Conclusions - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 192

existence by offering a cosmology. This cosmology appears symbolically in the
structure of space. Geography of religion should study the religious structure of
space by adopting both positivistic and symbolic approaches.
In Sect. 1.2 , I examined recent trends in Japanese geography of religion since the
1990s. Geographers of religion in Japan have mainly analyzed and interpreted the
distribution or diffusion of religious phenomena, including religious experience or
practice, the spatial structure of religion, and the religious landscape. I categorized
these studies into four types. The fi rst type focuses on how certain religions have
been practiced in urban or rural areas. The second examines the infl uences, roles,
and changes of religions in urban and rural communities and their landscapes. The
third research category concerns the achievements of religious ecology and the rela-
tionship between religions and the natural environment. The fourth type of study
concerns the historical geography of pilgrimages; such research has revealed the
socioeconomic networks produced by religion. Three directions are suggested for
future studies. First, geography of religion should contribute more to the elucidation
of religion. Second, achievements in this fi eld of study should correspond to the
religious situation of contemporary Japan. Lastly, there is a need for studies that
take into consideration the religious characteristics of Japan.
Chapter 2 focused on some characteristics of Japan's religious traditions. The
famous Japanese philosopher Tetsuro Watsuji has discussed the relationship
between religious thought and natural environments as follows: The fi rst category is
the monsoon zone (Asia), which is characterized by its heat and humidity. Although
wind and fl ood occasionally plague the region, food is plentiful and other naturally
occurring benefi ts are abundant. In this region, people tolerate nature and are pas-
sive about it; thus, nature nurtures them in return. The second category is the desert
zone (Arabia, Africa, and Mongolia), which is a large, dry, and barren area that
appears rather drab and desolate. The people in this zone are united under the abso-
lute authority of their tribal chiefs and constantly struggle against both nature and
other tribes. The conditions in this area engendered the development of the notion
of an absolute personal God who transcended human strength. Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam are part of the monotheistic, desert-created religions and comprise the
notion of strictly one God who is linked to humans through testaments. The third
category is the pasture zone (Europe), where the weather is mild throughout the year
but is dry and rainy in the summer and winter, respectively. The mild fudo in this
area demands of its residents neither tolerance (as in the monsoon zone) nor awe (as
in the desert zone). The tractability of nature in this zone created an environment
that enabled European rationalism and the idea of freedom to develop along with
academic disciplines such as philosophy and the sciences.
These ideas were criticized for being too ideological and involving environmen-
tal determinism. However, the idea of fudo being closely related to the spiritual
foundation of people's lives, culture, and history deserves approbation.
The Onbashira festival of the Suwa Taisha, which consists of four shrines, is a
signifi cant example of tree worship in Japan. It evokes the image of Ujiko (shrine
parishioners) sitting astride onbashira (wooden pillars), accompanied by bravely
marching trumpeters. Held every seven years in the year of the tiger and monkey