In pre-Meiji Japan there existed no concept of religion as a general phenomenon, of which there would be variants like Christianity, Buddhism, and Shintō. People spoke of having faith (shinkō) in particular kami and Buddhas, but no word existed to designate a separate sphere of life that could be called “religious,” as opposed to the rest of one’s existence.
Helen Hardacre, Shintō and The State 1868-1988, p.18
Although I only got to read a few chapters, this is one of the passages that stood out to me.
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February 13th, 2015 at 11:34 pm
*SCREAMS, HURLS SELF INTO THE SUN* I LOVE HARDACRE, I LOVE HER BOOKS, I LOVE HER SCHOLARSHIP that particular book may have been one of the main inspirations for my current research project.
February 13th, 2015 at 11:36 pm
Duly noted. That’s high praise, all the more so since it’s coming from Queenie.
February 17th, 2015 at 9:39 pm
This idea is similar to the concept of kitchen witchcraft: that the sacred is in the mundane and vice versa.