Fake It till You Make It: Baudrillard, Simulation, and Ritual in Japan.

The article explores how simulation is mobilized by ritual technologies in Japan by considering the argument of social theorist Jean Baudrillard that simulation was conditioned by novel technological possibilities. Topics discussed include simulation in the ethnographic context such as how Christian...

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Published in:Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 230 - 254
Main Author: Swift, Philip
Format: Article
Published: University of Pennsylvania Press Spring2026
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Fake It till You Make It: Baudrillard, Simulation, and Ritual in Japan.
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        au: Swift, Philip
        affil: University College London
      su:
        Simulation methods & models
        Technology
        Ritual
        Weddings
        Mountains
        Christianity
        Spirituality
        Baudrillard, Jean, 1929-2007
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          Simulation methods & models
          Technology
          Ritual
          Weddings
          Mountains
          Christianity
          Spirituality
          Baudrillard, Jean, 1929-2007
      keyword:
        anthropology
        Christian weddings
        fujizuka
        Japan
        Jean Baudrillard
        liminality
        mimesis
        ritual
        simulation
        technology
        transformation
      ab: The article explores how simulation is mobilized by ritual technologies in Japan by considering the argument of social theorist Jean Baudrillard that simulation was conditioned by novel technological possibilities. Topics discussed include simulation in the ethnographic context such as how Christianity effects might be created at a wedding and the issue of imitation mountains, which are regarded as elevated access points to spiritual power, the status of simulacrum and its character as copy.
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    language: English
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