Animism in contemporary Japan : voices for the Anthropocene from post-Fukushima Japan / [edited by] Shoko Yoneyama.

Cover; Half Title; Series Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Notes on Style; INTRODUCTION A theoretical map: Reflections from post-Fukushima Japan; Silent springs; The Anthropocene and the enchantment of modernity; World-risk-society Japan; Spirituality as a foundation for environmental ethics; Spirituality: A lacuna in social science; Minamata and Fukushima in Japan's modern history; Connectedness as a legacy of Japan's modernity; Minamata as method; Framing animism

Discourse on animism in Japan 1: Japanological discoursePositioning 'Japan'; Discourse on animism in Japan 2: Grassroots discourse; Life stories as method; The 'data' and the structure of the book; Notes; PART I: Animism as a grassroots response to a socio-ecological disaster; 1. Life-world: A critique of modernity by Minamata fisherman Ogata Masato; A grassroots philosopher; The price of life; If not money, what?; A journey to the life-world; The development of the concept of the life-world; Where do you put your soul? The life-world or the system society?

Postmodern animism and the lacuna of social scienceNotes; 2. Stories of soul: Animistic cosmology by Ishimure Michiko; A grassroots writer; An animistic world to pine for; The Ishimure Michiko phenomenon; 'You don't have a soul, perhaps?'; The fall of paternalistic authority; The 'ancestor of grass' as a story for change; Notes; PART II: Inspiring modernity with animism; 3. Animism for the sociological imagination: The theory of endogenous development by Tsurumi Kazuko; In pursuit of a paradigm change; Transcultural creativity; Minamata encounter

Tsurumi Kazuko in the trajectory of social scientific thinkingTheory of endogenous development; Animism and Shinto; Animacy as the source of life and movement; Slime mould: Connecting esoteric Buddhism, science, and animism; The question of self; A sociological discourse on animism; Notes; 4. Animating the life-world: Animism by film director Miyazaki Hayao; Animism for the global audience; The spirit of the times; Post-Fukushima Japan: Another beginning, another ending; War as the beginning; Transforming negativity 1: Connecting with the soul of children

Transforming negativity 2: Reconciling with Japan through natureWhy animism?; Beyond dualism: 'Life is light that shines in the darkness'; Into a deeper realm of animism: Ohmu and Slime Mould; Injecting soul through animation; Embodying animism; Notes; CONCLUSION Postmodern animism for a new modernity; Intangible cultural heritage; Postmodern animism; Three challenges for the social sciences; Postmodern animism is a philosophy of the life-world; Notes; Epilogue: The re-enchanted world of post-Fukushima Japan; Folk festivals; Shrines as tsunami markers; The Sacred Forests Project; Notes; Index

'Postmodern animism' first emerged in grassroots Japan in the aftermath of mercury poisoning in Minamata and the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. Fusing critiques of modernity with intangible cultural heritages, it represents a philosophy of the life-world, where nature is a manifestation of a dynamic life force where all life is interconnected. This new animism, it is argued, could inspire a fundamental rethink of the human-nature relationship. The book explores this notion of animism through the lens of four prominent figures in Japan: animation film director Miyazaki Hayao, sociologist Tsurumi Kazuko, writer Ishimure Michiko, and Minamata fisherman-philosopher Ogata Masato. Taking a biographical approach, it illustrates how these individuals moved towards the conclusion that animism can help humanity survive modernity. It contributes to the Anthropocene discourse from a transcultural and transdisciplinary perspective, thus addressing themes of nature and spirituality, whilst also engaging with arguments from mainstream social sciences. Presenting a new perspective for a post-anthropocentric paradigm, Animism in Contemporary Japan will be useful to students and scholars of sociology, anthropology, philosophy and Japanese Studies.

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