Readings in Japanese Religions: Buddhist Exchange between the Continent and Japan

Subject associations
REL 533 / EAS 535
Term
Fall 2022
Instructors
Bryan D. Lowe
Registrar description

This seminar explores exchange between Japanese and continental (China and Korean) Buddhism. We read primary sources and secondary scholarship including transmission narratives, hagiographies, and pilgrimage records to show how Buddhism in East Asia was facilitated by exchange and to move beyond nation-centered narratives. Significant time is spent on translation, as well as research methods and tools necessary for the study of premodern Japanese Buddhism. Readings require basic familiarity with classical Chinese or kanbun.