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Shin has long been one of the most popular forms of Buddhism in Japan. As a devotional tradition that emphasizes gratitude and trust in Amida Buddha, it is thought to have little to do with secrecy. Yet for centuries, Shin Buddhists met on secluded mountains, in homes, and in the backrooms of stores to teach their hidden doctrines and hold clandestine rites. Among their adherents was D. T. Suzuki's mother, who took her son to Shin's covert meetings when he was a boy. Even among Shin experts, covert followers were relatively unknown. A serendipitous encounter, however, led to the author's introduction to the leader of a covert Shin Buddhist group—one of several that to this day conceal the very existence of their beliefs and practices. This book explains how and why they have remained hidden. It introduces the histories, doctrines, and practices of different covert Shin Buddhists. It shows how, despite assumptions to the contrary, secrecy has been a significant part of Shin's history since the thirteenth century. It also demonstrates how secrecy in Shin has long been both a source of conflict and a response to it. Some covert Shin Buddhists were persecuted because of their secrecy, while others used it to protect themselves from persecution under rulers hostile to Shin. The book sheds light on ignored corners of Shin Buddhism to reveal a much richer, more diverse, and more contested tradition than commonly is understood.

Religious acculturation is typically seen as a one-way process: The dominant religious culture imposes certain behavioral patterns, ethical standards, social values, and organizational and legal requirements onto the immigrant religious tradition. This investigation of the early period of Jōdo Shinshū in Hawaii and the United States sets a new standard for investigating the processes of religious acculturation and a radically new way of thinking about these processes. The use of materials spans the Pacific as the book draws on never-before-studied archival works in Japan as well as the United States. More important, it locates immigrant Jōdo Shinshū at the interface of two expansionist nations. Because Jōdo Shinshū’s institutional history in the United States and the Pacific occurs at a contested interface, the book defines its acculturation as a dual process of both “Japanization” and “Americanization.” It explores in detail the activities of individual Shin Buddhist ministers responsible for making specific decisions regarding the practice of Jodo Shinshu in local sanghas. By focusing so closely, the book reveals the contestation of immigrant communities faced with discrimination and exploitation in their new homes and with changing messages from Japan. The strategies employed, whether accommodation to the dominant religious culture or assertion of identity, uncover the history of an American church in the making.