A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine

I would recommend "A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine", by John K. Nelson, to anyone with an interest in Shinto and Japanese Culture. The book provides a detailed look at Shinto rituals at Suwa Jinja in Nagasaki, Japan. My favorite chapters were about the purification of a plot of land for a construction company, the great purification ceremony, and ringing in the New Year. The chapters about women at the shrine and how younger Japanese relate to the shrine were also really interesting from a cultural perspective. "A Year in the Life" contains a wealth of knowledge of interest to the scholar. The book is however, easy to read - as if you were listening to a friend telling a story. A glossary of Japanese terms, end notes, maps of the shrine, and pictures broaden the reader's context and add depth to the narrative. I really appreciated how the book was arranged in five sections. The first section gives the reader an introduction to the history of the shrine, the kami that the shrine is dedicated to, and the people who make the shrine work. The following four sections, one per season, tell the story of the major rituals at the shrine over the course of year. Each chapter usually begins with a description of the shrine on the day of the ceremony, which allows the reader to understand how they might have felt had they arrived at the shrine for the ritual. This reminded me of my own experiences visiting a shrine in Japan. The description also set the mood for the author's descriptions of the rituals that follow.

"A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine" is the best book on Shinto that I have ever read, and that is really saying something as I have read a lot of books on Shinto. It is the first book I have seen that puts things in layman's terms while not dumbing down a fairly complicated system of beliefs and cultural practices. Instead of attempting to interpret the mysteries and cosmology of the inscrutable religion, author John Nelson puts you in the shoes of Shinto practitioners, from the highest ranking priest to the novices, to the casual visitors who drop by. He takes you behind the scenes, showing you what the day-to-day life is of a Shinto priest, what they believe and what they do. The shrine he introduces, Suwa Shrine in Nagasaki, is a fairly major one, with a full calendar of events and rituals. On top of all this Nelson frames Shinto in its cultural context. It is not simply a religion, something to be believed in and practiced, but it is a sort of societal glue for Japan, something that connects the present to the past and provides a contextual framework that all Japanese people can recognize. It is difficult to understand this element of Shinto, because the very concept of religion is different. One of the most fascinating sections of this book is the chapter called "I shouldn't be telling you this but..." where he allows several Shinto priests to express their private opinions under the protection of anonymity. It is exactly this kind of human touch that has been missing from all previous books. Shinto is a religion of human beings, and without this necessary voice it loses all context.

I recently finished reading this book in preparation for a trip I'm taking to Japan in the fall, I will be studying at University for year. I had read a couple of other books about Shinto and found them useful but what I really wanted to read was a book on Shinto practice so when I visit a Shinto Shrine I will have a more complex understanding of what is going on. In a way, this book goes beyond just understanding a Shinto practice it also covers details on things like how to finance a Shrine and how to sit so your legs fall asleep less often etc. I should clarify that this book isn't a travel guide but a well written ethnography, one that primarily focuses on one medium-large Shinto Shrine. In general the book doesn't get to detailed or too hard to read. The author spends some time with theory's and interpretations but mostly focuses on observation. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the interviews with the Guji, he had an interesting life story and some good comparative religion thoughts. Some of the younger priests also have some interesting input, some times complaints. The chapter about a woman Shinto Priest was another highlight. I believe this book would be great for undergraduates, I'm an undergrad in Religious Studies and Philosophy, or for anyone interested in Shinto practice.

The author uses a major Shinto Shrine, Nagasaki's Suwa Shrine, as the focus of the book. It starts out with chapters about Kami, the history of the shrine and a overview of rituals and ceremonies then the book is cut up into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. It has lots of details, including, in the back, a map of the shrine, glossary of terms, list of festivals and rituals of the Suwa Shrine and works cited. The details are about this ONE Shrine, so if you wanted a book on all kami and shrines in Japan THIS is not it. Yet it does give a nice first person account of events in a Shinto Shrine, dealing with beliefs, practices and how the shrine interacts with the city's community, businesses and families. Kind of like seeing the forest by examing one of the trees.A must for people interested in Shintoism or Japan.

For any serious student of Shinto or highly interested, independent researcher, this book is a wonderful choice. Dr. Nelson's vivid imagery and comprehensive descriptions give the reader a chance to connect emotionally with the events as they transpire across time. In my case, I felt almost as though I was present. There are few English-language volumes on Shinto which so clearly and eloquently deliver up to the reader what, until recent years, has been arcane knowledge unavailable to the West.