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Japanese Religion in Film Academics and Filmmakers, in Order to Reflect on New and Old Themes, Renew Long-Established Col- Laborations and Create New Ones

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Japanese Religion in Film Academics and Filmmakers, in Order to Reflect on New and Old Themes, Renew Long-Established Col- Laborations and Create New Ones Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions CSJR Newsletter 2011-2012 Issue 22-23 CSJR Newsletter • 2011-2012 • Issue 22-23 In this issue FROM THE CHAIR: 2 From the Centre Chair The last academic year was eventful in many respects, not least on account of the tragic events in Tōhoku. Many of our colleagues, students and friends were affected by the consequences of the earthquakes and our thoughts and hopes for a full recovery have often gone to them. Centre Activities 2010 marked the 10th Anniversary of the Newsletter and of the Centre’s research activities and we 3 CSJR Programme Overview celebrated it with a number of international events that saw a wonderful and diverse participation 4 Tenri Gagaku Concert and KanZeOn of scholars, students, and the public. In London we were able to welcome international experts, 5 Japanese Religion in Film academics and filmmakers, in order to reflect on new and old themes, renew long-established col- laborations and create new ones. A workshop on New Religions and Media opened the autumn term, followed by a workshop on Visual Cultures jointly organized with the Sainsbury Institute for Centre Activities Reports the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture. In the spring and summer we held two major workshops, co-sponsored with two Japanese research teams, which turned out to be especially fruitful: the 6 Mediating (new) Religions in Japan papers presented there are being prepared for publication in two collaborative volumes scheduled 7 Nothingness and Desire: A Philosophical to appear in 2012 and in 2013. In spring we also explored visual media with a film festival on Antiphony Shugendō dedicated to the late Carmen Blacker. Reports on all these activities are included in 8 Reassessing Buddhist Visual Culture this issue. The Centre also hosted the Jordan Lectureship on Comparative Religions, a series of 9 Combinatory Practices in Japan seminars endowed to the Department of the Study of Religions at SOAS, where Prof Jim Heisig 12 Documenting Religions Film Festival discussed the theoretical possibilities of Japanese philosophy. 15 Words Deities Icons Last year was also an extraordinary year for our graduate students: five of them completed their PhD! Our warmest congratulations to Satomi Horiuchi, Tullio Lobetti, Benedetta Lomi, Masaaki Research Notes Okada, and Fumi Ouchi! Kigensan Licha has also submitted his dissertation and is awaiting the viva. Through the years they have enriched the Centre with their diverse interests, which encom- pass themes from contemporary funerary practices, and medieval rituals, to theories (and practices) 18 Japanese Religious Art at the British Museum of the body and ideas of nature, from Buddhism to New Religions to Christianity. Their participa- 21 Exploring Ritual in Premodern Japan tion in the Centre’s activities (even while in the very last stages of their dissertation!) has been 24 A Glimpse into the Past crucial, as well as the help with Centre matters that they have often so generously offered. We wish them all the best in their future careers, and we hope to read their contributions to the field Postgraduate in the very near future. From the institutional perspective it is also good to see research that was sponsored by CSJR grants being completed (Tullio Lobetti was the holder of a CSJR studentship 28 MA Japanese Religions and Kigensan Licha of a research bursary). We hope to be able to offer again in the future such 28 Postgraduate Research on Japanese indispensable help to young scholars. Religions at SOAS 29 Members' Activities On the sad note, John Carpenter has left SOAS to take over the position of curator of Japanese art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This is no doubt an exciting opportunity for John and we are all happy for him, but we have lost a wonderful colleague who has greatly contributed to the Centre in many ways, not least by facilitating fruitful collaborations with the Sainsbury Insti- Information on Japanese tute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture, and more recently by serving on our management Religions board. I wish to thank John for his invaluable and unselfish help through the years. John Breen, too, after spending three years in Kyoto on leave from SOAS, has left us for good to take up a position 32 Haguro Shugendō in Paris at Nichibunken. We are happy to welcome two new colleagues to the Centre’s board, Antonello 33 Heian Japan in the East Asian World Palumbo and Tim Screech, and thank them for their willingness to act as advisors to the CSJR. This year the activities of the Centre start with a special public event in September, a gagaku con- Publications cert performed by the renowned Gagaku Music Society of Tenri