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Dana Mirsalis

@danamirsalis.bsky.social

Assistant Professor of History at Pacific University. Modern and contemporary Japanese religion (especially Shinto), history, and gender.

41 Posts650 Follower 304 Folgt

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · last mo.

SSJR will be hosting a virtual book talk with @bryandaniellowe.bsky.social later this month. Open to the public, so please come join us! Registration link: furman.zoom.us/webinar/regi... Link to the book: uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/how-bu...

Poster for Dr. Bryan Lowe's talk for the Society for the Study of Japanese Religions, entitled "How to Know How Buddhism Spread in Japan, 650-850."
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.

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I'll be presenting at the European Association for Japanese Studies next week! I'll be a panelist on Rel07 "Fieldwork at shrines: challenges and rewards" on Friday morning. Hope to see some of you there!

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 7mo ago

SSJR will be hosting a book talk for Prof. Helen Hardacre's new book in 2 weeks! We hope to see some of you there! Info about the book: www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067... Register for the talk: furman.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF JAPANESE RELIGIONS PRESENTS
A VIRTUAL BOOK TALK W/
DR. HELEN HARDACRE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
HOSTED BY DR. DANA MIRSALIS, PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

TUE. APRIL 7
4PM U.S. PACIFIC TIME
7PM U.S. EASTERN TIME//
WED. APRIL 8
1AM CENTRAL EUROPEAN TIME
8AM JAPAN TIME

THIS TALK PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF DR. HARDACRE’S RECENT PUBLICATION, SHINTO SHRINES IN PREWAR AND WARTIME JAPAN, WITH AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT MATERIAL CONCERNING A SHRINE PRIEST DURING THE PACIFIC WAR. MORE ON THE BOOK CAN BE FOUND HERE: HTTPS://WWW.HUP.HARVARD.EDU/BOOKS/9780674302594

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The email just got sent out, which reminded me that I should probably do a self-promo. I'm giving a talk at PSU next month! Details: www.pdx.edu/japanese-stu...

Making Shinto Work: Female Priests, Local Shrines, and Divergent Practices; A Lecture by Dr. Dana Mirsalis

Making Shinto Work: Female Priests, Local Shrines, and Divergent Practices A Lecture by Dr. Dana Mirsalis Pacific University This talk explores how the entrance of women into the Shinto priesthood in ...

pdx.edu

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 12mo ago

SSJR is running another book talk! Please join us in two weeks for @sdahl.bsky.social's talk. Register here: furman.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Poster for upcoming virtual bookshop. Text:
THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF JAPANESE RELIGIONS PRESENTS
SHUGENDŌ AND TIME: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF DEWA SANZAN

A VIRTUAL BOOK TALK W/
DR. SHAYNE DAHL, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

IN THIS TALK, DR. DAHL DISCUSSES KEY THEMES IN HIS FORTHCOMING BOOK, THE SECRET WORLD OF SHUGENDŌ: SACRED MOUNTAINS AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IN POST-DISASTER JAPAN (2025, UNC PRESS). DAHL MAKES THE CASE FOR ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO STUDYING CONTEMPORARY SHUGENDŌ AND JAPANESE RELIGIONS MORE BROADLY. DR, DAHL ALSO FOCUSES ON THE THEORETICAL SALIENCE OF TIME AS EXPRESSED THROUGH HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN LOCAL TOURISM AND MOUNTAIN ASCETIC TRAINING PROGRAMS, DURING ANNUAL MOUNTAIN ENTRY RITUALS, AND IN EXISTENTIAL REFLECTION FACILITATED BY THE CULTURE AND PRACTICE OF SHUGENDŌ IN THE POST-DISASTER PERIOD. DAHL ARGUES THAT SACRED MOUNTAINS SUCH AS DEWA SANZAN EMBODY SPATIOTEMPORAL ALTERITY WITHIN CAPITALIST MODERNITY AS THEY PROVIDE PEOPLE LIVING IN AN ANXIOUS PRESENT WITH A SPACE TO REFLECT ON AND RECONNECT WITH THE PAST, TO REJUVENATE THEIR OVERWORKED LIVES IN THE PRESENT, AND PRAY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR JAPAN.

