Porcu (Ryukoku U., Kyoto) analyzes the role that the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, especially Shin Buddhism, has played in different aspects of Japanese modern and contemporary culture. She selected it as a case study because it is one of the largest and most influential religious traditions in Japan, but is little known outside the country, so is not weighted with Western conceptions of it. Her perspectives are creating imaging of Japanese Buddhism and culture, Jodo Shinshu and literature, creative arts, and the tea ceremony. The study originally served as her Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Marburg. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)