Letter from the President

Dear Colleagues,

I am please to announce the program for the Society's annual meeting, which will be held in conjunction with the Association for Asian Studies convention in Washington, D.C.

The meeting will take place on Friday, April 5, 2002, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, in Maryland Suite B of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The session, titled "Ritual, Gender, and Politics in Modern Shinto," will consist of presentations of recent research by two scholars. Sarah Thal will speak on "Meiji Civilization and the Politics of Shinto at Kotohira Shrine," and Rosemarie Bernard will follow up with a presentation on "Cultural Politics of Ritual at the Grand Shrines of Ise." After remarks by each of the speakers we will have an open discussion, followed by a brief business meeting.

Following SSJR custom, the speakers will be treated to a late dinner. We hope you will be able to join us (albeit at your own expense!).

I am appending a list of sessions of possible interest, drawn from the AAS annual meeting schedule. For a complete listing of panels, go to: http://www.aasianst.org/annmtg.htm.

Thanks very much for your continuing support. I look forward to seeing you in Washington!

Janine Sawada
President

AAS SESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR SSJR MEMBERS

The printed annual meeting Program-which is scheduled to reach members in late February-will cite the chairpersons and discussants, along with a listing of participants and their
paper titles.

The program schedule is as follows:

THURSDAY, April 4, 2002: Panels 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

FRIDAY: Panels 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.; 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.; 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.;
3:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m.; Presidential Address and Awards Ceremony, 5:45 p.m.

SATURDAY: Panels 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.; 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.; 2:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m.;
5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

SUNDAY: Panels 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.; 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

THURSDAY 7:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M.

10. Constructing and Redefining Modern Japanese Identity Through Popular Culture (Rei Okamoto, Northeastern University)

11. "Undisciplined" Knowledge: Discourses of Time and Space in Late Tokugawa (Bettina Gramlich-Oka, University of Tuebingen)

12. Japanese Settler Colonialism and Modern Japan: Advancing into Korea, Settling Down, and Returning to Japan (Jae Won Sun, Harvard University)

18. Daoist Inner Alchemy and Life Philosophy (Dahua Li, Social Science Academy)

FRIDAY 8:30 A.M.-10:30 A.M.

31. A Sensibility of Transformation: Kamei Hideo and the Uses of Meiji Literature (Michael Bourdaghs, University of California, Los Angeles)

32. Water Politics: An Approach to Japanese Environmental History (Patricia G. Sippel, Toyo Eiwa University)

33. Gender Rules: Masculinities, Femininities and Crime in Nineteenth-century Japan (Leila Wice, Columbia University)

34. Individual Papers: (Japan) (Edward Kamens, Yale University)

38. Lineage in Chinese Buddhism of the Tang and Song (Elizabeth Morrison, Stanford University)

FRIDAY 10:45 A.M.-12:45 P.M.

51. (W)riting Social Myths: Japanese Women Authors and Contemporary Detective Fiction (Rebecca Copeland, Washington University)

52. Miraculous Tales of the Ashikaga: Shogunal Patronage of Painted Engi in Medieval Japan (Melissa McCormick, Columbia University)

53. Japanese Masculinities: Tradition and Transformation (Mark McLelland, University of Queensland)

54. Xenophobia, Xenophilia, and Nativism in Japanese Historiography, Early-Modern, Modern, and Contemporary (John Allen Tucker, East Carolina University)

FRIDAY 1:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M.

72. Science and Japanese Literature: Interfaces and Intertexts (Christopher A. Bolton, University of California, Riverside)

74. Individual Papers: Crossing Japan's Borders (Christena L. Turner, University of California, San Diego)

FRIDAY 3:15 P.M.-5:15 P.M.

82. Dynamics of Performance: Japanese, Korean and Indian Performing Arts (Susan Schwartz, Muhlenberg College)

91. Collaboration in Haikai: Chomu, Buson, Issa - Sponsored by the Early Modern Japan Network (Cheryl Crowley, Emory University)

92. Import/Export-Art/History-Japan/West - Sponsored by Japan Art History Forum (Elizabeth Lillehoj, DePaul University)

93. Roundtable: Gender Policy and Social Change in Japan (Joyce Gelb, City University of New York)

94. Local Elites in Nineteenth-Century Japan: Identity, Ideology, and Public Activism (Brian Platt, George Mason University)

98. Bodies of Learning and Scholarly Communities in Medieval China: The Buddhist Case (Yang Lu, Princeton University)

SPECIAL SSJR SESSION
FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2002, FROM 7:00 TO 9:00 PM, IN MARYLAND SUITE B OF THE MARRIOTT WARDMAN PARK HOTEL.
"RITUAL, GENDER, AND POLITICS IN MODERN SHINTO." Sarah Thal will speak on "Meiji Civilization and the Politics of Shinto at Kotohira Shrine," and Rosemarie Bernard will follow up with a presentation on "Cultural Politics of Ritual at the Grand Shrines of Ise."

SATURDAY 8:30 A.M.-10:30 A.M.

112. Designing and Depicting the Metropolis: Tokyo in the 1920s and 1930s (Alisa Freedman, University of Chicago)

113. Borders in Crisis: The Problem of Coastal Defense in Late Tokugawa Japan (Kyu Hyun Kim, University of California, Davis)

114. Toward a Cognitive and Interactional Understanding of Person Reference in Japanese: A Usage-Based Approach - Sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Japanese (Naomi H.
McGloin, University of Wisconsin, Madison)

115. Japan in the Fascist Era (E. Bruce Reynolds, San Jose State University)

SATURDAY 10:45 A.M.-12:45 P.M.

