“A small country called China”: sannō shintō and the development of honji suijaku

Emanuela Sala (SOAS)

Buddhist Initiatory Rituals (abhiseka) and the Transmission of Music in Medieval Japan

Dr Chihiro Inose (Nagoya University)

Prosthetic Revelations: Sticking Truth to the Body in Sūkyō Mahikari

Dr Philip Swift (University College London)

Migrants and Religious Diversification in Contemporary Japan

Prof Norihito Takahashi (Toyo University)

Holy Horses! The Amano Shrine and the Sacred and Political Control of the Kōyasan Mountain Domain

Dr Philip Garrett (Newcastle University)

Mind Control, Coercion, or Blind Faith? Auto-biographical Narratives of Former Aum Shinrikyō Members and Reflections on Executions of Death Row Inmates

Dr Rin Ushiyama (University of Cambridge)

Entangled Bodies: Extreme Transcriptions in Japanese Buddhist Art

Dr Halle O’Neal (University of Edinburgh)

Itako: Visions (2017)

Dr Marianna Zanetta and Mr Edmondo Perrone

The Kojiki and Shamanism: A Study of Holy Feast in the Scene of Ōkuninushi’s Transfer of State

Dr Maral Andassova (Wako University and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies)

Buddhism and 'Violence' in The Tales of Heike

Dr Rajyashree Pandey (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Ritual Entrails: The Ox-Bezoar Empowerment for Safe Childbirth in Heian Japan

Dr Benedetta Lomi (University of Bristol)

Enacting Antiquity in 20th-century Japan: Orikuchi Shinobu's "Okinawa"

Dr Chiara Ghidini (University of Naples)

From Ritual to Practice: Tatakau (fighting) Daimoku, the Gohonzon and Buppō in Soka Gakkai

Dr Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen (SOAS)

Gender, Ritual, and Needlecraft in Early Modern Japan

Dr Christine Guth (Royal College of Art)

Fukan Habian: A Japanese Christian Convert on the Offensive in 1605

Prof Richard Bowring (University of Cambridge)

Almost Famous: Dainichi Nōnin and Early Zen

Dr Vincent Breugem (ACLS Robert N. Ho Family Foundation Scholar in Buddhist Studies / SOAS)

Ritual, Architecture, and Deep Cosmological Content: A Semiotic Approach to the Tea Ceremony

Dr Manar Hammad (Emeritus, University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle)

Promoting a ‘Religion’, a ‘Culture’, or Both?: Cultural Negotiation of a Japanese New Religion in Postwar France

Kato Masato (SOAS)

In the Sovereign's Presence: Nakamaro and the creation of Fujiwara Authority in 8th century Japan

Dr Mikael Bauer (Leeds)

Documentary screening: “Souls of Zen” (2012)

Tim Graf (University of Heidelberg)

Sexual Imagery in Japanese Religious Belief: Western Perceptions and Eastern Reactions

Dr Stephen Turnbull (SOAS)

Making Sacred Forests: Shinto, Environmentalism, and Chinju no Mori

Prof Aike P. Rots (University of Oslo)

The Tale of the Heike and an Imperial Consort: Tōfukumon’in’s Appreciation of Heike Picture Scrolls after Childbirth

Dr Naoko Gunji (Independent Scholar)

Pilgrimage, Tourism and Secularization in Contemporary Japan

Ian Reader (Lancaster University)

Gods and Demons of Medieval Japan

Bernard Faure (Columbia University)

Tendai Esoteric Buddhism (Taimitsu): Reconsidering its distinctive features in the early Heian period

Okubo Ryoshun (Waseda University)

Yoga, Meditation, and Spirituality in Contemporary Japan and Britain

Masayuki Ito (Aichi Gakuin University and SOAS)

Guardians of the Eastern Pacific Borders: A Re-examination of the Ritual of the Southern Izu islands

Jane Alaszewski (SOAS, University of London)

The Rhythm of Religious Change: Daily Prayer and Sense of Belonging among Nepalese Followers of a Japanese New Religion

Marilena Frisone (University of Cambridge)

