... This book will absolutely reshape the field."--Sarah Thal, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Jason ­Ananda Josephson astutely analyzes how Japanese definitions of religion sought to contain Christian missionary agendas and to position Japan advantageously vis-à-vis Western nations while at the same time radically reconfiguring inherited traditions and articulating new ideological norms for Japanese citizens. His broad erudition allows him to place the case of Japan in transnational perspective and to offer persuasive theoretical insights into the mutually constitutive nature of religion, superstition, and the secular. This study is illuminating reading for anyone interested, not only in modern Japan, but in the complex interconnections of religion, modernity, and the politics of nation states." (Jacqueline Stone, Princeton University )

"Written with remarkable clarity, this book makes an excellent contribution to the study of the interface of traditional Japanese religions and politics. Highly recommended."- Choice
"The range of Japanese primary sources consulted in his book is prodigious, as is his familiarity and usage of multidisciplinary theoretical works. . . . Josephson's book is erudite, informative, and interesting. It should be a worthwhile read for Japan scholars as well as scholars and students interested in religious studies theory and history." Wilburn Hansen, H-Shukyo

About the Author

Jason Ānanda Josephson-Storm is Chair and Associate professor of religion at Williams College.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009MBTR3O
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of Chicago Press (October 3, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 3, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4178 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 403 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the author

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Jason Ananda Josephson Storm

Jason Ananda Josephson Storm

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Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm is Professor of Religion and Chair of Science & Technology Studies at Williams College. He received his PhD from Stanford University, his MTS from Harvard University, and has held visiting positions at Princeton University, École Française d'Extrême-Orient, Paris, Ruhr Universität and Universität Leipzig, Germany. He is the author of "The Invention of Religion in Japan" (2012, winner of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion- Distinguished Book of the Year Award), "The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity and the Birth of the Human Sciences" (2017), and "Metamodernism: The Future of Theory" (2021), all published by the University of Chicago Press.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
21 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JS
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent academic overview
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
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I skimmed this book at the bookstore when it came out and found that it mostly overlapped with research I have already done. At last, I am writing on this subject again so I decided I had to own a copy. I just wanted to affirm that this is a very well-researched book which introduces an important topic which remains trendy in religious studies. It is backed up very strongly by Japanese and Western academic consensus, but it also contains plenty of stuff that was new for me. I highly recommend this book to undergrads considering a religion major, as well as people who want a summary of various topics related to the formation of the religious category in Japan.
4 people found this helpful
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David Henry
5.0 out of 5 stars A challenging read--in more ways than one.
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018
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Incredible not only as an introduction to a fascinating period in Japanese history, but also as an examination of the concept of "religion" and the assumptions that underlie our idea of a modern, secular, free society. My only mistake was getting the kindle edition--buy a hard copy to share with friends.

Fair warning, though, this is not a popular-level history. It is academic. Share it with your friends, but share it with your *nerd* friends.
4 people found this helpful
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Jeremy Bellay
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read with profound implications
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2012
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Josephson makes a profound argument about the nature of the category of religion through a detailed examination of how that category was formulated in Japan following Japan's encounter with The West. The implications of this work spill well beyond the bounds of Japanese religions, and "The Invention of Religion in Japan" can be read as a study of how a new shared concept comes into being. However, unlike many books making arguments about that nature of human culture, Josephson supports his arguments with a detailed historical narrative. I found the book to be extremely readable and many of the stories of early Japan-Western interaction are downright entertaining. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in religion, Japan, or the formation of shared conceptual categories.
18 people found this helpful
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Bookwyrm
4.0 out of 5 stars How Religion Came to Be Defined in Japan
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2019
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I like to consider myself a casual scholar (meaning I’m not a professional and it is not my career) of religion and religion in Japan (and I don’t mean necessarily how they affect each other, I mean as topics and areas of study). The Invention of Religion in Japan is both a look at history itself, and how religion fits into it. It discussed how the Japanese had their set of beliefs, like folk beliefs that later became categorized with Shinto, and Buddhism, but, because they were a part of life, they were not defined as a “religion”, so when the Japanese encountered Christianity, they struggled to define their beliefs. Christianity was originally seen as a heretical form of Buddhism.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in religious studies, the history of Japan, or Japan in general.
2 people found this helpful
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cbest
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2013
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Written by a friend from high school, The Invention of Religion in Japan was a requested Christmas gift for my son. Sixty pages into the book he called me to say that the book is amazing. He told me that it opens new territory in the understanding of the development of Buddhism in Japan and the effects of the intersection with Christianity on both the Japanese and Europeans who brought Christianity to Japan. Included are old Japanese documents and accounts that the author translated into English.
11 people found this helpful
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David K Groff
5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent overview of the history of State Shinto and its ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017
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This is an excellent overview of the history of State Shinto and its development as a tool both for control and for adaptation to international assumptions about religion.
3 people found this helpful
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Calvin
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful dissection of what is science
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2016
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Wonderful dissection of what is science, religion, and how they interweave. A must for any student of Japanese religion
One person found this helpful
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Justin Stein
5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Classic in the Field
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022
Essential reading for those interested in the development of modern Japanese religion. As other reviewers have said, this is an academic text, not a popular history, and there is some theory about how historical actors made sense of religious difference as well as the relationship between religion, superstition, and science, but it is all relatively accessible. I've read it several times and it's always a treat.
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Top reviews from other countries

Ana Flowers
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2015
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very good book if you want to learn more about history of Japan.
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