Recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of academic studies on the impact of techno... more Recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of academic studies on the impact of technological advancements on human life, including possible transformations and changes in human sexuality following the development of sex-related devices, such as sex robots. In this context, terms such as posthuman sexuality, digisexuality, and techno-sexuality have emerged, signaling possible new understandings of sexual, intimacy, and emotional practices. It is important to note that ancient history shows that humankind has for a long time been fascinated with their relationship to non-living things, mostly human-like figures, such as dolls. The Ningyo (人形, the Japanese term for doll) has a long history of usage, and has deep religious and animistic significance in the Japanese context—there are records of sexual use as early as the 18th century. With this context in mind, this paper focuses on three Japanese examples, aiming to shine a light on beyond-human relationships, which include ...
Employing contemporary psychological theories, a broad knowledge of comparative religions, and an... more Employing contemporary psychological theories, a broad knowledge of comparative religions, and an interest in the United States' foreign relations, Porterªeld presents an intriguing introduction to an under-studied aspect of women's history. Her psychological interpretation of the conversion process, and missionary calling, as therapeutic inºuences her assessment of the successes and failures of missionary women. Seeing the missionary calling as empowering for women, she also attributes to the self-referential nature of Christian evangelicalism the most signiªcant failures of the missionaries. Their focus on their own salvation and on the notion of self-sacriªce that was central to their dedication to Christian benevolence interfered with their ability to create egalitarian Christian communities like the one that they had left behind at Mount Holyoke. Porterªeld shows an admirable understanding of the various religious traditions in which these missionaries found themselves immersed. She is at her best describing the syncretic processes through which the Christian messages of missionaries in India were integrated into Hindu iconolastic piety. Although some of her larger claims about the longterm inºuence of early nineteenth-century missions on late-nineteenthand early twentieth-century foreign policy might strain the reader's credulity, she nonetheless points to some possibilities that bear further investigation. On the whole, Porterªeld makes a good case for the signiªcance of missionary women who were trained at Mount Holyoke. She presents a well-balanced treatment of women missionaries, not only discussing their accomplishments in promoting women's education but also recognizing their failures. In doing so, she adds not only to the history of Christian evangelicalism but to that of American women as well.
A dithia dication was generated from 4,9-diethyl[1,4]dihydrodithiino[5,6-f ]benzotrithiole 5-oxid... more A dithia dication was generated from 4,9-diethyl[1,4]dihydrodithiino[5,6-f ]benzotrithiole 5-oxide on treatment with D 2 SO 4. Hydrolysis of the dication gave 4,9-diethyl[1,4]dihydrodithiino[5,6-f ]benzotrithiole 1-oxide and 2-oxide, suggesting that the positive charges, generated on the dithiin ring, transferred to the trithiole ring. A disproportionation of the dithia dication was observed in the solution.
This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850-1912), the Seneca c... more This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850-1912), the Seneca chief of the Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada, by referring to the historical sources which have hitherto not been used. I will show that as a social agent in history, Gibson can be seen as being "traditional" in relation to the narrative and ritual tradition, yet should also be seen as being "modern" in his active relation to the economic and political structure of his time. My historical study shows that Gibson narrated his Onondaga myth not only for the sake of conserving it, but also for the sake of claiming political authority and power of the hereditary chiefs' council in responding to the immediate political situation.
A few years ago, Benjamin Ray criticized Jonathan Z. Smith's study of the bear hunting ritual... more A few years ago, Benjamin Ray criticized Jonathan Z. Smith's study of the bear hunting ritual. In this article, I further examine and develop a criticism of Smith's theory of ritual. Since he presents the Ainu bear ceremony as the exemplar case and bases his theory of ritual on his interpretation of it, I review and examine the available ethnographies of the Ainu bear ceremony Iyomante . My reading of them calls into question both Smith's presentation of the ethnography of the bear ceremony and his interpretation of its meaning. Smith's focus on the ritual killing as the core of the Ainu bear ceremony as the perfect hunt to resolve incongruity between the mythical ideology and the hunting practice is based upon his not taking into consideration the Ainu religious world of meanings. From my study of the Ainu bear ceremony, I maintain that the ritual dismemberment of the bear and the ritual decoration of the bear's skull constitute the core of the meaning of the ri...
Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly... more Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly famous. Mori is also an initiator of the Robot Contest and a student of Buddhism and a practitioner of Zen. He constructs his original Buddhist philosophy of robotics throughout his career. His robotics work and his learning of Buddhism develop together side by side in an interesting intertwined manner. This paper will take up the issues such as the ethical personality, quality of minds, and experiences of engineers as key components in and for an “ethical design” of robots by examining Mori’s Buddhist philosophy of robotics. This paper is divided into four sections. After an introductory part, in the second section, we will explore Mori’s view of Zen as aspiritual source for technological creativity. In Section 3, we will examine his view into a robot-contest as a location of a realized teaching of Buddhism, especially, in relationship to the Diamond Sūtra, in order to see Mori’s educa...
This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, fear... more This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, feared by the Algonquian people such as the Anishinabe and the Cree in the Northeastern North America. The first section introduces the topic. The second section, mainly based upon recent scholarly work by S. Smallman, reviews a history of the scholarly works on Windigo and presents the perspective to be taken for this paper. In the third section, it examines the historical changes of the Windigo images. As the historical phenomenon, the so-called Windigo Psychosis ceased to be reported by the end of the th century. The image of Windigo continues to be referred to by both the native people and the American-Canadian people. While this paper recognizes the contemporary native representation of Windigo as a proof of cultural creativity, it also sees historical changes in the religious perception of the image of Windigo with the recognition of etymological resemblance between the indigenous terms of owl and Windigo. In the fourth section, while admitting the importance of the moral interpretation of Windigo narrative, this paper tries to read the bodily experiential dimension as the location of religious fear of Windigo. Paying a special attention to the shamanistic narrative of Windigo, this paper attempts to read the religious meaning of personal transformation induced by the spiritual possession by Windigo.
This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, fear... more This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, feared by the Algonquian people such as the Anishinabe and the Cree in the Northeastern North America. The first section introduces the topic. The second section, mainly based upon recent scholarly work by S. Smallman, reviews a history of the scholarly works on Windigo and presents the perspective to be taken for this paper. In the third section, it examines the historical changes of the Windigo images. As the historical phenomenon, the so-called Windigo Psychosis ceased to be reported by the end of the th century. The image of Windigo continues to be referred to by both the native people and the American-Canadian people. While this paper recognizes the contemporary native representation of Windigo as a proof of cultural creativity, it also sees historical changes in the religious perception of the image of Windigo with the recognition of etymological resemblance between the indigenous terms of owl and Windigo. In the fourth section, while admitting the importance of the moral interpretation of Windigo narrative, this paper tries to read the bodily experiential dimension as the location of religious fear of Windigo. Paying a special attention to the shamanistic narrative of Windigo, this paper attempts to read the religious meaning of personal transformation induced by the spiritual possession by Windigo.
In 2003, Jeremy Waldron addressed the issue of indigeneity by taking up the concepts of justice, ... more In 2003, Jeremy Waldron addressed the issue of indigeneity by taking up the concepts of justice, cultural right and sovereignty for indigenous peoples. 1 The Principle of First Occupancy and the Established Order are the two main political ideas in his treatment. From his argument, it is known that the issues of indigeneity and indigenous are highly political and legal, closely related to the serious issues of property and ownership. Waldron's article strongly points out that the notions of indigenous and indigeneity originate from the global political contexts. On the other hand, an unsatisfied voice regarding a contemporary application of the notion of "indigenous" in the study of religion is raised. Recently Bjørn Ola Tafjord critically examines the way the notion of an "indigenous religion(s)" is applied in the study of religion, and argues that it has been employed "uncritically in relationship to the indigenous peoples." The uncritical usage of the term would cause some intellectual problems and confusions. He proposes that the term of indingeous should be utilized as a relational concept, that is, as 'the opposite of foreign religion(s),' not restricted to indigenous peoples. 2 To illustrate the case, Tafjord refers to Shinto as one of indigenous Japanese religions. These reflections address a general theoretical question such as "How can a student of religion employ the same category to designate both different but similar religions within a context of one cultural society and similar but different religions beyond cultural and social borders?" In addition, we cannot avoid discussing implied political dimensions in studying something "indigenous." In applying the term of "indigenous" to the study of Japanese religious history, quickly an issue arises since Shinto as the indigenous religion of Japan and the Ainu who is usually referred to the indigenous people in Japan are historically antagonistic toward each other. In this paper, several different questions are asked while these old and new questions are dealt with in relationship to the category of "indigenous" by referring to one historical and cultural context of Japan with some references to North America and the Philippines. The reason why these two areas are referred to is that these foreign scholarly contexts provide a global context to locate the study of the notion of "indigenous" in the study of Japanese religion and a transnational framework to examine critically the way the term of indigenous is utilized in the study of Japanese religion. Then, the difficult predicament of applying a necessary term of indigenous to studying Japanese religious history as a part of general history of religion is examined.
Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly... more Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly famous. Mori is also an initiator of the Robot Contest and a student of Buddhism and a practitioner of Zen. He constructs his original Buddhist philosophy of robotics throughout his career. His robotics work and his learning of Buddhism develop together side by side in an interesting intertwined manner. This paper will take up the issues such as the ethical personality, quality of minds, and experiences of engineers as key components in and for an "ethi-cal design" of robots by examining Mori's Buddhist philosophy of robotics. This paper is divided into four sections. After an introductory part, in the second section, we will explore Mori's view of Zen as aspiritual source for technological creativity. In Section 3, we will examine his view into a robot-contest as a location of a realized teaching of Buddhism, especially, in relationship to the Diamond S¯ utra, in order to see Mori's educational contribution. In Section 4, we will examine how Mori became engaged to learn and practice Buddhism and came to the realization of Buddhahood in relation to robotics. " We (humans) have become entangled with very strong co-habitants of machine and technology. We need to acquire a high spiritual status to control power originating from a combination of human power and mechanical power. To learn to do so, we need to learn religion. " (M. Mori, Mori Masahiro no bukky¯ o ny¯ umon [Mori Masahiro's introduction to Buddhism], K¯ osei Shuppan, Tokyo, 2003, 168-169)
The Journal of American and Canadian Studies, No.33 2015, Sophia University, Institute of America... more The Journal of American and Canadian Studies, No.33 2015, Sophia University, Institute of American and Canadian Studies
This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850A. Gibson ( -1912, t... more This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850A. Gibson ( -1912, the Seneca chief of the Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada, by referring to the historical sources which have hitherto not been used. I will show that as a social agent in history, Gibson can be seen as being "traditional" in relation to the narrative and ritual tradition, yet should also be seen as being "modern" in his active relation to the economic and political structure of his time. My historical study shows that Gibson narrated his Onondaga myth not only for the sake of conserving it, but also for the sake of claiming political authority and power of the hereditary chiefs' council in responding to the immediate political situation.
Recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of academic studies on the impact of techno... more Recent years have witnessed an increase in the number of academic studies on the impact of technological advancements on human life, including possible transformations and changes in human sexuality following the development of sex-related devices, such as sex robots. In this context, terms such as posthuman sexuality, digisexuality, and techno-sexuality have emerged, signaling possible new understandings of sexual, intimacy, and emotional practices. It is important to note that ancient history shows that humankind has for a long time been fascinated with their relationship to non-living things, mostly human-like figures, such as dolls. The Ningyo (人形, the Japanese term for doll) has a long history of usage, and has deep religious and animistic significance in the Japanese context—there are records of sexual use as early as the 18th century. With this context in mind, this paper focuses on three Japanese examples, aiming to shine a light on beyond-human relationships, which include ...
Employing contemporary psychological theories, a broad knowledge of comparative religions, and an... more Employing contemporary psychological theories, a broad knowledge of comparative religions, and an interest in the United States' foreign relations, Porterªeld presents an intriguing introduction to an under-studied aspect of women's history. Her psychological interpretation of the conversion process, and missionary calling, as therapeutic inºuences her assessment of the successes and failures of missionary women. Seeing the missionary calling as empowering for women, she also attributes to the self-referential nature of Christian evangelicalism the most signiªcant failures of the missionaries. Their focus on their own salvation and on the notion of self-sacriªce that was central to their dedication to Christian benevolence interfered with their ability to create egalitarian Christian communities like the one that they had left behind at Mount Holyoke. Porterªeld shows an admirable understanding of the various religious traditions in which these missionaries found themselves immersed. She is at her best describing the syncretic processes through which the Christian messages of missionaries in India were integrated into Hindu iconolastic piety. Although some of her larger claims about the longterm inºuence of early nineteenth-century missions on late-nineteenthand early twentieth-century foreign policy might strain the reader's credulity, she nonetheless points to some possibilities that bear further investigation. On the whole, Porterªeld makes a good case for the signiªcance of missionary women who were trained at Mount Holyoke. She presents a well-balanced treatment of women missionaries, not only discussing their accomplishments in promoting women's education but also recognizing their failures. In doing so, she adds not only to the history of Christian evangelicalism but to that of American women as well.
