The paradoxical truth of the world is that we can only do the right thing when it is not *our* right thing. As he wanders idly between his fables, Zhuangzi playfully mocks human certainty and ideology through the them... more abstractThe paradoxical truth of the world is that we can only do the right thing when it is not *our* right thing. As he wanders idly between his fables, Zhuangzi playfully mocks human certainty and ideology through the theme of "getting thinged by things".

Zhuangzi, Daoism, Taoism, Warring States (Chinese) Thought, and Han Fei Zi

Publication Date: 2016

Publication Name: Journal of Daoist Studies

[UNDER REVISION; FOR PUBLICATION IN 2015] It is my contention that the way the phrase true heart "magokoro" is used in the Genji indicates a consistently expressed ideal relationship between men and women. In such an ... more abstract[UNDER REVISION; FOR PUBLICATION IN 2015] It is my contention that the way the phrase true heart "magokoro" is used in the Genji indicates a consistently expressed ideal relationship between men and women. In such an ideal relationship, one's thoughts and worries are not concealed from the other—indeed, they cannot be concealed. I further argue that true love in the Genji, if we are willing to propose such an ideal without any contemporary Japanese word for “love”, is achieved only insofar as two people can completely know each other's hearts. When two people become adept at reading each other's hearts in the Genji, they become linked in a mysterious bond which is the principal way in which characters develop and mature.

Genji Studies, Genji Monogatari, TheTale of Genji, and Tale of Genji

Publication Name: Early Writings

Review of Jaffe, Eric (2014) "A Curious Madness: An American Combat Psychiatrist, a Japanese War Crimes Suspect, and an Unsolved Mystery from World War II".

Japanese Studies, Japanese Language And Culture, Pan-Asianism, and Okawa Shumei

Publication Date: Jul 2014

Publication Name: electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies

Contemporary occult literature in Japan has been influenced by a number of texts claiming to date from ancient times called koshi-koden. These texts, some of which have been circulating since the early modern period, ... more abstractContemporary occult literature in Japan has been influenced by a number of texts claiming to date from ancient times called koshi-koden. These texts, some of which have been circulating since the early modern period, speak of forgotten histories, venerable traditions, lost technologies, and sacred science. A number of them were written in unknown alphabets which are believed to have been handed down secretly from the primeval era, the so-called jindaimoji or “scripts of the divine age.” Koshi-koden fall outside the traditional Kokugaku and Shintō narratives of the history of Japanese nativist thought. By examining the more unique aspects of koshi-koden, we can discover an early break between the nationalist historiography of pre-1945 Japan and an esoteric, metaphysical nativism which shines a radically different light on Japan's ancient age.

Shinto Studies, Edo-period Japan, Eastern Esotericism, and Alternative History

More Info: Works treated: Sendai Kuji Hongi Taiseikyo, Hotsuma Tsutae (Tsutaye), Takeuchi (Takenouchi) Documents

Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: Innovative Research in Japanese Studies

This paper explores the ideology of religious studies with respect to early 20th century studies of Japan. Since 1945, “State Shintō” has been defined in academicliterature as a state religion which was enforced by th... more abstractThis paper explores the ideology of religious studies with respect to early 20th century studies of Japan. Since 1945, “State Shintō” has been defined in academicliterature as a state religion which was enforced by the Japanese government froman undetermined date after the Meiji Restoration until it was disestablished by theAllied Occupation. In fact, the Japanese government took concrete steps to separatetheir patriotic ceremonies from religion. Our current definition of the term “State Shintō” was produced by the religious scholar D.C. Holtom.

Postcolonial Studies, Missionary History, Secular Ideology, Critical Spirituality, Religion, Imperial ideology and representation, and 1 more

More Info: Published in Wittenberg University East Asian Studies Journal, vol. 36 (2011)

Shinto Studies

More Info: Released by a popular press, but it is actually a literary analysis.

Publisher: Inner Traditions

Publication Date: 2014

The Hitsuki Shinji is a Japanese book written in an unusual style of automatic writing. Propounding a cosmos full of spirits and “high level entities” akin to Western spiritualism, it had a very limited impact when it... more abstractThe Hitsuki Shinji is a Japanese book written in an unusual style of automatic writing. Propounding a cosmos full of spirits and “high level entities” akin to Western spiritualism, it had a very limited impact when it was first circulated in 1944, although it did attract the notice of the writer Yukio Mishima and the macrobiotics pioneer George Ohsawa. After being virtually ignored for almost five decades, in the early 1990s interest in the text suddenly took off, and at present roughly a dozen new books are being published about it every year. Its cryptic statements about a global conspiracy run by “stonecutters” have attracted comparisons to Western anti-Masonic texts, and Japanese proponents look to Western religious documents to justify its prophecies of apocalypse. While much of the text could be called a pastiche of occultist currents circulating in the 1940s, its teleological investment in a sort of global Shinto has much more complex roots which provide new light on how modern Far East esoteric practices are being influenced by the West.

Shinto Studies, Conspiracy Theories, Occultism, and Eastern Esotericism

Time: 1 PM to 3 PM

Location: Colgate University, New York

Event Date: Jun 20, 2014

Organization: Association for the Study of Esotericism

This paper explores the problem of academic neutrality and ideology with regards to 20th century Japan. Since 1945, “State Shintō” has been defined in academic literature as a state religion which was enforced by the ... more abstractThis paper explores the problem of academic neutrality and ideology with regards to 20th century Japan. Since 1945, “State Shintō” has been defined in academic literature as a state religion which was enforced by the Japanese government from an undetermined date after the Meiji Restoration until it was disestablished by the Allied Occupation. In fact, the Japanese government took concrete steps to separate their patriotic ceremonies from religion. Our current definition of the term “State Shintō” was produced by the religious scholar D.C. Holtom.

Japanese Religions, Shinto Studies, and State Shinto

Time: 10 AM to 12 PM

Event Date: Apr 16, 2010

Organization: 4th Undergraduate Asian Studies Symposium

Conference End Date: Apr 17, 2010

Conference Start Date: Apr 15, 2010