«Defining Shugendo covers a wide swath of religious and cultural modes and activities in Japan. This fine collection may finally succeed in convincing readers that Shugendo—at least as an expression of the amalgamation of various religious figures and practices—is truly a central part of Japanese culture that cannot be ignored, and indeed should be recognized as one of the major religious traditions in Japan.»

Paul L. Swanson, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Japan

«Defining Shugendo: Critical Studies on Japanese Mountain Religion [is] an essential and overdue contribution ... Each of [its] chapters is a doorway to new perspectives on this ancient religion.»

Japan Review

«[T]he contributions mark and outline the wide and complex area of Shugendo and its intersections with other (religious, political, cultural) domains. The destination is definitely worth the journey.»

Religious Studies Review

«This book is a crucial contribution to our understanding of the intellectual, historical, and lived dimensions of Shugendo. Covering an impressive range of topics, the volume succeeds in foregrounding the site-specific, local nature of mountain practices without ever losing sight of their interactions with trans-local discourses and movements. For this reason, Defining Shugendo is a must-read for anyone interested in this tradition and in Japanese Religions more broadly.”»

Benedetta Lomi, Lecturer in East Asian Religions, University of Bristol, UK