Scholars have widely acknowledged thepersistent ambivalence with which the Japanese religious traditions treatwomen. Much existing scholarship depicts Japan’s religious traditions as meremeans of oppression. But this view raises a question: How have ambivalent andeven misogynistic religious discourses on gender still come to inspire devotionand emulation among women?In Women in Japanese Religions, Barbara R. Ambrosexamines the roles that women have played in the religions of Japan. An...
