Recent Trends in the Geography of Religion in Japan - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 1

Chapter 1
Recent Trends in the Geography of Religion
in Japan

Abstract Geography of religion aims to clarify the relationships between the
environment and religious phenomena. I discuss some characteristics of four major
fi elds of this research which are (1) the relationships between the natural environ-
ment and religion, (2) how religion infl uences social structures, organizations, and
landscapes in local areas, (3) pilgrimage forms another major fi eld of research in the
geography of religion, and (4) the structure of space which is created by the sacred,
through examining the distribution and propagation of religion. Since the 1990s, the
geographers of religion in Japan mainly analyze and interpret the distribution or
diffusion of religious phenomena including religious experience or practice, spatial
structure of religion, and religious landscape. Lastly, three directions of future stud-
ies are suggested. First, the geography of religion should contribute more to the
elucidation of the religion. Second, achievements of this study fi eld are requested to
correspond to the religious situations of contemporary Japan. Third, studies taking
the religious characteristics of Japan into consideration are needed.

Keywords Geography of religion • Pilgrimage • Religious ecology • Religious
landscape • Spatial structure

1.1 Current Topics of the Geography of Religion in Japan

1.1.1 General Trends

We can defi ne the geography of religion as the study of the spatial characteristics of
religion. Religious phenomena are part of human culture, and so the geography
of religion can also be viewed as a branch of cultural geography. However, since
religious phenomena also have political, economic, social, and psychological
aspects, we cannot limit our study to the framework of cultural geography.