123. Law and Literature in East Asia: Transforming and Translating Concepts of Justice (Jeffrey C. Kinkley, St. John's University)

126. Researching Buddhist Nuns in Korea: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (Hyangsoon Yi, University of Georgia)

132. Interactions of Public and Private in Early Showa Japan: The Lives of Children, Youth and Women as Subjects of Government Policy, 1920-1960 (Robert A. Fish, University of Hawaii,
Manoa)

133. Otogizoshi and the Dharma: Popular Buddhism in the Literature of Medieval Japan (Keller Kimbrough, Colby College)

134. Public Spectacles: The Policization of Art in Japan, 1950s-1990s (Ann Sherif, Oberlin College)

135. Pointing Many Fingers: Why Japanese Youth Problems Aren't Getting Fixed (Patricia G. Steinhoff, University of Hawaii, Manoa)

SATURDAY 2:45 P.M.-4:45 P.M.

154. Between the Princess and the Martyr: Spectacles of Hope and Betrayal in Postwar Japan (Jan Bardsley, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)

155. Working and Writing, Art and Autobiography: Rethinking Japanese Proletarian Literature (Heather Bowen-Struyk, University of Chicago)

156. Power and Respect: Language and Representation in Japan (Annette Skovsted Hansen, Aarhus University)

SATURDAY 5:00 P.M. -7:00 P.M.

170. Politics, Culture and Christianity in East Asia: Interdisciplinary and Comparative Perspectives on Indigenization (Jiweon Shin, Harvard University)

176. Nation and Language: Kokugo and the Boundaries of "Proper" Japanese (Paul Clark, West Texas A&M University)

177. Image and Materiality in Early Modern Japan (Louise Cort, Smithsonian Institution)

178. Dislocated Bodies and Disembodied Ideologies in Modern Japanese Literature (Indra Levy, Rutgers University)

SUNDAY 8:30 A.M.-10:30 A.M.

197. Scholarship and Self-Representation in the Creation of Modern Japanese Buddhism (Richard Jaffe, Duke University)

198. Rethinking Politics and Culture in Postwar Japan (William Marotti, New York University)

199. Dreams, Ghosts, and Ancestors: The Afterlife in Contemporary Japan (John W. Traphagan, University of Texas, Austin)

SUNDAY 10:45 A.M.-12:45 A.M.

211. Korea's Encounter with Japan and the West: Religion and Ideology in the Late Choson Dynasty (Nam-lin Hur, University of British Columbia)

October, 2001
New Series, No. 29

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues,

The air is crisp, but the sun is still warm here in the midlands--time to let you know that the 2001 Supplement to the Bulletin of the SSJR is now available online at our website (http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/). The Supplement contains a transcript of the discussion of Jackie's Stone's _Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism_ that took place at our spring meeting in Chicago. I would like to thank all three speakers, James Dobbins, Ryuichi Abe, and Jackie Stone, for offering us their stimulating contributions, in both oral and written form.

According to the by-laws of the Society, it is time for us to begin soliciting nominations for the next SSJR election, which will be held in spring 2002. Richard Jaffe, the current Vice-President, and I will officially end our term as officers with the close of the 2002 annual meeting. Please send your nominations to the Executive Secretary, Jay Ford (fordj@wfu.edu). (You may also nominate yourself!) We will compile a list of all who receive nominations, plus Richard and myself (we are both willing to stand for reelection, and Jay is willing to serve as executive secretary for another term). The ballot will be sent out by February 2002.

My warmest regards to all of you,

Janine T. A. Sawada
President

WEBSITE--A NOTE FROM JAY FORD, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
You may already have noticed that I have redesigned the SSJR website (http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/). The content has not changed dramatically but I have tried to think of new ways to make this a useful resource for research, teaching, and other information within the discipline. I am open to any suggestions here. I continue to update the web resources and announcements related to job openings, conferences, fellowship opportunities, and member news. Of course, this is only as useful as the information provided so please forward any information or announcements to me (fordj@wfu.edu) that may be of interest to the field. This includes any news of recent publications, presentations, employment changes, or other noteworthy accomplishments. I have also created pages for course syllabi, video resources, and photographs related to Japanese religion. With respect to the latter, if you have any photographs (either scanned or digital) that you would be willing to share with others for use in the classroom, send them to me and I will post them with appropriate credit.

DUES: 2001-2002
Member dues remain the same as last year and are noted below. Please submit your checks payable to the "Society for the Study of Japanese Religions" to Jay Ford.

James L. Ford
Assistant Professor, East Asian Religions
Dept. of Religion
Wake Forest University
P.O. Box 7212 Reynolda Station
Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7212

You can print out the membership update form from the website and send it to the address noted if you need to report a change of address or other news. Go to: http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/membership.html
Members: $10.00
Student Members: $5.00
(Note: add $5.00 for hard copy mailings)

______________________________________________________________________________
October, 2000                 New Series, No. 28

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues:
               I trust you all have had a productive but relaxing summer. It was good to see those of you who were able to attend our annual meeting at the AAS in San Diego this last spring.  We had an excellent turnout and a stimulating panel discussion on the topic "Japanese Religions: What Should We Be Studying and How?"
I am pleased to inform you that the SSJR Annual Meeting Supplement is now available on-line at the SSJR website (http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/); it contains the written version of comments presented by four panel members (Gary Ebersole, Richard Jaffe, John Nelson, and Paul Watt). Many thanks to all the participants for taking the time and energy to share their engaging and provocative views with us.

SSJR WEBSITE
       For those of you who have not visited our website in a while (http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/), you will find that it has been updated recently. We now have a page for Membership News/Publications, so if you have any personal news to share regarding recent/forthcoming publications, conference presentations, appointments, etc., please send an update to our Executive Secretary, Jay Ford (fordj@wfu.edu). Also, we will gladly post news on upcoming conferences, calls-for-papers, fellowships, and so forth, at your request.  You also will find that the "Links Related to Japanese Religion" has been expanded to include resources that may be of interest to you or your students.  Finally, we are in the process of adding a page on Teaching Resources.  Our intent is to collect syllabi, film suggestions/reviews, and photographs that might prove useful to members in teaching classes related to Japanese religious culture.  We welcome submissions under any of these categories (send them to Jay as well).

