The ritual history of Japanese Tantric Buddhism, even during its purported medieval golden age, remains inadequately understood. Advanced consecration rituals, in particular, have been little studied, despite their crucial role in establishing the identity and legitimacy of Tantric practitioners. This talk examines one such ritual, known in contemporary documents as yugi kanjō, through an analysis of Taimitsu (Tendai Tantric Buddhist) sources. This consecration encapsulates the Tantric approach to ultimate realization through distinctive practices of body marking and self-consecration. While the ritual has frequently been characterized as heterodox, an expansive reading of Taimitsu sources suggest continuity with established continental practices, underscoring the necessity of reconceptualizing Japanese Tantric Buddhist history within a broader trans-regional framework.

Lucia Dolce is Numata Professor of Japanese Buddhism at SOAS, University of London, and Chair of the Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions. Her research explores discursive and ritual practices of religion in Japan combining archival survey, philosophical analysis and fieldwork. She currently is a visiting research fellow at Nichibunken to complete a project that maps out the medieval Tantric discourse on ritual body.

This hybrid lecture will be held on site (registration required in advance from here) and via Zoom.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85467084761

Meeting ID: 854 6708 4761

Lafcadio Hearn (1854–1904) was a remarkable figure who introduced Japanese culture to the West during the Meiji era. Beginning his literary journey with explorations of voodoo traditions in New Orleans and the Caribbean, he later turned his attention to Japan, where he translated and retold ghost stories, folktales, legends, and proverbs, bringing these traditions to the Anglophone world. Despite his significant contributions, his work has often been dismissed, particularly in English-speaking academic circles, for its perceived fascination with the strange and the exotic, and critiqued as a product of “Orientalism.”

After a year of commemorations marking the 120th anniversary of his death, and before a national broadcast reflecting on his life and work, this lecture offers a timely reexamination of Hearn’s writings. It highlights their role in preserving and sharing Japanese folklore and supernatural tales, while also connecting them to the modern concept of folk horror, a genre that delves into the darker aspects of rural beliefs and traditions.

This lecture celebrates Hearn’s enduring legacy, showcasing his ability to bridge diverse cultural worlds and reminding us of the profound impact his storytelling continues to have on our understanding of culture, history, and the supernatural.

François Lachaud  is a professor of Japanese studies at the École française d’Extrême-Orient. His research focuses on the religious and cultural history of early modern Japan. He is the coediter of Mastering Languages, Taming the World: The Production and Circulation of European Dictionaries and Lexicons of Asian Languages (16th–19th Centuries) (EFEO, 2023).

This hybrid lecture will be held on site (registration required in advance from here) and via Zoom.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoomus/j/87636340538

Meeting ID: 876 3634 0538

In December 1879, the Foreign Missions of Paris opened a missionary post in Kyoto.  Dwarfed between the main Buddhist headquarters and the American Board, a Protestant missionary organization, Aimé Villion, the first French priest living in the city between 1879 and 1889, and a handful of Japanese lay catechists strove to increase the fame of the “Old Doctrine” (kyūkyō), a term often used in “modernizing Japan” to label Catholicism. This lecture, based on a vast array of primary sources—local newspapers, Catholic booklets and periodicals, and letters sent by Villion to Paris—, will provide a tentative understanding of how the Church pictured itself in 1880s Kyoto and what kind of people were attracted to its message.

Martin Nogueira Ramos is an associate professor in Japanese studies at the École Française d’Extrême-Orient. His research focuses on the history of Christianity in early modern and modern Japan. Recently, he has coedited D’un empire, l’autre: premières rencontres entre la France et le Japon au xixe siècle (EFEO, 2021) and Aspects of Lived Religion in Late Medieval and Early Modern Japan (Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 32, 2023).

This hybrid lecture will be held on site (registration required in advance from here) and via Zoom.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86894570779

Meeting ID: 868 9457 0779

Registration is required.

