In this compelling narrative of discovery set in Japan’s remote Dewa Sanzan mountain range, Shayne A. P. Dahl describes Shugendō, a secretive religious tradition that combines aspects of Shinto, Buddhism, and mountain worship. As a participant-observer, Dahl invites readers into the practices of contemporary ascetics who see the sacred mountains as wombs within which cycles of life, death, and rebirth can be harnessed for the sake of personal transformation and existential realization. As Dahl argues, immersion in Shugendō provides ascetics and pilgrims with an escape from capitalist modernity and an avenue for self-reflection in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster near Fukushima in March 2011.

Immersing readers in the intimate and hidden dimensions of Shugendō, Dahl sheds light on how practitioners sustain their traditions in the face of modern temptations and tensions within their religious communities. Filled with insight into Shugendō’s contribution to Japanese cultural identity, this book offers groundbreaking perspective on the intersections of ecology, disaster, religion, the human condition, and death.

?Dahl offers readers a much-needed study of Shugend? and its practice in the Dewa Sanzan mountains of Japan. His beautiful, evocative descriptions of the landscape and insightful analysis of Shugend??s ascetic practices are commendable.??Mark Rowe, McMaster University?Shayne Dahl?s study employs a strong ethnographic methodology and balances theoretical sophistication with narrative flow, making it a highly readable and valuable engagement with contemporary Shugend? and Japanese religions. The book makes meaningful contributions to the fields of anthropology and religion and will spark conversations in undergraduate and graduate classrooms.??Caleb Carter, Kyushu UniversityAn ancient mountain religion confronts disaster and uncertainty in contemporary JapanShayne A. P. Dahl is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Calgary.This series publishes ethnographies of religious life. The series features the methods of religious studies along with anthropological approaches to lived religion. The religious studies perspective encompasses attention to historical contingency, theory, religious doctrine and texts, and religious practitioners? intimate, personal narratives. The series also highlights the critical realities of migration and transnationalism.US