DUES: 2000-2001
 Member dues remain the same as last year and are noted below.  Please submit your checks payable to the “Society for the Study of Japanese Religions” to Jay Ford.  You can print out the membership update form from the website above and send it to the address noted (Jay Ford at Wake Forest University) if you need to report a change of address or other news.
 Members:   $10.00
 Student Members: $5.00
(Note: add $5.00 for hard copy mailings)
 
AAR SCHEDULE
For those of you planning to attend the AAR annual meeting in Nashville (Nov. 17-21), I am attaching a schedule of meetings of possible interest.

If you have any questions or suggestions about any of the above, feel free to send them to me (j-sawada@uiowa.edu) or Jay (fordj@wfu.edu) in an email message.  In the meantime, thank you for your continuing interest and support!

Hope to see you again soon—if not at the AAR meeting in Nashville, then at the SSJR meeting next spring in Chicago.

Yours,

Janine Sawada, President SSJR
 
 

 
MEMBERSHIP NEWS

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Roger Corless became Professor Emeritus of Religion, Duke University (September, 2000).  Roger has relocated to the San Francisco Bay area and will occupy the Brueggeman Chair of Ecumenical Theology at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio for the Fall of 2000.  In Spring of 2001 he will return to the San Francisco Bay area and teach at the Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley.

Karen Smyers (Wesleyan University, Dept. of Religion) was awarded tenure in the spring of 2000.

Sybil Thornton (Arizona State University, Dept. of History) was awarded tenure in the spring of 2000.  She is teaching at Hiroshima Shudo University for one semester this fall.  Next spring, she will be conducting research on the monastic regulations and pastoral letters of Takuga, seventh patriarch of the Jishu, at Tsukuba University.

Duncan Williams recently began a tenure-track position at Trinity College (Assistant Professor of Japanese Religions and Culture) after completing his Ph.D. at Harvard University in June.  He is currently preparing a manuscript for publication on Sôtô Zen Buddhism during the Edo
period.

RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS

Ryuichi Abé recently published The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric Buddhist Discourse (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999).

Richard W. Anderson recently published Otera no jijyo: Amerikajin minzokugakusha ga mita Nippon no tera (Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, June, 2000).  For more information, go to:
http://www.trc.co.jp/trc/book/book.idc?JLA=00026372
The book is about the four years Richard spent living in and working at a very large Buddhist temple complex in Japan and is therefore a memoir/ethnography. Richard is looking for a publisher of the English version and would appreciate some help if anyone has suggestions.

Susan O. Long  “Ancestors, Computers, and Other Mixed Messages: Ambiguity and Euthanasia in Japan.”  Cambridge Quarterly for Healthcare Ethics, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2000, forthcoming; and “Living Poorly or Dying Well: Decisions about Life Support and Treatment Termination for American and Japanese Patients.”  Journal of Clinical Ethics, Vol. 11, No. 3,  pp.  27-41, 2000, forthcoming.

Ian Reader recently published Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of AUM SHINRIKYO (Curzon Press, Spring 2000).  Based on published and unpublished AUM materials, Asahara’s sermons and court reports, and on interviews with disciples, it presents a detailed analysis of how, why, and when AUM turned into a violent movement, and places the violence of AUM in a broader comparative context.

Brian Ruppert recently published Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in Early Medieval Japan (May, 2000; published by the Harvard University Asia Center and distributed by Harvard University Press).

Janine T. A. Sawada presented a paper titled "Tokugawa Religious History: Studies in Western Languages, 1980-2000" at the State of the Field Conference on Early Modern Japanese Studies, Ohio State University, April 21-23, 2000.

Jacqueline I. Stone published Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism (Honolulu: Kuroda Institute, University of Hawaii Press, 1999).

Michiko Yusa (Western Washington University) is completing her manuscript entitled An Intellectual Biography of Nishida Kitaro, which has been accepted for publication by U. Hawaii Press.

NEW MEMBERS
Lorinda Kiyama (Ph.D. candidate, Stanford University; medieval Buddhist literature)
Karen Mack (Ph.D. candidate, University of Kansas, art history)
Susan Mattis (Boston College, 20th century continental philosophy, Nichiren, Tendai)
Alex Vesey (PhD. candidate, Japanese history and religion, Princeton University)

EMPLOYMENT NOTICES

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of History invites applications for a tenure-track position (pending approval) in Japanese Religions, beginning in September 2001, in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Appointment is possible at any rank. A wide variety of subfields within the area of Japanese religion is possible, but expertise in modern and classical Japanese is required, and the successful candidate is expected to contribute to graduate programs in Japanese studies and Buddhist studies in the Department of History and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.  The Ph.D. is normally expected to have been completed prior to appointment. The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Women and members of minority groups are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants should provide a CV, letters of recommendation, and evidence of outstanding teaching ability. Applicants at the junior level should also submit writing samples. Review of applications will begin on November 8 and will continue until the position is filled. Applications must be received by December 1, 2000 to be assured of consideration. All applications will be acknowledged. Please send materials to Japanese Religions Search, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, The University of Michigan, 3070 Frieze Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285.

DAVIDSON COLLEGE, Department of Religion, seeks candidates for a tenure-track, full-time appointment in East Asian  Religions at the rank of assistant professor. Appointment to begin in the fall semester 2001. Qualifications include a Ph.D., an ability to teach introductory and advanced courses in East Asian Religions, sensitivity to the methods and perspectives of religious studies, and willingness to participate in the interdisciplinary ventures of the department and college. Please send a  letter of application, c.v., and references to Karl A. Plank / Chair, Department of Religion / Davidson College / Davidson, North  Carolina 28036. Applications due by October 15, 2000.