Not-Yet Ascetics: Learning, Ethics and Ritual Enunciation in a Shugendō Community of Contemporary Japan

Tatsuma Padoan

Japanese Buddhism: The Development of an Idea in the Context of Empire (1880s-1940s)

Orion Klautau (Heidelberg University)

Tiantai Zhiyi's Notion of Sakyamuni Buddha: Understanding the Buddha as a Father

Tamura Kanji (Risshô University/Harvard University)

Intersections of Religion and Media in 1980s-1990s Japan

Erica Baffelli (University of Manchester)

Ascetic Practices in Japanese Religion

Tullio Lobetti

The Forgotten First London Buddhist Mission, 1889-1892: Charles J W Pfoundes and the Kaigai Senkyôkai

Brian Bocking

Martyr versus Betrayer. The European Discourse about Tokugawa Persecution Towards Christians in the 17th Century

Ana Fernandes Pinto

Japanese Buddhists and Twentieth-Century Imperialism

John LoBreglio

The Jesuit Mission Press in Early Modern Japan

Professor Ikuo Higashibaba (Tenri University)

Christian Religious Practices in Early Modern Japan

Carla Tronu Montane (Autonomous University of Madrid)

A Tale of Two Buddhisms. Will the 'Real' Buddhism Please Stand Up?

Brian Daizen Victoria (Antioch University)

Sandalwood Images (Danzō) of Kannon: Material, Form and Religious Functions

Christian Boehm

Interpretations and Transformations of the ‘Mother of All Buddhas’ in Medieval Shingon Buddhism

Steven Trenson (Kyōto University)

The fire Ritual of Japanese Mountain Ascetics

Claudio Caniglia

Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan: Soka Gakkai Youth and Komeito

Anne Mette Fisker-Nielsen (SOAS)

The presentation will be followed by a reception

Evil’s Threats, Pain’s Problems and Life’s Limits : Natural, Social and Faith Perspectives

Michiya MURATA

Historical Documents and Cultural Materials in the Study of Modern Japanese Buddhism: Varieties of Materials in Bonreki Movement

Masahiko Okada (Tenri University)

A Forgotten Buddhist Astronomy: History of Bonreki Movement in 19th Century Japan

Masahiko Okada (Tenri University)

Making Buddhist Ancestors: Portrait-Statues at Baoshan

Wendy L. Adamek (University of Sydney)

KanZeOn by Neil Cantwell and Tim Grabham 2011, running time: 81 min The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the directors

Schopenhauer: Europe's First Buddhist?

Dr Urs App

Fanshi Dansu (Fancy dance) by Masayuki Suo, 1989, running time: 102 min

The Great Image has No Form: Towards a Daoist Visual Theory

Dr Gil Raz (Dartmouth)

Fragment by Sasaki Makoto, 2008, running time: 93 min

Kamigami no fukaki yokubo (Profound Desire of the Gods)** by Imamura Shôhei, 1968, running time: 173 min

Where Mountains Fly by Sandra and Karina Roth, 2008, running time: 60 min

Onmyôji** by Takita Yôjirô, 2001, running time: 112 min

Okuribito (Departures)** by Takita Yôjirô, 2008, running time: 130 min

Christianity and sacred space in Nagasaki

Carla Tronu Montané (SOAS)

A single history of Christianity in East Asia: China-Japan interaction of the past and East Asian Christianities today.

Dr Kiri Paramore (Leiden University)

Invisible eclipses: social and religious factors in the history of Japanese calendrical astronomy, 877-1268

Kristina Buhrman (University of Southern California)

Catholic Missionaries and Medieval Japan

Dr Kenji Igawa (Osaka University)

Women in Japanese Faith-Based Volunteer Groups: From Continuity to Innovation

Paola Cavaliere (University of Sheffield)

Phallicism and Fertility in Contemporary Japan: Ancient Traditions or Urban Myths? 

