Exploring Shinto - Michael Pye

Exploring Shinto - Michael Pye

Preface and Acknowledgements

Exploring Shinto - Michael Pye

Michael Pye [+-]
Marburg University (Emeritus) and Ōtani University
Michael Pye (born 1939) first resided in Japan from 1961 onwards. From 1968 he taught Religious Studies in England and, in 1982, became professor for the Study of Religions at Marburg University, Germany. On retirement he returned to Japan for several years, being associated with Ōtani University, Kyōto. He was president of the International Association for the History of Religions from 1995 to 2000 and is currently President of the International Shinto Studies Association. His major publications include Skilful Means (1978 and 2003), Strategies in the Study of Religions (2013) and Japanese Buddhist Pilgrimage (2015).

Description

Shinto permeates the religious landscape of Japan and is a major key to the understanding of Japanese culture and society. But what is it? If ideological shortcuts are avoided there is no simple answer. Yet this book will guide students and general readers through many aspects of Shinto both today and in its history. It contains much information about sacred Shinto shrines and the divinities (the kami) which are the focus of devotion there. These numerous divinities have been viewed in different ways in the course of time, and contributions by specialists shed much light on the role played by Buddhism in this regard. Moreover, several fascinating religious movements or “sects” which share in the wider pattern of Shinto are also introduced and discussed. Oversimplified views may be challenged here, but the result is a volume in which “Shinto” is explored in a wide and illuminating perspective by an international team of scholars. It provides a refreshing and much-needed resource for all who are interested in the subject.

Notify A Colleague

Citation

Pye, Michael. Preface and Acknowledgements. Exploring Shinto. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. vii-viii Jul 2020. ISBN 9781781799604. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=39480. Date accessed: 13 Dec 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.39480. Jul 2020

Dublin Core Metadata