MACALESTER COLLEGE invites applications for a tenure track position in East Asian Religions. Occupant of the position will teach five courses a year, including courses in Chinese and Japanese traditions. Priority will be given to candidates with broad comparative interests. In addition to classroom teaching, the faculty member will serve as an academic advisor for students, and may direct independent studies each semester. Candidates are expected to have earned a PhD or its equivalent before beginning teaching duties in September 2001. Macalester is a highly selective private liberal arts college located in Minnesota¹s St. Paul-Minneapolis metropolitan area. Our 1800 students come from 48 states and over 70 foreign countries.  Macalester has a long-standing commitment to maintaining a community of faculty, staff, and students from various cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. The College emphasizes multiculturalism, internationalism, and service, all in a context of excellence in undergraduate education. Please forward inquiries and credentials to Professor James W. Laine, Department of Religious Studies, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St Paul MN 55105-1899 before October 15, 2000. Applications after that date may be considered. More information is available at our website: www.macalester.edu/~religiou/ EOE/AA

STONEHILL COLLEGE, Department of Religious Studies, announces the opening of a junior level tenure-track position in South and East Asian Religious Traditions beginning in the fall of 2001. Responsibilities include teaching an introductory course in the study of religions as well as teaching mid level and upper level courses in area of specialization (three courses per semester). A completed Ph.D. by the time of hire, demonstrated excellence in teaching, and evidence of scholarly promise are required of all candidates. Interviews will be conducted at the AAR Annual meeting in November and we will contact candidates with whom we wish to meet by mid November. Send letter of application, CV, three letters of recommendation, and other supportive material by November 1 to Gregory Shaw, Department of Religious Studies, 320 Washington St., North Easton, MA 02357. Stonehill, an Equal Opportunity Employer, is a Catholic, undergraduate liberal arts college located 25 miles south of Boston.

VASSAR COLLEGE, Religion Department, seeks an assistant professor of East Asian religions for a tenure-track appointment in the Fall 2001. The appointee will teach an Introductory course in Asian Religions and offer courses in the religious traditions of China, Korea, Japan, and other areas of East Asia. These courses may include Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, and "lived religions" of East Asia, as well as interdisciplinary courses focusing on issues and cultures. A familiarity with issues and methods in the study of religion is expected, and an interdisciplinary focus is desirable. A letter of application, CV, three letters of reference, and a sample of scholarly work should be sent for receipt by October 15 to Professor Mark Cladis, Chair - Search Committee, Department of religion, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, New York 12604. Vassar College Is An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

WILLIAMS COLLEGE, Department of Religion, invites applications for a position in East Asian religions to begin in the Fall term, 2001. The opening is for a regular renewable, tenure-eligible position at the Assistant Professor level, with the possibility that a more senior appointment might be entertained should an especially compelling candidate emerge. Candidates should have Ph.D. in hand no later than September 2001 and be committed to research and to teaching at the undergraduate level. In addition to teaching courses in the religions of East Asia, and to participation in the Asian Studies program, candidates must be prepared to teach a section of the department's Introduction to the Study of Religion and upper level required major courses, where assessments of the status and application of anthropological, philosophical, psychological and sociological theory prominently figure. Thematic and comparative interests are also desirable. Send letter of application, vita, and graduate school dossier, including letters of recommendation, to Professor William Darrow, Chair, Department of Religion, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267 by October 15, 2000. Preliminary interviews of selected applicants will be held at the Annual Meeting of the AAR/SBL in Nashville, Tennessee, November 18-21, 2000. As an AA/EOE Williams College especially encourages applications from women and minority candidates.

 
 
AAR SCHEDULE (Nashville, TN)
Saturday, Nov. 18—1:00-3:30
A019 - Special Topics Forum - Sponsored by the AAR Committee on the Public Understanding of Religion - Theme: Framing the Other: American Print Media and Asian Religions
A022 - Buddhism Section - Theme: Buddhism and Violence
A033 - Korean Religions Group - Theme: Dialogue with the Traditions
A036 - Person, Culture, and Religion Group - Theme: The Varieties of Self Experience

Saturday, November 18—3:45-6:15
A046 - Buddhism Section and Japanese Religions Group - Theme: Funerals, Death Rituals and the Afterlife in Japanese Buddhism
A051 - Philosophy of Religion Section - Theme: The Philosophy of Religion Today: Trends and Directions

Sunday, November 19—9:00-11:30
A079 - Buddhism Section - Theme: The Doctrine of Bodhicitta and the Buddhist Path
A089 - Asian North American Religion, Culture, and Society Group - Theme: Dynamic Encounters: Asian Pacific American Communities in Flux
A101 - Tokugawa Religion Seminar - Theme: Moving Away from "Religious" Texts: Art and Popular Culture in Tokugawa Religion

Sunday, November 19—1:00 pm-3:30 pm
A104 - Buddhism Section and Tibetan and Himalayan Religions Group - Theme: Buddhism between Tibet and Pre-Republican China
A105 - Comparative Studies in Religion Section and Religion in South Asia Section - Theme: The Contributions of Wendy Doniger: A Critical Appraisal
A118 – Japanese Religions Group—Theme: Philosophies of Religion in the Kyoto School

Sunday, November 19—3:45 pm-6:15 pm
A148 - Studies in Yogacara Buddhism Seminar - Theme: The Concept of the Three Natures (trisvabhaava) in Yogacara Buddhism

Monday, Nov. 20—9:00-11:30
A166-Asian North American Religion, Culture, and Society Group—Theme: Retracing Memory and Faith in Asian America
A168-Confucian Traditions Group—Theme: Appropriating Confucianism: Comparative and Legitimizing Projects
A174-Japanese Religions Group—Theme: Shoguns, Gods, and Tax Collectors: Japanese Religions and the Powers That Have Been

Monday, November 20—9:00 am-11:30 am
A181 - Tibetan and Himalayan Religions Group - Theme: Buddhism between Tibet and Republican China

Monday, November 20—1:00-3:30
A184 - Buddhism Section - Theme: Buddhist Visual Culture in South and Southeast Asia
A192-Chinese Religions Group—Theme: Teaching "Real" Taoism: Problems and Promise