University. The concert marks the signing of an academic exchange between SOAS and Tenri, which we hope will develop further in 35 Buddhist Icon and Early Mikkyō Vision the future. In Term 1 we will also start a new seven-week series on Cinematic Religion where we 37 Japanese Mythology: Hermeneutics on screen and discuss Japanese films that deal with aspects of religious history and practice. Through Scripture feature films, documentaries and anime, we aim to explore the different dynamics of representation of religion that the cinematic medium offers. The CSJR Seminar Series will also continue through the academic year with international guest speakers from Europe, the US and Japan, who will talk on Christianity, linguistic aspects of classics such as the Kojiki, contemporary myths and volunteer organizations. In May we will hold a summer workshop on talismans, which is planned together with a special exhibition of a private collection. Detailed information will be circulated through our mailing list. We look forward to another exciting year! Lucia Dolce (Front Cover and Left) Hie-Sanno Mandara, Detail Edo period Hanging scroll, Ink, colour and gold on silk 85 x 40.9 cm AN482482001 © The Trustees of the British Museum 2 Please see Meri Arichi’s report on page 18. CSJR Newsletter • 2011-2012 • Issue 22-23 Center for the Study of Japanese Religions Programme 2011-2012 October 6, 5-6:30pm, G2 CSJR Seminars: Professor Ikuo Higashibaba (Tenri University) Practising Christianity in Early Modern Japan: Symbol, Prayer, Centre for the and Mirror Study of Japanese Religions October 13, 5-6:30pm, G2 CSJR Seminars: Professor William M. Bodiford (UCLA) Printing and the Visual Representation of Linguistic Data in the Programme Discovery of Ancient Japan 2011-2012 October - December 5-7:00pm, G2 CSJR Film Series Cinematic Religion: Japanese Religion in Film (For further details, please see the programme on page 5.) February 23, 5-6:30pm, G2 CSJR Seminars: Dr Stephen Turnbull (University of Leeds) Phallicism and Fertility in Contemporary Japan: Ancient Traditions or Urban Myths? March 8, 5-6:30pm, G2 ALL WELCOME CSJR Seminars: Paola Cavaliere (University of Sheffield) Title: Women in Japanese Faith-Based Volunteer Groups: From For more information Continuity to Innovation and updates on the schedule please visit our website: March 22, 5-6:30pm, G2 CSJR Seminars: www.soas.ac.uk/csjr/ Dr Igawa Kenji (Osaka University) or contact: Catholic Missionaries and Medieval Japan [email protected] May 2012 (date TBA) CSJR – RAS Joint Exhibition and Workshop: The Royal Asiatic Society (14 Stephenson Way, London) The Sekimori O-fuda Collection 3 CSJR Newsletter • 2011-2012 • Issue 22-23 4 CSJR Newsletter • 2011-2012 • Issue 22-23 Centre Activity Japanese Religion in Film October – December 2011 SOAS Room G2 October 20, 5-7pm Onmyōji (Takita Yōjirō, 2001) October 27, 5-7pm The Funeral (Itami Juzo, 1984) November 3, 5-7pm Where Mountains Fly (Sandra and Karina Roth, 2008) November 17, 5-7pm Suwa Onbashira Festival 1992 (Kitamura Minao, 1992) November 24, 5-7pm Fragment (Makoto Sasaki, 2008) December 1, 5-7pm Zen (Takahashi Banmei, 2009) December 8, 5-7pm The Rebirth of Buddha (Takaaki Ishiyama, 2009) 5 CSJR Newsletter • 2011-2012 • Issue 22-23 Centre Activity Report Mediating (new) Religions in eration, apocalypse, referring both to a pre-existing arena Contemporary Japan of religious experience, and to elements of Japanese pop culture. They offer valuable insights for studies of cul- Radu Leca tural appropriation. For example, they feature composite images of non-Japanese cultures similar to Miyazaki’s On 21 October 2010, the Centre for the Study of Japa- films. They also illustrate the dynamics of religious dis- nese Religions at SOAS hosted a workshop on Mediat- course. Three of these anime are film versions of the ‘law ing (New) Religions in Contemporary Japan. It was an books’ which form the central doctrine of the organiza- opportunity to analyze the impact of media on religious tion. Keul showed how these adaptations not only trans- phenomena. The themes of the workshop were summed mit, but also contribute to the elaboration of the doctrine. up by Dr Louella Matsunaga of SOAS in the conclud- The need to integrate Okawa’s teaching into a narrative ing roundtable discussion. Firstly, how much does the plot increased the coherence of discourse. The films also medium used transform the message? Secondly, what is resulted in the development of the organization’s icono- the effect of new media on the social relations within the graphical and architectural program. religious community? And thirdly, how do media relate The last paper, by Masaaki Okada, PhD student at to different audiences? SOAS, discussed The role of the media in shaping the The workshop started with the introduction by the works of Okada Mokichi, the founder of Sekai Kyūsei Centre Chair Lucia Dolce, outlining the importance of Kyō (SKK). The focus was on ‘nature farming’ (shizen studying new religions in the context of Japanese reli- nōhō), a spiritual approach to farming practice, using the gious studies.
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