Japan Will Turn Ablaze!

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 226K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Japan Will Turn Ablaze! by Barbara R. SimsAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: BP: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Islam, Bahaism, Theosophy, Other and new beliefs, Release Date: Sep 12, 2006

Editor's review

This book traces the spread of the Baha'i Faith in Japan and is a thematic work at the intersection of religious history and cross-cultural transmission. Barbara R. Sims uses a narrative approach to organize the people and events involved. The title itself carries a confessional tone, and readers should recognize that this is a committed insider account rather than a neutral social-scientific analysis. Its value lies in offering a case of religious transmission that Chinese readers have paid little attention to: how a new faith sought a foothold within Japan's modern social structure, and the adjustments and frictions involved in cross-cultural missionary work. Read it as primary-style narrative material, attending to the actions of individuals, organizational methods, and historical context, while remaining aware of its narrative slant. It is suitable as supplementary reading for those interested in Japanese religious history, new religious movements, or cross-cultural transmission, but not as the sole reference on the subject.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern and contemporary Japanese religious history and new religious movements
Students researching cross-cultural transmission and religious indigenization
Readers who wish to learn about the spread of the Baha'i Faith in East Asia
Mature readers able to read insider religious narratives with a critical eye

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers seeking neutral academic overviews or quantitative studies
Readers with no interest in religion who want only general-audience works
Beginners lacking background knowledge who are easily swayed by one-sided narratives

Reading tips

First learn the basic tenets of the Baha'i Faith and the background of modern Japanese religious policy before starting the main text.
While reading, distinguish factual statements from expressions of belief, and mark passages with an obvious narrative stance.
Read alongside other works on Japanese religious history rather than forming judgments from a single perspective.
Take brief notes by person or chronology to help clarify the networks of relationships in the transmission process.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book academically neutral or an insider account?

Judging by the title and narrative style, the book has a clear insider perspective and confessional tone, focusing on recording the transmission process and the deeds of individuals rather than offering causal analysis within a neutral social-scientific framework. Readers should treat it as clearly partisan narrative material and use it alongside other research.

Can I read it without knowing about the Baha'i Faith?

Yes, but it is advisable to build some basic knowledge first. The book touches on the faith's core concepts, figures, and organizational methods; if these are entirely unfamiliar, readers may mistake insider terminology for established fact. Reading one or two encyclopedia-style introductions first will make the book much easier to follow.

Is this book suitable as a reference for research on Japanese religious history?

It can be used as supplementary material, especially for specific figures and event leads concerning the Baha'i Faith's spread in Japan. But it should not be the sole basis; professional research also requires academic monographs, archives, and accounts from other perspectives to form a fuller picture.

How difficult is the English original?

Overall it is a general-audience narrative with not overly complex sentences, but it involves religious terminology, personal names, and Japanese historical background, so beginners may need reference works. Readers with intermediate English reading ability and an interest in religious history can usually finish it without much trouble.

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