Monday, November 20—3:45 pm-6:15 pm
A210 - Buddhism Section and Chinese Religions Group - Theme: Lineage, Transmission, and Legitimacy in Sung Dynasty Buddhism
A212 - Philosophy of Religion Section - Theme: Buddhist Philosophies of Language
A224-New Religious Movements Group-Theme: Government and Religion in Conflict and New Religious Movements

Tuesday, November 21—9:00 am-11:30 am
A233 - Buddhism Section - Theme: Reinterpreting Texts and Traditions

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues,

    I am delighted to invite you to our annual meeting, which will take place this year on Saturday, March 11, in conjunction with the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting in San Diego. We are planning a roundtable on the topic "Japanese Religions: What Should We Be Studying (And How)?" The participants are Professors Gary L. Ebersole, Richard Jaffe, James E. Ketelaar, John Nelson, Paul B. Watt, and Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan. After remarks by each of the speakers we will have an open discussion, followed by a brief business meeting. The session will run from 7:15 to 9:00 p.m. in the Sunset Room of the Town & Country Hotel Resort and Convention Center.
    I have listed below panels of possible interest at the AAS meeting in San Diego. (Session locations will be announced in the Meeting program.) You will also find below news about several of our members, including recent/forthcoming publications. Along these lines, we invite you to send us updates on your own publications, research plans, fellowships/awards, and so forth. You can do this easily at our website with a convenient auto-update feature that sends the information directly by email:

  http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/info.html

    We have the makings of a great discussion this year! I hope you will be able to join us.

Yours,

Janine Sawada, President SSJR
 
 

A NOTE ON DUES
If you have not yet sent in your 2000 dues, please do so as soon as possible. SSJR dues are only $10.00 ($5.00 for students) and you can print out the membership form from the website above and send it to the address noted (James Ford at Wake Forest University)

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

NEW APPOINTMENTS
Roger Corless: currently on terminal sabbatical and will retire from Duke University at the end of this academic year.

Noriko Kawahashi: As of Fall 1999, "sennin koshi" (tenured Asst. Professor) at Nagoya Institute of Technology.

Ian Reader is now Professor of Religious Studies at Lancaster University.

Duncan Williams: recently appointed Assistant Professor of Japanese Religion and Society at Trinity College (Fall, 2000). Currently completing his dissertation (Harvard) at Komazawa University in Tokyo on a Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai fellowship.

RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS
James W. Boyd (Colorado State University) recently published (1) "Artful Means: An Aesthetic View of Shinto Purification Rituals," Journal of Ritual Studies, Vol. 13, No. 1, Summer 1999, 37-52. Co-authored with Ron G. Williams; and (2) "Shinto Purification Rituals: An Aesthetic Interpretation," an electronic article to be posted on the database, Shinto Study Center, University of California, Berkeley.

Susan Long (John Carroll University) has edited two recently published books:
     Caring for the Elderly in Japan and the US: Practices and Policies (Routledge, 2000). This is a cross-disciplinary effort to view aging policies and practices in the widest comparative context. Of interest to SSJR members are chapters based on research, clinical observations, and reflections on topics such as Japanese and American physicians' attitudes toward withholding medical treatment, hospice care in the two countries, volunteerism, family caregiving, programs designed to facilitate continuity of selfhood in elderly patients with dementia, and concepts of personhood in Japan and the US.
     Lives in Motion: Composing Circles of Self and Community in Japan (Cornell East Asian Series, 1999). This volume is a collection of ethnographic "snapshots" of Japanese society in recent years. It includes chapters on matsuri, baseball, railway workers, the JET program, a retirement community, attitudes toward death of a Jodo Shin Buddhist woman, and relationships among the living and the dead in Japan.

Virginia Cohn Parkum will publish "The Angulimala Lineage: Buddhist Prison Ministries," in Christopher S. Queen, ed. Engaged Buddhism in the West (Boston: Wisdom, 2000), co-author J. Anthony Stultz. Also forthcoming is "Engaged Buddhism in the American Criminal Justice System: Shin Roots, Shin Blossom" (The Pure Land, forthcoming), co-author J. Anthony Stultz.

Ian Reader has a new book forthcoming entitled Religious Violence in Contemporary Japan: The Case of AUM SHINRIKYO (Curzon Press, Spring 2000).
 

RESEARCH, CONFERENCES, AND EVENTS
Felecia G. Bock is about to prepare her Engi-shiki translation to be put on the Internet under sponsorship of the new Center for Shinto Studies at U.C. Berkeley.

George J. Tanabe delivered the keynote address at the conference "Death, Afterlives, and Other Realms: Issues in Contemporary Japanese Religion and Society," held at SOAS December, 1999 to celebrate the founding of their new Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions. The title of Professor Tanabe’s talk was "Voices for the Dead: Priestly Incantations and Grave Discussions."
 

NEW MEMBERS
Lorinda Kiyama. Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University (medieval Japanese literature) and currently a Fulbright Fellow at Nagoya University.

Christine Murasaki Millett. Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University in the Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (PreModern Japanese Literature, religion and history)

Virginia Cohn Parkum

Susan Zitterbart. University of Pittsburgh (Japanese Art History and Early Japanese Buddhism)

AAS, San Diego (March 9-12)—Sessions of Interest

Thursday, March 9: 7:00-9:00
7. Embodying Perfection: Self-Cultivation in Pre-Modern China (Sponsored by SSCR) (Lowell Skar, University of Pennsylvania)

Friday, March 10: 8:30-10:30
23. The Practice of Filial Piety in Contemporary China (Charlotte Ikels, Case Western Reserve University)
25. Muslims in 20th-Century China: Making and Resisting Hui History (Jonathan N. Lipman, Mt. Holyoke College)
26. New Perspectives on the Self in Early China (Edward Slingerland, University of Southern California)
34. Individual Papers: Religious Practice & Symbol in Pre-Colonial India (Stewart Gordon, Independent Scholar of South Asia)
39. Varieties of Pure Land Practice in China and Japan (Richard M. Jaffe, North Carolina State University, Raleigh)

