CORRECT LINK: Virtual Book Talk with Bryan D. Lowe, September 24

[Or Porath]

Dear Members,

Apologies for cross-posting. There appears to be an issue with the original link, so I have posted a new one.

I am delighted to invite you to a virtual book talk by Professor Bryan D. Lowe of Princeton University, titled “How to Know How Buddhism Spread in Japan, 650–850.” Drawing on his new book, How Buddhism Spread in Japan, 650–850, Professor Lowe will explore archaeological and manuscript evidence that sheds new light on early Japanese religion, politics, and culture.

Date and time:
Thursday, September 24
5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern

OR
Friday, September 25
2:00 a.m. Central European / 9:00 a.m. Japan

Abstract:

In my new book, I argue that between 650 and 850 CE, Japan changed from a land largely without Buddhism to a country where Buddhist ideas, images, and practices were everywhere in what was arguably the most dramatic religious transformation in the country’s history. In this talk, I turn to sources and methods to introduce how we can know that this transformation took place. I introduce archaeological and manuscript evidence that have received virtually no attention in English that, in my view, allow for a radically new understanding of early Japanese religion, politics, and culture. The talk will look under the hood to show how scholars can combine material culture and texts to access forms of Buddhism otherwise lost in the historical record and tell new stories about the past.

About the speaker:

Bryan D. Lowe is an associate professor in the Department of Religion at Princeton University. His first book, Ritualized Writing: Buddhist Practice and Scriptural Cultures in Ancient Japan, won the John Whitney Hall Prize from the Association for Asian Studies. His second, How Buddhism Spread in Japan, 650–850, comes out in September 2026, available for purchase from the University of Hawaii Press.

Attendees will receive a special discount on the purchase of the book. Please see the attached leaflet.

Registration:
https://furman.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WGmijFVnTta4EEpYhravPw#/registration 

I very much hope you will be able to join us.

With best wishes,

Or Porath

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Or Porath

Assistant Professor, Tel Aviv University

Visiting Scholar, Harvard University

Vice-President, Society for the Study of Japanese Religions

Associate Editor, Japanese Religions

Publications:

Rituals of Initiation and Consecration in Premodern Japan: Power and Legitimacy in Kingship, Religion, and the Arts (with Fabio Rambelli)

Aki no yo no naga monogatari: Chūshaku to kenkyū 秋夜長物語絵巻： 注釈と研究 (with Abe Yasurō et al).

The Body Religious in Japan: Double Issue, Japanese Religions 46 (1) & (2)