Spirits, Selves, and Subjectivity in a Japanese New Religion: The Cultural Psychology of Belief in Sukyo Mahikari

This volume is an examination of the beliefs and practices of Sukyo Mahikari; an investigation of how this movement, as a product of Japanese culture, shares a normative discourse with Japanese society; and an examination of how culture constructs mind/belief and an examination of ethnopsychological theories of self and spirit possession. Chapter headings include: Mahikari in the Sociocultural Context of Japan's Religious Tradition; The Cosmology of Mahikari; The Spirituality of Being Japanese; The Moral Authority and Power of the Cosmos; The Master Metaphor of Purity - The Symbolism of Authority and Power; Gratitude, Obedience, and Humility of Heart - The Morality of Dependency; Rituals - The Ordering of Sociopolitical Relations; Ancestors and Attaching Spirits - How Selves are Socially Produced and Presented. Appendices include Symbolism of the Divine Crest; Exegesis of the Amatsunorigoto; Additional examples of Kotodama; A Typical Month at the Dojo; Glossary; Bibliography.