In 1928, Eizō Okano founded a new religion, Gedatsu-kai. He called for a return to the traditional heritage of Japanese religion while developing new rituals for practice in the home and at a new Sacred Land. H. Byron Earhart traces the origins of Gedatsu-kai in its founder's experiences and documents the movement's growth using a variety of methods—life histories of members, a nationwide member survey, and participant observation of meetings and major rituals. Earhart's extensive fieldwork provides a comprehensive description of Gedatsu-kai as well as an interpretation of its place in the broader religious world of contemporary Japan.
