Japan's sexual gods : : shrines, roles, and rituals of procreation and protection / / by Stephen Turnbull.

• Superior document: Brill's Japanese Studies Library, Volume 49
• VerfasserIn: Turnbull, Stephen R.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands ;, Boston, Massachusetts : : Brill,, 2015.; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Japanese studies library ; Volume 49.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (440 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Japan’s Sexual Gods is an authoritative and original work that describes the unique deities represented by sexual objects in certain Japanese shrines and temples. Hundreds of sexual shrines still exist in spite of previous repression and range from the Tagata Shrine with its well-known giant festival phallus to small obscure places. Many also contain female sexual imagery and some phalluses act in a protective role. The study is based on observations of over 500 sexual sites including phallic festivals, many of which are modern inventions created purely for commercial reasons. The study makes an assessment of the place of sexual beliefs in modern Japan and includes almost 300 stunning original photographs, a glossary and a highly detailed mappages.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- 1 Sexual Beliefs in Japanese Religion -- 2 Encountering the Sexual in Japanese Culture -- 3 The Phallus in the ‘Age of the Gods’ -- 4 Phallic Beliefs and Mountain Deities -- 5 Sexual Symbolism and Shintō Mythology -- 6 ‘Erotic Gifts’: The Votive Role of Sexual Objects -- 7 Ktenic Imagery in Japan’s Sexual Shrines -- 8 The Phallus as Kami: The Cult of Konsei Daimyōjin -- 9 Hidden Buddhas and Sexual Gods -- 10 The Phallus at the Crossroads: Wayside Gods of Protection and Fertility -- 11 Continuity and Change in Japan’s Phallic Festivals -- 12 Sexual Beliefs in Contemporary Japan -- Glossary of Technical Terms -- Bibliography -- Index.