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Zusatztext 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. Informationen zum Autor Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manchester, UK. Klappentext 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. Vorwort Argues that religion and tourism in Japan is an example of secularization arguing that it provides an example of secularization, highlighting state policies and legal issues. Zusammenfassung 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. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: Tourist Spots, Holy Ice Creams and Zen Monastic Brands1. Religion and Tourism: Definitions, Theoretical Perspectives and Contemporary Japanese Dynamics2. Temples, Shrines and Play: Historical Patterns, Transport Networks and State Policies3. When Religion is Not Religious: The State, Tourism and Constitutional Acrobatics4. What Shall We Do on Wednesday? The Shikoku Pilgrimage, Tourism, Heritage and Economic Regeneration5. Stations, Stamps and the Significance of Sweets in the Saikoku Pilgrimage6. Mystical Mountains and Ascetic Training as Tourist Attractions: Spiritual Japan for Visitors Concluding Comments: Religion, Tourism, the State, Decline and Secularisation BibliographyIndex...
