Japanese Folk Lore & Kami Traditions

Sacred Spirits, Ancestral Beliefs, and Cultural Practices Rooted in Japanese Heritage

von Akira Vale

178 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

Sacred Spirits, Ancestral Beliefs, and Cultural Practices Rooted in Japanese HeritageAt dawn in a quiet neighborhood, a doorway is swept. Water is poured. A rope of twisted straw marks a threshold where the ordinary pauses and something unseen is quietly acknowledged. In Japan, spirituality has never been confined to temples alone-it lives in gestures, seasons, stories, and the land itself.Japanese Folk Lore & Kami Traditions is an immersive exploration of Japan's living spiritual landscape, where mountains listen, ancestors remain present, and everyday actions carry sacred meaning. Rather than presenting Shinto and folklore as distant belief systems, this book reveals them as relational practices-ways of noticing, caring, and belonging shaped by place, memory, and community.Blending anthropology, folklore, and narrative storytelling, the book guides readers through:The meaning of kami as presence rather than doctrineSacred landscapes-mountains, rivers, trees, and stones-as living participants in daily lifeHousehold altars, ancestral remembrance, and seasonal rhythmsFolktales as cultural memory systems that encode ethics and survivalFestivals, processions, symbols, and material markers of the sacredSyncretism between Shinto, Buddhism, and local practiceRegional traditions and modern adaptations of ancient beliefsWritten with warmth, clarity, and deep respect, this is not a how-to ritual manual nor a romanticized overview. Instead, it offers readers a thoughtful framework for understanding Japanese folk spirituality on its own terms-without appropriation, oversimplification, or exoticism.Whether you are a student of culture, a reader drawn to mythology and folklore, a traveler seeking deeper context, or simply curious about how meaning is woven into everyday life, Japanese Folk Lore & Kami Traditions invites you to slow down, listen closely, and step gently across a threshold into a world where spirit and daily life are inseparable.

• Themen: Philosophie und Religion Religion und Glaube Weitere Religionen und Glaubensrichtungen Ostasiatische Religionen und spirituelle Überzeugungen Schintoismus
• ISBN: 9781970565577
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 28.12.2025
• Größe: 229 x 152 mm
• Verlag: PublishDrive