abstract:In topology and related areas of mathematics, a subset A of a topological space X is called dense (in X) if every point x in X either belongs to A or is a limit point of A. Informally, for every point in X, the point is either in A or arbitrarily "close" to a member of A - for instance, every real number is either a rational number or has one arbitrarily close to it (see Diophantine approximation).
Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites - Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan - linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula.
It's been translated into ten languages and seems set to become a best seller even though the rather dense philosophical arguments do not make it an easy read.