Pilgrims Until We Die

Unending Pilgrimage in Shikoku

Ian Reader author John Shultz author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:12th Oct '21

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Pilgrims Until We Die cover

The Shikoku pilgrimage, a 1400 kilometre, eighty-eight temple circuit around Japan's fourth largest island, takes around forty days by foot, or one week by car. Historically, Buddhist ascetics walked it without ceasing, creating a tradition of unending pilgrimage that continues in the present era, both by pilgrims on foot and by others in cars. Some spend decades walking the pilgrimage, while others drive it repeatedly, completing hundreds of pilgrimage circuits. Most are retired and make the pilgrimage the centre of their post-work lives. Others who work full-time spend their holidays and weekends as pilgrims. Some have only done the pilgrimage a few times but already imagine themselves as unending pilgrims and intend to do it “until we die”. They talk happily of being addicted and having Shikokuby?, 'Shikoku illness', portraying this 'illness' and addiction as blessings. Featuring extensive fieldwork and interviews, this study of Japan's most famous Buddhist pilgrimage presents new theoretical perspectives on pilgrimage in general, along with rich ethnographic examples of pilgrimage practices in contemporary Japan. Pilgrims Until We Die counteracts normative portrayals of pilgrimage as a transient activity, defined by a temporary leave of absence from home to visit sacred places outside the parameters of everyday life, showing that many participants view pilgrimage as a way of creating a sense of home and permanence on the road. Examining how obsession, devotion, and a sense of addiction aided by modern developments and economic factors have created a culture of recurrent pilgrimage, Pilgrims Until We Die challenges standard understandings of pilgrimage.

It is suggested that the Shikoku pilgrimage should be seen not as a static phenomenon but instead as an unending dynamic journey. This volume provides an interesting starting point for further studies on pilgrimage in general. * Marzia Alteno, Religious Studies Review *
The book is rich in detail, well researched, and well written. * P. Passariello, CHOICE *
Impeccably researched and engagingly written, Pilgrims Until We Die is a new milestone in pilgrimage studies... Combining rich documentary material based on in-depth interviews and firsthand observation, this study challenges classic theoretical models of pilgrimage and their reliance on Western Christian examples. * Mark W. MacWilliams, St. Lawrence University *
Reader and Shultz present a powerfully argued case for regarding pilgrimage not as exceptional activity but embedded habit, and even orientation for life. In doing so, they demonstrate the importance of going beyond Christian or Western assumptions in developing analytical frames for sacred travel. * Simon Coleman, Author of Powers of Pilgrimage: Religion in a World of Motion *
Reader and Shultz's argument for looking at pilgrimage from an immersive perspective is convincing...The title of their book, Pilgrims Until We Die, sounds like a heartfelt pledge to which both Reader and Shultz could be understood to subscribe themselves. * Carina Roth, Politics, Religion & Ideology *
This volume provides an interesting starting point for further studies on pilgrimage in general. * Marzia Alteno, Religious Studies Review Vol 48.4 *
As researchers we are all on something of our own henro...reading the book slowly-helped no doubt by its ambulatory, circular, and spiritual subject matter - I gained not only detailed insight into the henro itself, but also a most welcome opportunity to reflect on what we do as researchers, and why. * Monumenta Nipponica 78:1 *
Pilgrims Until We Die is useful for multiple audiences. For scholars of pilgrimage studies, the call to examine lifelong engagement with a pilgrimage is well worth heeding...For scholars of Japanese religions, this work can provide an understanding of current trends in Japanese pilgrimage in general and the Shikoku henro in particular. It also provides a useful insight into the practices of aging Japanese (many of the repeaters are around or above retirement age), which is important in Japan's rapidly aging society. This work makes contributions to all these fields of study by aptly bringing to the fore the lives and important roles held by repeat performers of the Shikoku henro and demonstrates how we are remiss if we fail to take them into account. * Matthew Mitchell, Reading Religion *

ISBN: 9780197573594

Dimensions: 159mm x 236mm x 16mm

Weight: 390g

264 pages