ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the development of Brazilian Spiritism in Japan amidst the Japanese Brazilian migrant communities. It deals with the establishment of Spiritism and other religions in Brazil particularly in their connection to issues such as ancestor worship, karma and incarnation the succeeding section focuses on the interaction of Spiritism within die Japanese religious context. The chapter comes from two separate fieldwork. Rafael Shoji conducted fieldwork in the prefectures of Aichi and Gifu in 2010, especially at the Christian Spiritist Centre of Japan (NEC-J) and Umbanda Christian Center (NUC), both located in the city of Toki, Gifu prefecture. It suggests a interpretation of the Brazilian Spiritist continuum in Japan. Thus, enhancing new 'spiritual diasporas' and transnationalism within the continuum of the symbolic religious universe in Japan is fostered by the particular hybrid or mestio identity of Japanese Brazilian migrants.
