Dec 30 2024 46 mins 2
Episode 42 of the podcast takes us in the mountains once again as we explore Japan’s mountain religion of Shugendo. My guest leading us in that discussion is Dr Caleb Swift Carter of Kyushu University. Dr Carter specialises in Buddhist Studies and the medieval and early modern religious history of Japan, with a focus on the mountain tradition of Shugendo. As such, he’s ideally-suited to guide us in exploration of what I consider to be one of the more interesting aspects of Japanese culture.
We intentionally spend a lot of time in and on the mountains of Japan on the podcast. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, approximately three-quarters of Japan is designated mountainous or rugged. This is a country of mountains where many peaks are considered sacred and I believe that an understanding of the religious context of mountains in Japan amplifies the enjoyment we take from time spent in such landscapes.
In exploration of Shugendo, we focus on the numinous mountain of Togakushi and surrounding peaks in Nagano. It was the focus of Dr Carter’s book ‘A Path Into the Mountains: Shugendo and Mount Togakushi’ and listeners of the podcast might remember, also the focus of Episode 12 – my travel to Togakushi. For more information, visit Dr Carter’s profile on the Kyushu University website.
Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.