Dr Stephen Turnbull (University of Leeds)

Buddhist Eschatology and the Design of Dazhusheng Cave, Henan

Dr Wendi Adamek (University of Sydney)

The Rebirth of Buddha

by director Takaaki Ishiyama (2009)

Zen

by director Takahashi Banmei (2009)

Fragment

by director Makoto Sasaki (2008)

Suwa Onbashira Festival 1992

by director Kitamura Minao (1992)

Where Mountains Fly

by directors Sandra and Karina Roth (2008)

The Funeral (お葬式 Osōshiki)

by director Itami Juzo (1984)

Onmyōji

by director Takita Yōjirō

Printing and the Visual Representation of Linguistic Data in the Discovery of Ancient Japan

Professor William M. Bodiford (UCLA)

Practising Christianity in Early Modern Japan: Symbol, Prayer, and Mirror

Professor Ikuo Higashibaba (Tenri University)

Jordan Lectures: Nothingness and Desire: A Philosophical Antiphony

James Heisig (Nanzan University)

JRC Tsuda fellowship lecture

Kigensan Licha (Soas)

Toshiba Lectures: Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan (Yale)

Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan (Yale)

Two Supernovae and the Buddhist Astronomical Imagination in Japan of the 11th Century

Ghostly Vagabonds and Spiritual Ecology in Ancient Japan

Michael Como (Columbia)

Agon Buddhism: An Original and Eclectic Approach

Paul Mitchell (Agon-shu Buddhist Association UK)

Christian Mission in Glocal Perspective: A Study of Christianity in Japan

Maki Salata (King's College)

Bodily Transformation or Changing World? Resistance to Buddhist Conceptions of the Feminine

Dr Saeko Kimura (Tsuda College)

Reflections on the ‘Awakening of Faith in Mahayana’ and its commentarial tradition

Michel Gauvain (University of Rome - La Sapienza)

Meiji Japanese Buddhist missionary activities in Korea before 1910

Dr Satona Suzuki (SOAS)

Concert: Konkokyo Kibigaku - Konkokyo Sacred Music (Tengaku) and Sacred Dance (Kibimai)

Konkokyo International Center performers

The Relationship between Sacredness and Secularity from the Religious and Legal Viewpoints: Focusing on the Buddhist Temples in the Edo period and the Anglican Church in the Tudor Age

Prof. Nobuyasu Kojima (Soka University - SOAS visiting scholar)

Minakata Kumagusu and Buddhism

Prof. Ryugo Matsui (Ryukoku University - CSJR academic visitor)

Tenrikyo: The Teachings by the Parent of all Mankind

Takeuchi Nobuyuki (Head minister of Kyokushi London Fukyosho)

Film: 'Hayama, the Mountain of the Spirits (Shoryo no Yama Hayama)'.

Satomi Horiuchi (SOAS)

Searching for the Meaning of Nature: Farming and Healing in Okada Mokichi.

Masaaki Okada (SOAS)

Harmony within Diversity - On the Creation of a Zen Garden at Three Wheels

Prof. Taira Kemmyō Satō (SOAS Professorial Research Associate -Trustee of the London Shōgyōji Trust and Director of Three Wheels)

The Esotericization of Buddhist Precepts in Japan

Dr. Klaus Pinte (Ghent University - Ghent)

The Vision and Art of a Buddhist Master, Shinjo Ito

Dr. Patrick M. O'Connor

Portrait of a Dream: Depictions of Revelatory Visions by Medieval Japanese Monks

Dr. Ive Covaci (Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures)

Dimensions of Song Esoteric Buddhism

Prof. Charles D. Orzech (University of North Carolina - Greensboro)

Film: 'Death and Rebirth in the Mountains: The Ascetic Training of Shugenja Japanese Practitioners'

Dr. Gaynor Sekimori (SOAS) - Mr. Tullio Lobetti (SOAS)

Music for the Gods: Performance Practice in the Kamisama Ogami Ritual of the Southern Izu Islands

Jane Alaszewska (SOAS)

Knowledge of Liminal Spaces: Fieldwork Experiences and Methodological Objectivity in the Analysis of the Practices of Contemporary Japanese Ascetics.

