The Secret World of Shugendo: Sacred Mountains and the Search for Meaning in Post-Disaster Japan

In this compelling narrative of discovery set in Japan’s remote Dewa Sanzan mountain range, Shayne A. P. Dahl describes Shugendō, a secretive religious tradition that combines aspects of Shinto, Buddhism, and mountain worship. As a participant-observer, Dahl invites readers into the practices of contemporary ascetics who see the sacred mountains as wombs within which cycles of life, death, and rebirth can be harnessed for the sake of personal transformation and existential realization. As D...