Religion and Tourism in Japan - by Ian Reader (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this study, Ian Reader presents new insights into the relationship between religion and tourism more generally and into the contemporary religious situation in Japan. He counteracts scholarship that claims tourism increases religious activity, shows that tourism is a factor in increasing secularization in Japan and draws attention to the role of the state in such contexts.

Although the Japanese constitution prohibits the state from promoting religion, this book shows how state agencies nonetheless encourage people to visit religious sites, by presenting them as manifestations of a shared heritage, in ways that distance them from 'religion'. Reader examines theoretical understandings of religion and tourism and presents case studies of famed pilgrimage routes and temples. He shows how Zen monasteries are now 'tourist brands' and pilgrimages are the focus of TV entertainment programmes, portrayed as opportunities to eat sweets.

Examining the nationalistic rhetoric of nostalgia and unique heritage that underpins the promotion of religious sites, Reader also considers why priests acquiesce in such matters.

Review Quotes

"Reader breaks new ground in this study on the role of the state and commercial enterprises in promoting tourism, and how their policies impact shrines and temples in areas undergoing depopulation. A strong case is made that the 'touristification' ofreligious sites as 'cultural heritage' tends to 'dereligionize' them, circumvents conflictsover religion-state separation, and contributes to the ongoing process of secularization." --Mark R. Mullins, Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Auckland, New Zealand

"Being based on a lifetime of research, this book brings home illuminating insights, for example on the role of the state and religious estrangement as key factors in the interplay of religion and tourism in Japan. This well-written book is of relevance far beyond scholars of Japanese religions." --Michael Stausberg, Professor of Religion, University of Bergen, Norway

"Ian Reader has produced a well documented and tightly argued book ... Reader offers an important contribution not simply to the study of religion in Japan, but also to studies on religion and tourism, and wider arguments around how religion is commodified and repackaged in the contemporary secular, social media saturated, and capitalist landscape. Insights beyond the Japanese context, though these are not Reader's concern, certainly will strike thoughtful interlocutors grappling with this book. It is another sign also that Bloomsbury is a place where a lot of the most interesting scholarship in religious studies is emerging. Every serious library in the study of religion, and especially in religion and tourism (and popular culture) should include this book." --Paul Hedges, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Bulletin of the British Association for the Study of Religion

Being based on a lifetime of research, this book brings home illuminating insights, for example on the role of the state and religious estrangement as key factors in the interplay of religion and tourism in Japan. This well-written book is of relevance far beyond scholars of Japanese religions.
Michael Stausberg, Professor of Religion, University of Bergen, Norway

Ian Reader has produced a well documented and tightly argued book ... Reader offers an important contribution not simply to the study of religion in Japan, but also to studies on religion and tourism, and wider arguments around how religion is commodified and repackaged in the contemporary secular, social media saturated, and capitalist landscape. Insights beyond the Japanese context, though these are not Reader's concern, certainly will strike thoughtful interlocutors grappling with this book. It is another sign also that Bloomsbury is a place where a lot of the most interesting scholarship in religious studies is emerging. Every serious library in the study of religion, and especially in religion and tourism (and popular culture) should include this book.
Bulletin of the British Association for the Study of Religion

Reader breaks new ground in this study on the role of the state and commercial enterprises in promoting tourism, and how their policies impact shrines and temples in areas undergoing depopulation. A strong case is made that the 'touristification' ofreligious sites as 'cultural heritage' tends to 'dereligionize' them, circumvents conflictsover religion-state separation, and contributes to the ongoing process of secularization.
Mark R. Mullins, Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Auckland, New Zealand

About the Author

Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manchester, UK. His prime areas of research are on religious dynamics in the contemporary world, with a special focus on Japan, on pilgrimage and on the links between religion and violence. He is the author of numerous books, articles and chapters about such issues, including Pilgrims Until We Die: Unending Pilgrimage in Shikoku, co-authored with John Shultz, (2021) and Dynamism and the Ageing of a Japanese "New" Religion, co-authored with Erica Baffelli (Bloomsbury, 2019).