Tullio Lobetti (SOAS)

O-take Dainichi Nyorai, or How a Servant Woman in Edo Became an Icon of Haguro Shugendo

Dr. Gaynor Sekimori (SOAS - Kokugakuin University)

Motoori Norinaga's Thoughts on Astronomy

Prof. Tayama Reishi (Bukkyô University, Kyoto)

Oracles specialists and shugendô: the field of Japanese ethnology

Anne Bouchy (EFEO/Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail)

Myth and History in Sacred Biography

Miyamoto Yôtaro (Kansai University)

The Sei Iesu Kyôkai: Rejection, Indigenization and the Formulation of Identity in a Japanese Pentecostal Community

Aike Rots (SOAS)

Eisai (Yôsai) and Tendai Esoteric Buddhism: The doctrinal system of a ritual practitioner

Shinya Mano (SOAS)

Eisai (Yôsai) and Tendai Esoteric Buddhism: The doctrinal system of a ritual practitioner

Belief in print: the senshafuda tradition

Rebecca Salter (Chelsea College of Art, London)

Belief in print: the senshafuda tradition

Jisha-engi, reizan-engi, shugendô-engi: Aspects of Japanese Foundation Narratives

Carina Roth (Université de Genève/ EPHE Paris)

Jisha-engi, reizan-engi, shugendô-engi: Aspects of Japanese Foundation Narratives

Representations of the Body, Sex and Eroticism in medieval Buddhist literature

Raj Pandey (La Trobe University)

Representations of the Body, Sex and Eroticism in medieval Buddhist literature

Rituals in Dôgen's Zen

Christian Steineck (Goethe-University Frankfurt /Main)

Rituals in Dôgen's Zen

The Yamato katsuragi hôzanki: Ryôbu Shintô and the Semiotic Construction of Medieval Mythological Discourse

Tatsuma Padoan (University of Venice Ca’ Foscari)

The Yamato katsuragi hôzanki: Ryôbu Shintô and the Semiotic Construction of Medieval Mythological Discourse

Sukyo Mahikari: God's Light and Universal Principles

Sidney Chang (scientist and SM consultant)

Sukyo Mahikari: God's Light and Universal Principles

Evoking and Appeasing Spirits: Portraits of Emperor Antoku and the Taira and the Illustrated Story of Emperor Antoku in Ritual Context

Naoko Gunji (SISJAC)

Evoking and Appeasing Spirits: Portraits of Emperor Antoku and the Taira and the Illustrated Story of Emperor Antoku in Ritual Context

Standardizing the Buddhas: Reconsidering the Elite/Popular Distinction in Japanese Buddhism through the Lens of the Meiji Period

John Lo Breglio (UC Santa Barbara). Postgraduate Forum

Standardizing the Buddhas: Reconsidering the Elite/Popular Distinction in Japanese Buddhism through the Lens of the Meiji Period

Preachers and Preaching Techniques in Medieval and Pre-modern Japan

Hartmut Rotermund (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes)

Preachers and Preaching Techniques in Medieval and Pre-modern Japan

The Queen Mother cult and Miwa rulers of Early Kofun Japan

Gina Barnes (SOAS)

The Queen Mother cult and Miwa rulers of Early Kofun Japan

A Buddhist Renaissance? Shifting Paradigms and Subverting Traditions within Japan's "Funeral" Buddhist Temples

John Nelson (University of San Francisco)

A Buddhist Renaissance? Shifting Paradigms and Subverting Traditions within Japan's "Funeral" Buddhist Temples

The Construction of Japanese Christian Communities in Early Modern Japan

Carla Tronu Montane (SOAS). Postgraduate Forum

The Construction of Japanese Christian Communities in Early Modern Japan

"Picturing" the Rhetoric of Salvation: The Reception and Illustration of Chujohime's Legend

Monica Dix (SISJAC)

"Picturing" the Rhetoric of Salvation: The Reception and Illustration of Chujohime's Legend

Fudô: Japanese Versions of a Tantric Deity

Clemente Beghi (Cambridge University). Postgraduate Forum

Fudô: Japanese Versions of a Tantric Deityi

The Iconoclasm of Sacred Space: The Mythology of shinbutsu bunri

Gaynor Sekimori (University of Tokyo)

The Iconoclasm of Sacred Space: The Mythology of shinbutsu bunri