ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the background to, and the reason for, Kunio Yanagita’s interest in Japan’s folk religion, focusing on the relationship between his interest in folk religion and his concern for Japan’s future. It seeks to evaluate the significance of the series of writings within the overall context of Yanagita’s works. Yanagita describes Japan’s indigenous faith as ‘the ancient religion of Japan’ that has grown and spread hand in hand with the growth of Japan as a nation, having its roots deep in the psychological world of the Japanese people. The fact that it has existed throughout Japan’s history is given special importance by Yanagita. The ultimate aim of the study of Japan’s folk traditions was to seek a common ethos by thoroughly investigating traditional religious communities, and to establish a nationwide awareness that there already exists what one may call an internalized code of ethics in Japan.