2016 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report

Themes and Implications of the Heisei Era Shikoku Henro Literature Boom

Research Project

Project/Area Number	26370074
Research Institution	Kansai Gaidai University
Principal Investigator	John A.SHULTZ 関西外国語大学, 外国語学部, 講師 (90722728)
Project Period (FY)	2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
Keywords	Shikoku henro / pilgrims / pilgrimage / asceticism / Japanese Buddhism
Outline of Annual Research Achievements	The project progressed well this year, roughly in accordance with the original plan. First, project results were decimated for the first time to Japanese scholars at a conference titled 法文学部附属四国遍路・世界の巡礼研究センター第3回公開研究会 hosted by 愛媛大学法文学部附属　四国遍路・世界の巡礼研究センター on July 30th. I was able to network and receive valuable feedback on the continuing project at this gathering of experts. Second, a 12,700 word, peer-reviewed research paper titled "The Way to Gyo: Priestly Asceticism on the Shikoku Henro" was published in December in the Journal of Japanese Religious Studies, a top-tier journal for the field. Third, significant progress has been made on the completion of the monograph manuscript.