Shayne A. P. Dahl

I specialize in the anthropology of religion, with a focus on Japanese mountain asceticism (Shugendō), Buddhism, and the intersections of history, spirituality, and consciousness. My research is based on long-term fieldwork in Japan, but I have also done fieldwork in Mongolia, New Zealand, Peru, and among Blackfoot communities in North America. My first book, The Secret World of Shugendō: Sacred Mountains and the Search for Meaning in Post-Disaster Japan (2025, UNC Press), explores how religious practitioners negotiate secrecy, resilience, and meaning in the wake of catastrophe. Beyond Japan, I’m interested in global indigeneity, revitalization movements, and how religious practices shape human relationships with the environment and the cosmos.