Sacred High City, Sacred Low City A Tale of Religious Sites in Two Tokyo Neighborhoods

In Sacred High City, Sacred Low City, Steven Heine argues that lived religion in Japan functions as an integral part of daily life; any apparent lack of interest masks a fundamental commitment to participating regularly in diverse, though diffused, religious practices. The book uses case studies of religious sites at two representative but contrasting Tokyo neighborhoods as a basis for reflecting on this apparently contradictory quality. In what ways does Japan continue to carry on and adapt tradition, and to what extent has modern secular society lost touch with the traditional elements of religion? Or does Japanese religiosity reflect another, possibly postmodern, alternative beyond the dichotomy of sacred and secular, in which religious differences as well as a seeming indifference to religion are encompassed as part of a contemporary lifestyle?

Introduction. Japanese Religious Context in Traditional and Contemporary Perspectives; Part One: Sacred and Secular; Chapter I. Sacred Space is Alive and Well, and Living in Japan; Chapter II. Tokyo, City of...Temples?; Part Two: Living and Dying; Chapter III. Akasaka in the High City: Born Shinto...Live Inari...Die Buddhist; Chapter IV. Inaricho in the Low City: Im-Practical Worldly Benefits; Notes; Japanese Glossary; Bibliography; Index

Steven Heine, Professor and Director of Asian Studies at Florida International University, is an authority on Japanese religion and society, especially the history of Zen Buddhism and its relation to society in China and Japan. He has published over twenty books and dozens of articles, and has lectured extensively on these and related topics.