Various groups and societies that have appeared throughout European history. Focusing on the religious and esoteric principles that run through them: "Friendship and Secrecy," this work comparatively examines the ideological trends and organizational forms related to their rituals and symbols. It reconsiders the groups and societies that became one of the driving forces behind the formation of modern civil society and continue to exist today, from the perspective of social and cultural history. Common sense will be overturned. This is a new item, but please refrain from purchasing if you are overly concerned about minor details. Author: Katsumi Fukazawa (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo) Mariko Sakurai (Emeritus Professor, University of Tokyo) University of Tokyo Press [Table of Contents] Introduction (Katsumi Fukazawa) Preface: The Organizing Principles and Ideological Genealogy of Friendship Societies and Secret Societies (Katsumi Fukazawa) Part I: The Religious Historical Context of Friendship Societies Chapter 1: The Eleusinian Mysteries and the Orphic Mysteries (Mariko Sakurai) Chapter 2: Esotericism, Revelation, and Innovation (Toshiyuki Chiba) Chapter 3: The Brotherhoods of Medieval Bruges and Urban Rituals (Atsushi Kawahara) Chapter 4: Comets, the End of the World, and the Popularity of Rosicrucianism (Vladimir Urbánek) Chapter 5: The Edict of Toleration by Joseph II and "Fanatics" (Takashi Shinohara) Part II: Various Forms of Friendship Societies and Secret Societies Chapter 6: From the Maltese Cross to the Red Cross (Sugiko Nishikawa) Chapter 7: Freemasonry's Social Space and Esoteric Thought (Katsumi Fukazawa) Chapter 8: Secret Societies and the State (Shunsuke Katsuta) Chapter 9: Italian Exiles and Freemasons in Interwar France (Akio Kitamura) Afterword (Mariko Sakurai)