Friday, 10:45-12:45
49. Gifts and Debts: Ritual Economy in Premodern and Early Modern Japanese Society (Brian D. Ruppert, University of Illinois)

Friday, 3:15-5:15
91. Defining Refinement: The Aesthitic of Furyu in Japanese Intellectural and Popular Culture (Sponsored by Sino-Japanese Studies and Early Modern Japanese Studies) (Patricia J.Graham, University of Kansas)

Saturday, March 11: 8:30-10:30
101. Buddhist Arts in Diaspora (Ann W. Norton, Province College)
107. Individual Papers: Changing Places: Studies on Religion and Gender in Pre-20th Century China (Julia K. Murray, University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Saturday 10:45-12:45
132. Creativity from Destruction: Japanese Pure Land Eschatology in its Social and Aesthetic Dimensions (Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan, Yale University)
135. Reinventing Tradition: Contemporary Trends in Religious Practice in India (Timothy Lubin, Washington & Lee University)
136. The Buddhist Canon in East Asia: Papers in Honor of Lewis Lancaster (Carl Bielefeldt, Stanford University)

Saturday 2:45-4:45
144. Daoist Gods and Immortals in Chinese Painting (Shih-shan Susan Huang, Yale University)
146. Ritual and Meaning in Taiwan (Marc Moskowitz, University of California, San Diego)
154. Religious Encounters, Identity, and Locality in Indonesia and Malaysia (Sponsored by Indonesian Studies Committee) (Suzanne A. Brenner, University of California, San Diego)
156. Roundtable: Remembering Michael Aris (1946-1999): Contributions to Tibetan and Himalayan Studies (Sponsored by Buddhist Studies Committee) (Matthew Kapstein, University of Chicago)

 Saturday 5:00-7:00
161. Representations of Filail Piety: Shifting Contexts and Meaning (Maram Epstein, University of Oregon)
165. The Production and Maintenance of Religious Space in Pre-Modern China (Michael J. Walsh, Academia Sinica)
167. For Whom the "Divine Winds" Blew: Myths of the Mongol Invasions of Japan (Thomas Conlan, Bowdoin College)
175. The Reception of Images in Asian Religions (Koichi Shinohara, McMaster University)

Saturday, 7:15 to 9:00
SSJR Annual Meeting. Sunset Room of the Town & Country Hotel Resort and Convention Center.

Sunday, March 12: 8:30-10:30
180. Embodying Perfection: Self-Cultivation Traditions in Modern China (Qing to the 20th Century)(Sponsored by Society for Study of Chinese Religions) (Xun Liu, University of Southern California)
190. Changing Sources of Patronage for Muslim Musicians in South Asia: Hindu Temples, Muslim Rulers and Shrines, Secular State and "Bollywood" (Sponsored by Asian Muslim Studies Association) (Theodore P. Wright Jr., State University of New York, Albany)

Sunday 10:45-12:45
209. Matsuri of Metaphor: Shinto Symbolism in Contemporary Ritual Practice (E. Leslie Williams, Clemson University)
212. Interpreting Ayutthaya: Rethinking Representation of Religion and State (Pattaratorn Chirapravati, Asian Art Museum)
216. Cultural, National, and Islamic Identities in Asia (Ronald Lukens-Bull, University of North Florida)

October, 1999

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

October 20, 1999

Dear Colleagues,

Now that the leaves are turning color, let me update you on the Society for the Study of Japanese Religions.  As you probably know, the new officers elected last spring are: James (Jay) Ford (Executive Secretary); Karen Smyers  (Vice-President); and myself (President).  Thank you for your support!  We are very grateful to the outgoing President, Jackie Stone, for helping us achieve a smooth transition during the last several months; we also wish to thank the outgoing Secretary, Helen Baroni. We are especially obliged to the former Vice-President of the Society, Bill Deal, who generously offered to oversee the SSJR’s new website until Jay was able to take it over this summer.

UPDATED WEBSITE AND 1999 SUPPLEMENT
The Society’s new website, now located at: http://www.wfu.edu/Organizations/ssjr/, has recently been updated. In particular, this year’s Supplement has been posted; it contains a written record of the remarks made at the 1999 annual meeting by Jim Foard and David Plath on Karen Smyers' new book, The Fox and the Jewel: Private and Shared Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship, as well as her response. The site also contains past SSJR Bulletins, the membership form, useful web resources, and other information pertinent to the Society.

DUES
Because it is now possible for most members to access and download the SSJR Bulletins and Supplements from our website, we will no longer routinely send out hard copies of these items to members by regular mail, except by special request.   Consequently, we expect our mailing costs to decline significantly.  However, we do need a reserve of funds to pay for rental of audiovisual equipment (in the event it is used at the annual meeting), costs incurred in producing, updating, and posting SSJR documents, complimentary dinners for speakers at the annual meeting (an old SSJR tradition), and other incidental costs.  For the calendar year 2000, therefore, dues have been reduced, but not eliminated. After a year of operation, we will reassess the costs of running the Society, at which time we will consider further changes in the amount requested. The schedule of fees in force as of this posting is as follows:

Regular members:    $10
Students:     $5
Additional fee for hard copy mailings: $5 [domestic]  $8 [international]

Please send your dues in promptly along with the attached Membership Update form. Individuals who have not paid their 2000 dues by February 1, 2000, will be removed from the Society’s email list and the membership directory.  Those who wish to receive hard copies should specifically request this service (and pay the above surcharge) by checking the appropriate box on the update form.  All payments should be sent to:

Dr. James L. Ford
Department of Religion
307 Wingate Hall
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC 27109

Be sure to include relevant news of yourself or events in the field (conferences, grants, etc.) so that we can include these in our next bulletin.

