2015 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
| Project/Area Number |
15H06460
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
DEWITT LINDSEY 九州大学, 人文科学研究科(研究院), 助教 (30758652)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
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| Keywords | 仏教 / 日本宗教 / ジェンダー / 聖地 / 山岳宗教 |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Through this research I explored a diverse range of factors as windows to understanding how the tradition of female exclusion is deployed and challenged at Ominesan. These factors included the process of conferring UNESCO World Heritage status on Ominesan and the effects of this, legal implications, local religious and community management of the sites, and economic and cultural benefits and setbacks to the region. One of the most striking features of this “ancient tradition,” I determined, is its shape-shifting nature, dynamically crafted and continuously remolded by male and female residents, religious pilgrims, visitors, and scholars. My studies highlighted historical tensions and strategies of inclusion and exclusion, paying close attention to context, agency, and the deployment of ancient histories and practices in present-day milieus. In addition to completing my PhD dissertation in December 2015, I presented my research on four occasions (three public lectures and one conference presentation). I also published a peer-reviewed journal article on Ominesan and women’s exclusion in the Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University (JAH-Q) in March 2016.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
1: Research has progressed more than it was originally planned.
Reason
I have made very good progress toward my stated research goals of analysis of sources and fieldwork, writing, and dissemination, and will continue to do so in the second year of the fellowship.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Looking forward, I will publish a chapter on another sacred site off-limits to women, Okinoshima, in a forthcoming edited volume coordinated by Prof. Fabio Rambelli at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I plan to draft and submit for publication at least one additional scholarly article on Ominesan by the end of 2016. In June and July, I will share my early-stage Okinoshima research at the University of California, Santa Barbara before traveling to South Korea and China to give lectures based on my Ominesan research and attend academic programs on Buddhism, sacred space, and pilgrimage.
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