TUE. NOV. 11
6 PM U.S. PACIFIC TIME
9 PM U.S. EASTERN TIME
//
WED. NOV. 12
3 AM CENTRAL EUROPEAN TIME
10 AM JAPAN TIME

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · last yr.

SSJR is running its first virtual book talk next week! @orionklautau.bsky.social will lecturing on the enduring fascination with Shōtoku Taishi in 20th century Japan. Please join us! You can register for the Zoom webinar here: bit.ly/4mtw3qJ

THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF JAPANESE RELIGIONS PRESENTS
ANOTHER SHŌTOKU: HISTORY AND MYTHMAKING IN MODERN JAPANESE RELIGION
A VIRTUAL BOOK TALK W/ DR. ORION KLAUTAU
HOSTED BY DR. OR PORATH, TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
This lecture examines the enduring fascination with the "true" image of Shōtoku Taishi (574-622) in twentieth-century Japan. By tracing the emergence of alternative historical narratives around him, it reveals how Shōtoku has been recast as both a symbol of religious and political importance and a romanticized figure endowed with supernatural power. The talk further explores how modern reinterpretations-spanning from the early twentieth century to the present-have woven together elements of occultism, mythology, and pseudo-history, forging new forms of storytelling that often blur the line between fact and fantasy. Engaging with a range of scholarly works and popular media, this presentation illustrates how these "alternative histories" have been crafted to appeal to both intellectual audiences and the broader public, reshaping Shōtoku's legacy and his role in the Japanese cultural imagination.
THU. JUNE 19
9AM JAPAN TIME
2AM CENTRAL EUROPEAN SUMMER TIME
WED. JUNE 18
8PM U.S. EASTERN
5PM U.S. PACIFIC
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Orion Klautau is Associate Professor at the Department of Japanese Religion and Intellectual History, Graduate School of International Cultural Studies, Tohoku University. His work focuses on the development of Japanese Buddhism in the modern period, with special emphasis on historiographical issues. Besides a number of articles in both English and Japanese, he is author of Kindai Nihon shisō toshite no bukkyō shigaku (Buddhist historiography as modern Japanese thought, Hōzōkan, 2012), and Kakusareta Shōtoku Taishi: Kingendai Nihon no gishi to okaruto bunka (Shōtoku Taishi Veiled:
Alternative Histories and Occulture in Modern Japan, Chikuma Shobō, 2024).

Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 2y ago

Excellent essay (begins on p. 25)

Sonja Drimmer@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 2y ago

Love to refuse a prompt. static1.squarespace.com/static/53a4b...

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 2y ago

Forgot to post over here, but my copy of The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions arrived! I have a short piece about gender and fieldwork included.

Photo of the front cover of The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions.

Photo of the first page of my chapter, entitled "Gender."

Bryan Lowe @bryandaniellowe.bsky.social · 2y ago

Fascinating online (and physical) exhibit on "how women and their families experienced pregnancy and childbirth in early modern Japan," with many amazing images like this one, a parodic rendering of the Buddhist Ten Realms Mandala placed within the womb. www.nichibun.ac.jp/online/ucsf_...

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 2y ago

Well, apparently there are now almost 300 (!!) of you following me, so I suppose I should do a proper introduction. Hi! I'm Dana Mirsalis. I'm a scholar of modern and contemporary Japanese religion and history, currently an assistant professor in the History Department at Pacific University. (1/12)

Dana Mirsalis @danamirsalis.bsky.social · 2y ago

Trying out this thing, I guess, although I am very shy on social media. I had an article about how female Shinto priests negotiate menstrual pollution come out recently, if you want to see the sort of things I work on! nccisjpnew.wixsite.com/nccisjp/%E8%...

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