Anne Walthall is Professor Emerita of Japanese History at the University of California Irvine. She previously coedited Women and Class in Japanese History (1999) and Women and Networks in Nineteenth-Century Japan (2020) with the University of Michigan Press.

“Walthall's new study of the life and work of the 19th-century nativist (kokugaku) scholar Hirata Atsutane addresses a crucial gap in the English-language coverage of Japanese intellectual history. Walthall's book is a useful addition to any library that focuses on the evolution of the modern Japanese state and the formation of a collective vision concerning national identity.”

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsChronology of the Hirata House and its TimesIntroduction: The Hirata Community and the Meaning of MaterialsChapter One: The Creation of the Hirata HouseChapter Two: Portraits worth a Thousand WordsChapter Three: Collaborators and The Sacred Pillar of the SoulChapter Four: Sacred ObjectsChapter Five: Denizens of the Unseen World: Gods, Spirits, ImmortalsChapter Six: The Shirakawa, The Yoshida, and AtsutaneChapter Seven: The Shrine Priests: Supporters and RivalsChapter Eight: The Women behind the MenEpilogue: Atsutane’s LegaciesList of References