The Invention of Religion in Japan

By Jason Ananda Josephson-Storm, Associate Professor of Religion. University of Chicago Press. 2012. Throughout most of its history, Japan had no concept of what would be called “religion”—no corresponding word in Japanese nor anything close to its meaning. When American warships appeared in the country in 1853, the treaties the Japanese government was forced to sign included a provision for freedom of religion. Thus, Japan had to grapple with this Western idea. This book received the 2013 Distinguished Book of the Year Award by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.