Book Reviews

An Amazing Review of the Book - Miwa

Bringing the book to Kurama - Linda Crawford

Healing Stories about the Book

A Great Review -

Heartful, beautifully designed, illustrated & bound, this is the result of
thorough research and personal experience gained on 80+ pilgrimages to Mount Kurama, just north of Kyoto City. Kurama is in many ways like hundreds or thousands of others in Japan- studded with little shrines and temples, a popular outing for city dwellers and the site of a festival of regional fame. From this modest introduction, the author proceeds to show the reader how and why this place captures her and why it holds an important place the hearts of Japanese and visitors, whether they are interested in its many spiritual traditions (Reiki being only one), or simply wanting a getaway from the urban buzz.

This no-nonsense spiritual guidebook has the quality of a Miyazaki Hayao
anime like Princess Mononoke- historical and spiritual facts interwoven
create an overall picture of reality that is much closer to people's actual
experience than any purely mythical or historical account could ever be. I
love the timeline that presents the arrival of Commander Perry (from the US)
and the arrival of Tengu (from Planet Venus) with equal gravity (not a
technique recommended for highschool textbooks, but highly appropriate for a book that traces a spiritual history).

While written by an outsider to Japanese society, it succeeds at
representing many of the myths and stories in the same way and quality that
Japanese people know and think of them. At the same time, it has solid
advice to help the non-Japanese speaking visitor navigate food, toilets and
trains (no doubt many insights gained in painful trial and error) as well as
the finer points of energy dialogue with trees and rocks, explained in the
same down-to-earth language.

This is a book any visitor of Kyoto or fan of Japanese culture should have,
whether they are interested in Reiki or not. For the person interested in
healing, it is an excellent introduction to the author's unique approach,
refeshingly free of new age-y fluff. Perhaps the most comprehensive book on
any spiritual place in Japan writen for a popular audience.
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Miwa Tabmow, Reiki Practitioner