Erica Baffelli is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester, UK. She is co-editor of the forthcoming Bloomsbury Handbook of Japanese Religions (2019) and her most recent book is Media and New Religions in Japan (2016).Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at The University of Manchester, UK. He is the author or co-author of ten books and co-editor of several volumes.

An excellent study that uses the case of Agonshu to effectively connect with broader research questions in the study of Japanese religions and will with no doubt benefit any potential reader who is concerned with the question of what is ‘new’ about ‘new religions’ in Japan and elsewhere.

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsNote on Japanese names, terms and transliterationIntroduction1. Situating Agonshu: the concept of 'new religions' in modern Japan2. The story of a religious founder: Kiriyama Seiyu, turmoil, charisma and experience3. Teaching as practice: ritual, benefits and the costs of devotion4. From the world to Japan: the nationalism of an ageing movement 5. Transcending death: the birth and spiritual messages of the second Buddha 6. Concluding comments: founder worship and the problem of the 'new' NotesReferencesIndex

Erica Baffelli is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester, UK. She is co-editor of the forthcoming Bloomsbury Handbook of Japanese Religions (2019) and her most recent book is Media and New Religions in Japan (2016).Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at The University of Manchester, UK. He is the author or co-author of ten books and co-editor of several volumes.

An excellent study that uses the case of Agonshu to effectively connect with broader research questions in the study of Japanese religions and will with no doubt benefit any potential reader who is concerned with the question of what is ‘new’ about ‘new religions’ in Japan and elsewhere.

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsNote on Japanese names, terms and transliterationIntroduction1. Situating Agonshu: the concept of 'new religions' in modern Japan2. The story of a religious founder: Kiriyama Seiyu, turmoil, charisma and experience3. Teaching as practice: ritual, benefits and the costs of devotion4. From the world to Japan: the nationalism of an ageing movement 5. Transcending death: the birth and spiritual messages of the second Buddha 6. Concluding comments: founder worship and the problem of the 'new' NotesReferencesIndex

Erica Baffelli is Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester, UK. She is co-editor of the forthcoming Bloomsbury Handbook of Japanese Religions (2019) and her most recent book is Media and New Religions in Japan (2016).Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at The University of Manchester, UK. He is the author or co-author of ten books and co-editor of several volumes.

An excellent study that uses the case of Agonshu to effectively connect with broader research questions in the study of Japanese religions and will with no doubt benefit any potential reader who is concerned with the question of what is ‘new’ about ‘new religions’ in Japan and elsewhere.

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsNote on Japanese names, terms and transliterationIntroduction1. Situating Agonshu: the concept of 'new religions' in modern Japan2. The story of a religious founder: Kiriyama Seiyu, turmoil, charisma and experience3. Teaching as practice: ritual, benefits and the costs of devotion4. From the world to Japan: the nationalism of an ageing movement 5. Transcending death: the birth and spiritual messages of the second Buddha 6. Concluding comments: founder worship and the problem of the 'new' NotesReferencesIndex