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
All members are requested to confirm their mailing and email addresses using the attached form as well.  If your personal information changes in the future, you can also do this easily online by filling out the membership update form at the SSJR website at any time.  As you fill out this attached form, please let us know whether it is all right to post your name, address and/or email address on the website in the Membership Directory.  If you do not make your preferences known, we will omit this information from the updated directory scheduled to be posted by March, 2000.

AAR SCHEDULE
For those of you planning to attend the AAR annual meeting in Boston (Nov. 20-23), I am attaching a schedule of meetings of possible interest.

If you have any questions or suggestions about any of the above, feel free to send me
(j-sawada@uiowa.edu) or Jay (fordj@wfu.edu) an email message.  In the meantime, thank you for your continuing interest and support!
 
 
 
 

         Janine Sawada
         President

Please send the completed form along with your check made payable to the “Society for the Study of Japanese Religions” to:

 Dr. James L. Ford
 Department of Religion
 307 Wingate Hall
 Wake Forest University
 Winston-Salem, NC  27109

Select membership category:
___ Current Regular Member   ___ New Regular Member
___ Current Student Member   ___ New Student Member

1999-2000 Dues:
Regular member: $10.00  Student Member: $5.00

Additional fee for hard copy of mailings (bulletins and Annual Supplement):
 Domestic, $5.00   International, $8.00
___ Request for hard copy mailings

Name:  ___________________________________________
Address:  ___________________________________________
  ___________________________________________
  ___________________________________________
  ___________________________________________
  ___________________________________________
Phone: ___________________________________________
Fax:  ___________________________________________
E-mail: ___________________________________________

Permission to post on the SSJR website:  ____ Address and e-mail
      ____ E-mail only

Fields of Specialization:
 

Member News (new appointments, research in progress, grants won, recent publications, etc.):
 
 

News in the Field (conferences, special institutes, fellowships and grants available, etc.):
 
 

East Asian Religions
A24 Saturday, November 20, 1999, 1:00pm– 3:30pm; Chinese Religions Group Theme: Self, Society, and Religiosity in Chinese Confucianism: Commemorating Wm. Theodore de Bary on his Eightieth Birthday

A49 Saturday November 20, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15 pm; Confucian Traditions Group Theme: Self, Society, and Religiosity in Japanese Confucianism: Commemorating Wm. Theodore de Bary on his Eightieth Birthday

A72 Sunday November 21, 1999 9:00am– 11:30 am; Buddhism Section; Theme: Probing the Traces: Reevaluating the Relationship between Buddhism and "Shinto" in Premodern Japan

A103 Sunday November 21, 1999 1:00pm– 3:30pm; Buddhism Section; Theme: Authority and Hierarchy in Ch'an/Zen Buddhism

A109 Sunday November 21, 1999 1:00pm– 3:30pm; Chinese Religions Group; Theme: Yiguandao in History and Practice

A114 Sunday November 21, 1999 1:00pm– 3:30pm; Korean Religions Group; Theme: A Happy or Unhappy Marriage: The Encounter between Confucianism and Christianity in Modern Korea

Buddhism Section Reception.  Sunday, November 21, 1999  7:00-9:00pm; Hosted by Wisdom Publications. Top of the Hub restaurant, 50th floor of the Prudential Tower in Boston’s Back Bay.

A214 Monday November 22, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15pm; Buddhism Section; Theme: Icons, Idols, and Objects: Facets of Materiality in East Asian Buddhism

A223 Monday November 22, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15pm; Chinese Religions Group; Theme: Healing the “Island of Greed”: Perspectives on the Religious Renaissance in Contemporary Taiwan

A230 Monday November 22, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15pm; Japanese Religions Group; Theme: Intellectual and Pedagogic Reflections on The Collected Works of Shinran

A231 Monday November 22, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15pm; Korean Religions Group; Theme: Faith, Value, and Enlightenment: The Encounter among Buddhism, Christianity, and Confucianism in Korea

A246 Tuesday November 23, 1999 9:00am– 11:30am; Buddhism Section; Theme: Regional Buddhisms; Universal Discourses

Japanese Religions Section Reception.  Monday November, 22, 7:30-9:00pm.  Sheraton Hotel, Becon Room B; Celebrating the publication of The Collected Works of Shinran.
 

Other Sessions of Interest
A29 Saturday November 20, 1999 1:00pm– 3:30pm; Person, Culture, and Religion Group; Theme: Psychology and Buddhism

 A40 Saturday November 20, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15 pm; Buddhism Section; Theme: Buddhist Concepts of History

 A44 Saturday November 20, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15pm; Philosophy of Religion Section; Theme One: Non-Theistic Ethics; Theme Two: Buddhism and Phenomenology

A95 Sunday November 21, 1999 9:00am– 11:30 am; Studies in Yogacara Buddhism Seminar; Theme: Vasubandhu's Trisvabhavanirdesa

A132 Sunday November 21, 1999 3:45pm– 6:15pm; Buddhism Section; Theme: Sangha Issues

A156 Monday November 22, 1999 9:00am– 11:30am; Buddhism Section; Theme: New Studies in South and Southeast Asian Buddhism

A180 Monday November 22, 1999 9:00am– 11:30am; Tibetan and Himalayan Religions Group; Theme: Tibetan Buddhism on the Borderlands

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues:

The steering committee of the Society for the Study of Japanese Religions would like to thank you for your support during
1998 and draw your attention to a few noteworthy matters:

Going Electronic
We are proud to present the first electronic issue of the Japanese Religions Bulletin. This form of publication will enable us to
reach more people more quickly and to save considerably on printing and mailing costs. While we have begun rather minimally
by simply posting the newsletter, establishing a website opens a number of future possibilities. These include posting the annual
Supplement and membership list, or perhaps even having a home page for each member, listing research interests, publications,
etc. Other possibilities, down the line, might include electronic publications and a discussion forum, perhaps with the necessary
language fonts to include Japanese colleagues. Issues that will have to be decided as time goes on may include those of
confidentiality and intellectual property, the possible need for member access codes, and so forth. We would appreciate
hearing the opinions of SSJR members about possible future directions online. Please contact William Deal, the SSJR vice
president and creator of this website, at wed@po.cwru.edu or at the Department of Religion, Case Western Reserve
University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7112. Bill has graciously agreed to serve as webmaster for the time
being. However, we would also like to hear from anyone who might be interested in maintaining the site once his term of office
has expired.

