by Michihiro Ama
Religious acculturation is typically seen as a one-way process: The dominant religious culture imposes certain behavioral patterns, ethical standards, social values, and organizational and legal requirements onto the immigrant religious tradition. In this view, American society is the active partner in the relationship, while the newly introduced tradition is the passive recipient being changed. Michihiro Ama’s investigation of the early period of Jodo Shinshu in Hawai‘i and the United States sets a new standard for investigating the processes of religious acculturation and a radically new way of thinking about these processes.
Michihiro Ama, skillfully describes the history and cultural evolution that Jodo Shinshu Buddhism experienced during the immigration of Japanese Immigrants to the Americas. A serious book recommendation to readers interested in finding out the colorful story of the Issei and Nisei and their religious journey to a new world.