In the Presence of Gods and Spirits

Anne Walthall is Professor Emerita of Japanese History at the University of California Irvine. She previously coedited Women and Class in Japanese History (1999) and Women and Networks in Nineteenth-Century Japan (2020) with the University of Michigan Press.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsChronology of the Hirata House and its TimesIntroduction: The Hirata Community and the Meaning of MaterialsChapter One: The Creation of the Hirata HouseChapter Two: Portraits worth a Thousand WordsChapter Three: Collaborators and The Sacred Pillar of the SoulChapter Four: Sacred ObjectsChapter Five: Denizens of the Unseen World: Gods, Spirits, ImmortalsChapter Six: The Shirakawa, The Yoshida, and AtsutaneChapter Seven: The Shrine Priests: Supporters and RivalsChapter Eight: The Women behind the MenEpilogue: Atsutane’s LegaciesList of References

“Walthall's new study of the life and work of the 19th-century nativist (kokugaku) scholar Hirata Atsutane addresses a crucial gap in the English-language coverage of Japanese intellectual history. Walthall's book is a useful addition to any library that focuses on the evolution of the modern Japanese state and the formation of a collective vision concerning national identity.”