Mark R. Mullins calls his book “an exercise in historical sociology of religion that critically engages the contemporary debates surrounding secularization in light of postwar developments in Japanese religions” (27). The author has spent many years in Japan studying, documenting, and reflecting on the topic, observing the development of the neonationalist religiopolitical agenda firsthand. In the introduction, he critically examines the term fundamentalism, shedding light on the views of theorists and how the term has been applied variously to Christian and non-Christian groups and ideologues. While some have argued that fundamentalism does not exist in Japan or that the term applies only in Christian contexts, throughout this study Mullins convinces us otherwise.
As he explains, Yasukuni Shrine has been an important Japanese religious site since Emperor Meiji established it in Kyoto in 1868. It was relocated to Tokyo the next year. It is famous and infamous for enshrining all...
