{"product_id":"9781350640979","title":"Before Shinto Buddhism and the Japanese Gods","description":"\u003ch3\u003eBloomsbury Shinto Studies\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eBefore Shinto\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eBuddhism and the Japanese Gods\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFabio Rambelli | Fabio Rambelli\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eReligion \/ Shintoism\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFocusing on the fundamental role played by Buddhism in shaping general ideas about and attitudes toward the Japanese gods (\u003ci\u003ekami\u003c\/i\u003e), this book presents a new revisionist history of Shinto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Based on in-depth historical and cultural analysis and presenting numerous pre-modern sources in English translation, \u003ci\u003eBefore Shinto\u003c\/i\u003e goes against received assumptions that something called “Shinto” has always existed in Japan as a foundation upon which religions and philosophies of foreign origin were first accepted and then developed. Rather, it demonstrates that Buddhism, in a complex process of assimilation of pre-existing forms of the sacred combined with foreign divinities, created narratives and representations of the \u003ci\u003ekami\u003c\/i\u003e, which were until then mostly anonymous and invisible, before adding them to its vast cosmology of gods and meta-human beings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Shinto emerged as a separate tradition around the sixteenth century as part of a conscious movement away from Buddhism; within this newly formed framework to envision the gods, different interventions by Confucian and by Nativist authors in particular, became possible. Fabio Rambelli highlights the multiform and shifting nature of discourses on the \u003ci\u003ekami\u003c\/i\u003e and the continuous process of re-invention of Shinto.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFabio Rambelli\u003c\/b\u003e is Distinguished Professor of Japanese religions in the Departments of Religious Studies and East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, where he holds the International Shinto Foundation chair in Shinto Studies, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e12 November 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781350640979\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e304\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51223599382668,"sku":"9781350640979","price":103.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_cfc3ce43-f7b5-4dfe-8f27-fea316308e33.jpg?v=1783078485","url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9781350640979","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}