Call for Nominations
As of the 1999 annual meeting, Bill Deal and I will have completed our second three-year term of office as SSJR vice president
and president, respectively, and will be stepping down. It has been a privilege serving you during these past six years. We
would like to issue a general call for your nominations for new executive officers. Please send the names of your nominees to
me at jstone@princeton.edu by January 31. Please also include nominees' e-mail addresses or phone numbers, as I will need to
obtain their agreement to stand for election. You may nominate as many individuals as you wish. You may also nominate
yourself. Please do not specify a particular office; our bylaws stipulate that the person receiving the highest number of votes will
become the new president, and the runner-up, vice president.

Annual Meeting
The 1999 annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Japanese Religions will take place in conjunction with the AAS general
meeting in Boston and will be held on Friday, March 12, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Regis Room of the Boston Marriott Hotel.
For the academic portion of our program, we will be presenting a discussion of Karen Smyers' new book, The Fox and the
Jewel: Private and Shared Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship, which is now available from University of
Hawaii Press. James Foard (Arizona State University) and David Plath (University of Illinois) will serve as respondents. Hope
to see you there!

Sincerely,

Jackie Stone, SSJR President
 
 

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

New Appointments
William LaFleur spent the academic year at Stanford Center in Kyoto as a visiting professor. He was also appointed the first
holder of the E. Dale Saunders Chair in Japanese Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. The chair was created at the
bequest of the late E. Dale Saunders, one of the first American scholars of Japanese religions.

Brian D. Ruppert was appointed as Assistant Professor of Japanese Religions in the Department of East Asian Languages and
Literatures and the Program of Religious Studies, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Willis Stoesz is now Emeritus Professor of Religion at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Mimi Yiengpruksawan was promoted to full professor of Art History at Yale University.

Recent and Forthcoming Publications

Ryuichi Abe has a new book forthcoming, entitled The Weaving of Mantra: Kukai and the Construction of Esoteric
Buddhist Discourse (Columbia University Press, 1999).

Helen J. Baroni has a new book forthcoming, entitled Obaku Zen: The Emergence of a Third Sect of Zen in Tokugawa
Japan (University of Hawaii Press, 1999).

James W. Boyd has co-produced a new video entitled "New Year's Rituals at Tsubaki Grand Shrine" (33 minutes), which is
available from the Office of International Services, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 (970-491-1325).

Paul Ingram has published a new book, Wrestling with the Ox: A Theology of Religious Experience (Continuum, 1997).

John S. LoBreglio published the article "The Revisions to the Religious Corporations Law: An Introduction and Annotated
Translation," in Japanese Religions, January 1997.

Michel Mohr has recently published Traite sur l'Inepuisable Lampe du Zen: Torei (1721-1792) et sa vision de l'veil, 2
vols. Vol. XXVIII, Melanges chinois et bouddhiques. Brussels (Bruxelles): Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises, 1997.
His article "Japanese Zen Schools and the Transition to Meiji: A Plurality of Responses in the Nineteenth Century," will also
appear in the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (Vol. 25, Nos 1/2).

Mark Mullins' new book, Christianity Made in Japan: A Study of Indigenous Movements, was released earlier this year
from University of Hawaii Press. He also recently published an article entitled "The Changing Role of Religion and Social
Action Groups in Japanese Society," in A. Shupe and B. Mitzal, Religion, Mobilization, and Social Action: Religion in the
Age of Transportation (Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishing, 1998).

Ian Reader and Paul Swanson co-edited the Fall 1997 special edition of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (Vol. 24,
Nos 3/4) on Pilgrimage in Japan. Included in the volume is Reader's translation of the article "Aruki to mawari no shukyosei" by
Hoshino Eiki.

Ian Reader and George Tanabe have a new book out entitled Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common
Religion of Japan (University of Hawaii Press, 1998).

Ian Reader has published a short guidebook on Shinto, entitled The Simple Guide to Shinto (Folkestone, UK: Global Books,
forthcoming 1998).

Brian D. Ruppert is revising a manuscript tentatively entitled Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in Early
Medieval Japan, which has been accepted for publication by the Council on East Asian Studies Publications, Harvard
University Press.

Willis Stoesz has edited a new book, entitled The Living Way: Stories of a Shinto Founder, a forthcoming collection of
itsuwa of Kurozumi Munetada (1780-1850).

Jacqueline Stone has a new book forthcoming, Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese
Buddhism (University of Hawaii Press, October 1999).

Research in Progress
Leslie D. Alldritt is currently conducting research on the burakumin and the role of religion, especially Buddhism, has played in
their historical and current oppression.

William LaFleur is completing a book on Rokudo in Medieval Japan.

Brian D. Ruppert was awarded a Japan Foundation fellowship to conduct research on the problem of religious exchange in
early and medieval Japan. He will be affiliated with Osaka University, working primarily with Professor Taira Masayuki, from
August 1998 through July 1999.

Janine Anderson Sawada received a SSRC/JSPS fellowship to study late-Tokugawa Fuji-k/Fuji-d, during 1998-1999.

Conferences and Events
The Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies at Columbia University held the 700th Anniversary Memorial Service and
International Symposium on "The Culture of Convents in Japanese History," in honor of Abbess Mugai Nyodai (born 1223,
died Nov. 28, 1298), on Nov. 20-23, 1998.

Mimi Yiengpruksawan, Edward Kamens and Stanley Weinstein held a three-day workshop entitle "From Precept to Practice,"
at Yale University in October 1998.

New Members

Kenji Matsuo
Stacie K. Matsumoto
Brian D. Ruppert