Reader breaks new ground in this study on the role of the state and commercial enterprises in promoting tourism, and how their policies impact shrines and temples in areas undergoing depopulation. A strong case is made that the touristification ofreligious sites as cultural heritage tends to dereligionize them, circumvents conflictsover religion-state separation, and contributes to the ongoing process of secularization. * Mark R. Mullins, Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Auckland, New Zealand * Being based on a lifetime of research, this book brings home illuminating insights, for example on the role of the state and religious estrangement as key factors in the interplay of religion and tourism in Japan. This well-written book is of relevance far beyond scholars of Japanese religions. * Michael Stausberg, Professor of Religion, University of Bergen, Norway * Ian Reader has produced a well documented and tightly argued book ... Reader offers an important contribution not simply to the study of religion in Japan, but also to studies on religion and tourism, and wider arguments around how religion is commodified and repackaged in the contemporary secular, social media saturated, and capitalist landscape. Insights beyond the Japanese context, though these are not Readers concern, certainly will strike thoughtful interlocutors grappling with this book. It is another sign also that Bloomsbury is a place where a lot of the most interesting scholarship in religious studies is emerging. Every serious library in the study of religion, and especially in religion and tourism (and popular culture) should include this book. -- Paul Hedges, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore * Bulletin of the British Association for the Study of Religion *
