Table of Contents

1: Introduction: the multiple forms of pilgrimage 2: Examining pilgrimage: forms, types, and interpretations 3: Pilgrimages worldwide: a global and historical outline 4: Motives and means: Asceticism and the package tour 5: Tourism, entertainment, relics, and souvenirs 6: Modern developments, secular sites, and the reshaping of pilgrimage 7: Conclusion: an ever-changing phenomenon Further reading Index

About the Author

Ian Reader is Professor Emeritus, University of Manchester. He has held several previous posts at other universities, including the University of Lancaster, UK, the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies, Denmark, the University of Hawaii, USA, and Kansai Gaidai University, Japan. He has published several books and numerous articles on Japanese religious dynamics and practices, including Making Pilgrimages: Meaning and Practice in Shikoku (University of Hawaii Press, 2005), Pilgrimage in the Marketplace (Routledge, 2013), an edited volume Pilgrimage in the Japanese Tradition (with Paul L. Swanson, as a special edition of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 1997), and several journal articles and book chapters.

Reviews

a stimulating introduction to an important feature of all religions. * Church of England Newspaper *
The author has successfully written a little book on a much needed topic, especially for urban dwellers nowadays. This is a high recommended 'very short' introduction to the subject. * Josaphat C. Tam, The Expository Times *