(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)Ugo Dessi, Japanese Religions and Globalization London and York: Routledge, 2013 [Routledge Studies in Asian Religion and Philosophy]. 191 pages. $140.00. isbn 978- 0-415-81170-5.Japanese religions are increasingly shaped by global influences, their leaders actively incorporate global themes into their religious discourse, and they clearly seek to influence other cultures beyond the Japanese archipelago. Yet, very few stud- ies have considered the interactions between Japanese religions and globalization. Ugo Dessi's monograph not only represents an effort to address this gap, but also provides a solid foundation for the understanding of these complex dynamics.The book ambitious in both scope and theoretical perspective, as Dessi integrates his previous work to an array of approaches to religion and cultural globalization to propose a typology of fourteen modes in which Japanese religions participate in global dynamics. He applies this typology to a broad diversity of case studies covering almost all Japanese religious expressions, both in and outside Japan: traditional Buddhism, Shinto, new religions, and even New Age-like phenomena like macrobiotics and Zen meditation. For each type in his framework, which I summarize below, Dessi gener- ally provides in-depth material, systematically linlcing the evidence to insights from the social sciences, religious studies, and Japanese studies. Drawing from sources in English, Japanese, and German, Dessi demonstrates an admirable lcnowledge of Japa- nese religions, which he combines with recent sociological theories.The volume, however, is not a comprehensive overview of religion in contem- porary Japan, but an analysis of the global implications of several selected case stud- ies in terms of the typology presented (10). Furthermore, Dessi acknowledges the possibility that the types outlined in his theoretical framework appear combined in certain phenomena, or even that different typologies may be valid in a given socio- religious context.In an effort to avoid the risk of cultural bias, chapter 1 addresses two method- ological issues: the definition of religion, and the periodization of globalization. First, Dessi reviews a number of definitions of religion, questioning both Western/ Christian-informed definitions that prove problematic in the Japanese context, as well as extreme critiques that reject the concept of religion or overemphasize Japa- nese emic understandings. For Dessi, religion a social subsystem that controls access to both worldly and otherworldly goods through the authority of some super-empirical agency (16). This working definition would take into account the characteristics of the Japanese religious culture, while it embraces a broader variety of empirical phenomena... that are perceived by most Japanese people as 'non-religious' (16). Secondly, Dessi critiques social science theories that conceive globalization as deriving from Western modernity, and builds upon the Oriental globalization thesis to suggest that Japan was involved in global dynamics before the Meiji period, given the archipelago's historical integration into the area of influence of China-the leading global power until the nineteenth century. Accordingly, pro- cesses of relativization, hybridization, and functional differentiation were already at work in Japan before the extensive import of Western modern culture. The focus of the book, nonetheless, on the contemporary period of accelerated globalization.Chapter 2 analyzes Japanese religions' global-minded attitudes toward other reli- gions. It first discusses the claims of religious pluralism (type 1) in the Religious Summit at Mount Hiei arranged by the Tendaishu ... and other Japanese reli- gious organizations, as well as interreligious activities promoted by Rissho Koseikai .... Beyond their pluralistic claims, however, examples taken also from the Japan Buddhist Federation (Zen-Nihon Bukkyokai . …