Please, register through the QR code on the pamphlet or the following link:

シンポジウム “Affecting Spiritual Healing, Re-making (Alternative) Worlds”SYMPOSIUM　　＊＊＊NO ARCHIVES AVAILABLE＊＊＊ 
Affecting Spiritual Healing, Re-making (Alter… powered by Peatix : More than a ticket. Peatix

Registration deadlines:

– “Discussing” part only: 2024/12/05

– “Discussing” and “Experiencing” parts: 2024/11/30

This symposium explores the relationships between anthropology, phenomenology, spiritual healing, and the transformative process of remaking worlds. The focus is on lived experiences of healing that go beyond medical interventions, emphasizing affects, feelings, and bodily perceptions.

Phenomenological research has highlighted the significance of “remaking a world” in healing processes. This concept, proposed by Das et al. (2001), refers to the transformative efforts by communities and individuals in response to traumatic and insidious violence, addressing suffering, enduring, working through, breaking apart, or transcending the impact of violence at various levels – local worlds, interpersonal relations, and individual lives.

While widely accepted, the concept has faced several criticisms. It has been critiqued for overemphasizing narrative, neglecting the lived, embodied experiences of healing and the structural constraints on individuals’ capacities to transform their realities. Other criticisms include that it overlooks the collective dimensions of healing and may be too rooted in Western individualism, failing to adequately account for non-Western perspectives.

This symposium aims to bridge these gaps by providing accounts of religious and spiritual healing across diverse ethnographic contexts. By focusing on affects, feelings, and bodily perceptions, it highlights the importance of intersubjective lived experiences in the making and remaking of new, different, alternative worlds. By analyzing these transformative processes, it aims to contribute to the understanding of how individuals and communities navigate and transcend their experiences of suffering, ultimately creating new worlds and ways of being in the world which connect to their wellbeing.

The symposium is divided into two parts: “discussing” and “experiencing.” In the “discussing” part, scholars academically explore the topic in a traditional symposium format. In the “experiencing” part, participants engage with the core themes of the symposium through their senses and perception. The goal is to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the topic by integrating both halves.

Program

Saturday, December 7th

DISCUSSING

1:00 PM – 1:05 PM: Andrea De Antoni (Kyoto University)

Opening Remarks and Symposium Overview

1:05 PM – 2:30 PM: Keynote Lecture: Thomas Csordas (UC San Diego)

Alterity and Identity in Religious Healing: The Case of Roman Catholic Exorcism

2:30 PM – 2:40 PM: Coffee Break

2:40 PM – 3:20 PM: Ran Muratsu (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)

Distancing from the Emerged “Thing”: Religious Healing and Biomedicines in Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in Benin

3:20 PM – 4:00 PM: Daniela Calvo (JSPS, Kyoto University)

Remaking a World in Afro-Brazilian Religions. Meaning-Making, Affects and Spiritual Healing Among Brazilian Immigrants in Japan

4:00 PM – 4:10 PM: Coffee Break

4:10 PM – 4:50 PM: Junko Iida (Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare)

Cutting the Birth, Unbinding the Spirit: Exorcist Rituals in Northern Thailand

4:50 PM – 5:45 PM: General Discussion 1

EXPERIENCING

5:45 PM – 6:00 PM: Move to Seibu Hall

6:00 PM~: Networking Event (Catering, Buffet, Provider TBD)

6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Thomas Csordas Live Performance

7:10 PM – 8:10 PM: ALKDO Live Performance

Sunday, December 8th

10:30 AM – 10:35 AM: Andrea De Antoni (Kyoto University)

Opening Remarks

10:35 AM – 11:15 AM: Miho Ishii (Kyoto University)

From Passion to Compassion: Healing Rituals in an Independent Church in Southern Ghana

11:15 AM – 11:55 AM: Fumihiko Tsumura (Meijo University)

Something Rises: The Materiality of Possession and Magical Powers in Northeastern Thailand

11:55 AM – 12:05 PM: Coffee Break

12:05 PM – 12:45 PM: Andrea De Antoni (Kyoto University)

All Around me are Familiar Faces, Worn-out Places: Feelings and Environments (Re-)Making the Spirit Worlds in Contemporary Okinawa

12:45 – 13:00: Thomas Csordas (UC San Diego)

