"Rambelli has written an altogether seminal study of East Asian Buddhist material culture and its importance to especially Japan's social worlds. This is the stuff of life, and Rambelli handles it expertly."—Pamela Winfield, H-Net Reviews.

"The broad and ambitious scope of this study warrants praise...This is an extraordinary volume whose impact will be felt for some time."—James L. Ford, Journal of Japanese Studies.

"Rambelli's Buddhist Materiality will exert long-lasting influence in a number of fields, including Buddhist studies, Japanese religions, Japanese history, and material culture studies."—Lori Meeks, The Journal of Religion

"Buddhist Materiality, a powerful study in seven chapters....[The book] represents a provocative and important contribution to the field of Japanese studies, Buddhist studies and material religion."—Barbara Ambros, Material Religion.

"Rambelli's Buddhist Materiality certainly deserves the opportunity to be engaged by a broad readership. It is a difficult book...But...the reader's effort will be amply rewarded with insightful analysis of fascinating materials that have yet to receive scholarly attention. Specialists in Buddhist studies, Japanese religions, and material culture will likely get the most out of this book."—Stuart H. Young, Religious Studies Review.

"Rambelli displays considerable erudition, shows great familiarity with primary texts, and presents much material not otherwise available to readers of English. Especially valuable are his discussions of the Japanese understandings of 'nature' (which term he unpacks at length), myths and rituals that sacralize tools and professions, and rituals of thanking (and retiring) tools. More particularly, the author argues convincingly that the Buddhist origins of such attitudes and practices have been undervalued by past scholarship." —CHOICE

"Rambelli's book offers us new lenses to see what had been hidden in plain sight." —Monumenta Nipponica

Fabio Rambelli is Professor of Comparative Religions and Cultural Semiotics at Sapporo University, Japan. He has published several articles on Japanese religion and is the co-editor of Buddhas and Kami in Japan (2003). He has
also written two books in Japanese on issues of Italian cultural identity.