Helen Hardacre is Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society at Harvard University. Concentrating on Japanese religious history of the modern period, she has done extended field study of contemporary Shinto and Buddhist religious organizations, the religious life of Japan's Korean minority, and contemporary ritualization of abortion. She has also researched State Shinto and directs a research project on constitutional revision in Japan.

This brilliant study written in close dialogue with the most recent critical scholarship both in Japanese and English is a welcome addition to the existing literature on Shintō history, a source of valuable teaching material, and more in general a must-read for all those interested in Shintō and its interactions with society throughout Japanese history.

• Introduction Chapter One: Shinto in the Ancient PeriodChapter Two: The Kami in MythChapter Three: The Coalescence of Early ShintoChapter Four: Shinto During the Middle and Late Heian Period, Tenth Through Twelfth CenturiesChapter Five: The Esotericization of Medieval ShintoChapter Six: Medieval Shinto and the ArtsChapter Seven: The Late Medieval PeriodChapter Eight: Early Edo-Period Shinto Thought and InstitutionsChapter Nine: Edo Period Shrine Life and Shrine PilgrimageChapter Ten: Shinto and RevelationChapter Eleven: Shinto and KokugakuChapter Twelve: Shinto and the Meiji StateChapter Thirteen: Shinto and Imperial JapanChapter Fourteen: Shinto From 1945 Through 1989Chapter Fifteen: Shrine Festivals and their Changing Place in the Public SphereChapter Sixteen: Heisei Shinto NotesBibliographyIndex

Helen Hardacre is Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society at Harvard University. Concentrating on Japanese religious history of the modern period, she has done extended field study of contemporary Shinto and Buddhist religious organizations, the religious life of Japan's Korean minority, and contemporary ritualization of abortion. She has also researched State Shinto and directs a research project on constitutional revision in Japan.

This brilliant study written in close dialogue with the most recent critical scholarship both in Japanese and English is a welcome addition to the existing literature on Shintō history, a source of valuable teaching material, and more in general a must-read for all those interested in Shintō and its interactions with society throughout Japanese history.

• Introduction Chapter One: Shinto in the Ancient PeriodChapter Two: The Kami in MythChapter Three: The Coalescence of Early ShintoChapter Four: Shinto During the Middle and Late Heian Period, Tenth Through Twelfth CenturiesChapter Five: The Esotericization of Medieval ShintoChapter Six: Medieval Shinto and the ArtsChapter Seven: The Late Medieval PeriodChapter Eight: Early Edo-Period Shinto Thought and InstitutionsChapter Nine: Edo Period Shrine Life and Shrine PilgrimageChapter Ten: Shinto and RevelationChapter Eleven: Shinto and KokugakuChapter Twelve: Shinto and the Meiji StateChapter Thirteen: Shinto and Imperial JapanChapter Fourteen: Shinto From 1945 Through 1989Chapter Fifteen: Shrine Festivals and their Changing Place in the Public SphereChapter Sixteen: Heisei Shinto NotesBibliographyIndex

Helen Hardacre is Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Religions and Society at Harvard University. Concentrating on Japanese religious history of the modern period, she has done extended field study of contemporary Shinto and Buddhist religious organizations, the religious life of Japan's Korean minority, and contemporary ritualization of abortion. She has also researched State Shinto and directs a research project on constitutional revision in Japan.

This brilliant study written in close dialogue with the most recent critical scholarship both in Japanese and English is a welcome addition to the existing literature on Shintō history, a source of valuable teaching material, and more in general a must-read for all those interested in Shintō and its interactions with society throughout Japanese history.

• Introduction Chapter One: Shinto in the Ancient PeriodChapter Two: The Kami in MythChapter Three: The Coalescence of Early ShintoChapter Four: Shinto During the Middle and Late Heian Period, Tenth Through Twelfth CenturiesChapter Five: The Esotericization of Medieval ShintoChapter Six: Medieval Shinto and the ArtsChapter Seven: The Late Medieval PeriodChapter Eight: Early Edo-Period Shinto Thought and InstitutionsChapter Nine: Edo Period Shrine Life and Shrine PilgrimageChapter Ten: Shinto and RevelationChapter Eleven: Shinto and KokugakuChapter Twelve: Shinto and the Meiji StateChapter Thirteen: Shinto and Imperial JapanChapter Fourteen: Shinto From 1945 Through 1989Chapter Fifteen: Shrine Festivals and their Changing Place in the Public SphereChapter Sixteen: Heisei Shinto NotesBibliographyIndex