General Comments

13:00 PM – 1:30 PM: General Discussion 2

Overview of the “Experiencing” Part

This live performance aims to enrich the symposium experience by offering cultural and emotional perspectives aligned with the workshop’s theme. Thomas Csordas is not only known for his groundbreaking research in anthropology and phenomenology and as the keynote speaker of this symposium, but he is also a talented singer-songwriter. He composes acoustic folk-rock music, focusing particularly on protest songs. His performance blends academic discourse, artistic expression, and insights on “remaking alternative worlds,” thereby enriching the symposium experience. The combination of performance and academic discussion allows the event to explore the theme not only intellectually but also through lived, sensory experiences.

Additionally, the invitation of the band “ALKDO” is particularly significant in relation to the symposium’s theme of “constructing alternative worlds.” Operating from the cultural center “Hashinoshita-ya,” which they run by renovating a traditional Japanese house in Toyota City, ALKDO has built strong ties with the local community. Their music fosters understanding and empathy across cultures, offering participants experiences that transcend daily routines. Formed around frontman Yoshiki Nagayama and percussionist Take Mai of the large ensemble band TURTLE ISLAND, ALKDO blends Asian sounds and beats into their unique style called “Acoustic Asian Trad Punk.” Through their activities at Hashinoshita-ya, they incorporate traditional Japanese cultural practices, creating a space where diverse people gather to explore music, art, and communal living. ALKDO’s music resonates deeply through emotions and physical perception, promoting empathy and understanding beyond individual senses.

Such a post-symposium event is expected to complement discussions on cultural diversity and hopes for a sustainable future, providing participants with deep insights and inspiration beyond scholarly discussions.

PERFOMERS’ PROFILES

Thomas Csordas

Thomas Csordas is known for groundbreaking research in anthropology and phenomenology, and he is the keynote speaker of this symposium. Additionally, he is a talented singer-songwriter who composes acoustic folk-rock music, particularly focusing on music production that emphasizes protest and resistance.

ALKDO（https://www.tunecore.co.jp/artists/ALKDO?lang=ja）

ALKDO is a minimal formation consisting of Yoshiki Nagayama (Vo, G), the frontman of the large ensemble band “TURTLE ISLAND,” which operates domestically and internationally based in Toyota City, Mikawa, Aichi Prefecture, and Take Mai (Vo, Taiko), forming an acoustic Asian trad punk duo. They express a world of music and songs that ride on Asian rhythms and beats, embodying a spirit that is simple yet distinctive. While their core is two members, they continuously tour nationwide, adapting their lineup with various members from different places over time. Since 2012, they have co-hosted the Hashinoshita World Music Festival with the microAction label and operate the traditional house-renovated cultural center “Hashinoshita-ya” near Toyota City Station. Beyond music, they actively create a communication space where various expressions and diverse people gather locally on a daily basis. The band name “ALKDO/アルコド” derives from Yoshiki’s roots on the Korean Peninsula; “al” in Hangul means “naked,” and “kdo” stands for “TURTLE ISLAND,” collectively translating to “Naked Turtle Island” or in essence, “Acoustic Turtle Island.”

Hybrid Workshop November 15-16, 2024

Workshop website

Flyer and Full Program Download

Concept

The concept of distance has evolved to encompass far more than mere physical separation. Today, distance represents a complex interplay of social, economic, logistical, psychological, and demographic dimensions, each influencing and reshaping the spaces we inhabit, whether physical, virtual, or abstract. This event (in its third edition) aims to explore the multidisciplinary implications of various forms of distancing, highlighting how these concepts have spurred innovative theoretical and practical developments across different research fields. The dynamic interaction between different types of distances, as aimed throughout this Workshop, is fostering new perspectives and research paradigms that are crucial for addressing contemporary challenges in a multidimensional mode.

This hybrid Workshop will be held on site and via Zoom 

For in-person participation, registration is required in advance by November 13th. Please, register here.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84891456718

Zoom Meeting ID: 848 9145 6718

We are planning a dinner with the speakers and in-person participants after the Workshop on the 15th. If you wish to join, please register through the link above by November 7th.