Pilgrims Until We Die: Unending Pilgrimage in Shikoku Kindle Edition
by Ian Reader (Author), John Shultz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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The Shikoku pilgrimage, a 1400 kilometre, eighty-eight temple circuit around Japan's fourth largest island, takes around forty days by foot, or one week by car. Historically, Buddhist ascetics walked it without ceasing, creating a tradition of unending pilgrimage that continues in the present era, both by pilgrims on foot and by others in cars. Some spend decades walking the pilgrimage, while others drive it repeatedly, completing hundreds of pilgrimage circuits. Most are retired and make the pilgrimage the centre of their post-work lives. Others who work full-time spend their holidays and weekends as pilgrims. Some have only done the pilgrimage a few times but already imagine themselves as unending pilgrims and intend to do it "until we die".
They talk happily of being addicted and having Shikokuby?, 'Shikoku illness', portraying this 'illness' and addiction as blessings. Featuring extensive fieldwork and interviews, this study of Japan's most famous Buddhist pilgrimage presents new theoretical perspectives on pilgrimage in general, along with rich ethnographic examples of pilgrimage practices in contemporary Japan.
Pilgrims Until We Die counteracts normative portrayals of pilgrimage as a transient activity, defined by a temporary leave of absence from home to visit sacred places outside the parameters of everyday life, showing that many participants view pilgrimage as a way of creating a sense of home and permanence on the road. Examining how obsession, devotion, and a sense of addiction aided by modern developments and economic factors have created a culture of recurrent pilgrimage, Pilgrims Until We Die challenges standard understandings of pilgrimage.
Oxford University Press
Publication date
June 17, 2021
====
Review
"Impeccably researched and engagingly written, Pilgrims Until We Die is a new milestone in pilgrimage studies... Combining rich documentary material based on in-depth interviews and firsthand observation, this study challenges classic theoretical models of pilgrimage and their reliance on Western
Christian examples." -- Mark W. MacWilliams, St. Lawrence University
"Reader and Shultz present a powerfully argued case for regarding pilgrimage not as exceptional activity but embedded habit, and even orientation for life. In doing so, they demonstrate the importance of going beyond Christian or Western assumptions in developing analytical frames for sacred
travel." -- Simon Coleman, Author of Powers of Pilgrimage: Religion in a World of Motion
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manchester, where he was previously Professor of Japanese Studies. He has also held academic positions in Scotland, Hawaii, Denmark, and Japan. He has written widely on religion in Japan, and on issues related to the study of pilgrimage. Among
his recent books are
John Shultz is Associate Professor of Asian Religion and Philosophy at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters concerning religion in contemporary Japan, including such topics as first-person pilgrimage accounts, new media and religion, and
mountain ascetic practice.
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
Publisher : Oxford University Press (June 17, 2021)
Publication date : June 17, 2021
#2,053 in History of Japan
#4,785 in History of AnthropologyCustomer Reviews:
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
Oxford University Press
Publication date
June 17, 2021
====
Review
"Impeccably researched and engagingly written, Pilgrims Until We Die is a new milestone in pilgrimage studies... Combining rich documentary material based on in-depth interviews and firsthand observation, this study challenges classic theoretical models of pilgrimage and their reliance on Western
Christian examples." -- Mark W. MacWilliams, St. Lawrence University
"Reader and Shultz present a powerfully argued case for regarding pilgrimage not as exceptional activity but embedded habit, and even orientation for life. In doing so, they demonstrate the importance of going beyond Christian or Western assumptions in developing analytical frames for sacred
travel." -- Simon Coleman, Author of Powers of Pilgrimage: Religion in a World of Motion
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manchester, where he was previously Professor of Japanese Studies. He has also held academic positions in Scotland, Hawaii, Denmark, and Japan. He has written widely on religion in Japan, and on issues related to the study of pilgrimage. Among
his recent books are
- Dynamism and the Ageing of a Japanese "New" Religion with Erica Baffelli,
- Health-Related Votive Tablets from Japan: Ema for Healing and Well-being, co-authored with Peter de Smet,
- Pilgrimage: A Very Short Introduction, and
- Pilgrimage in the Marketplace.
John Shultz is Associate Professor of Asian Religion and Philosophy at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters concerning religion in contemporary Japan, including such topics as first-person pilgrimage accounts, new media and religion, and
mountain ascetic practice.
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
Publisher : Oxford University Press (June 17, 2021)
Publication date : June 17, 2021
#2,053 in History of Japan
#4,785 in History of AnthropologyCustomer Reviews:
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