A dithia dication was generated from 4,9-diethyl[1,4]dihydrodithiino[5,6-f ]benzotrithiole 5-oxid... more A dithia dication was generated from 4,9-diethyl[1,4]dihydrodithiino[5,6-f ]benzotrithiole 5-oxide on treatment with D 2 SO 4. Hydrolysis of the dication gave 4,9-diethyl[1,4]dihydrodithiino[5,6-f ]benzotrithiole 1-oxide and 2-oxide, suggesting that the positive charges, generated on the dithiin ring, transferred to the trithiole ring. A disproportionation of the dithia dication was observed in the solution.
This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850-1912), the Seneca c... more This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850-1912), the Seneca chief of the Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada, by referring to the historical sources which have hitherto not been used. I will show that as a social agent in history, Gibson can be seen as being "traditional" in relation to the narrative and ritual tradition, yet should also be seen as being "modern" in his active relation to the economic and political structure of his time. My historical study shows that Gibson narrated his Onondaga myth not only for the sake of conserving it, but also for the sake of claiming political authority and power of the hereditary chiefs' council in responding to the immediate political situation.
A few years ago, Benjamin Ray criticized Jonathan Z. Smith's study of the bear hunting ritual... more A few years ago, Benjamin Ray criticized Jonathan Z. Smith's study of the bear hunting ritual. In this article, I further examine and develop a criticism of Smith's theory of ritual. Since he presents the Ainu bear ceremony as the exemplar case and bases his theory of ritual on his interpretation of it, I review and examine the available ethnographies of the Ainu bear ceremony Iyomante . My reading of them calls into question both Smith's presentation of the ethnography of the bear ceremony and his interpretation of its meaning. Smith's focus on the ritual killing as the core of the Ainu bear ceremony as the perfect hunt to resolve incongruity between the mythical ideology and the hunting practice is based upon his not taking into consideration the Ainu religious world of meanings. From my study of the Ainu bear ceremony, I maintain that the ritual dismemberment of the bear and the ritual decoration of the bear's skull constitute the core of the meaning of the ri...
Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly... more Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly famous. Mori is also an initiator of the Robot Contest and a student of Buddhism and a practitioner of Zen. He constructs his original Buddhist philosophy of robotics throughout his career. His robotics work and his learning of Buddhism develop together side by side in an interesting intertwined manner. This paper will take up the issues such as the ethical personality, quality of minds, and experiences of engineers as key components in and for an “ethical design” of robots by examining Mori’s Buddhist philosophy of robotics. This paper is divided into four sections. After an introductory part, in the second section, we will explore Mori’s view of Zen as aspiritual source for technological creativity. In Section 3, we will examine his view into a robot-contest as a location of a realized teaching of Buddhism, especially, in relationship to the Diamond Sūtra, in order to see Mori’s educa...
This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, fear... more This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, feared by the Algonquian people such as the Anishinabe and the Cree in the Northeastern North America. The first section introduces the topic. The second section, mainly based upon recent scholarly work by S. Smallman, reviews a history of the scholarly works on Windigo and presents the perspective to be taken for this paper. In the third section, it examines the historical changes of the Windigo images. As the historical phenomenon, the so-called Windigo Psychosis ceased to be reported by the end of the th century. The image of Windigo continues to be referred to by both the native people and the American-Canadian people. While this paper recognizes the contemporary native representation of Windigo as a proof of cultural creativity, it also sees historical changes in the religious perception of the image of Windigo with the recognition of etymological resemblance between the indigenous terms of owl and Windigo. In the fourth section, while admitting the importance of the moral interpretation of Windigo narrative, this paper tries to read the bodily experiential dimension as the location of religious fear of Windigo. Paying a special attention to the shamanistic narrative of Windigo, this paper attempts to read the religious meaning of personal transformation induced by the spiritual possession by Windigo.
This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, fear... more This paper attempts to examine the symbolic representation of Windigo, the cannibal monster, feared by the Algonquian people such as the Anishinabe and the Cree in the Northeastern North America. The first section introduces the topic. The second section, mainly based upon recent scholarly work by S. Smallman, reviews a history of the scholarly works on Windigo and presents the perspective to be taken for this paper. In the third section, it examines the historical changes of the Windigo images. As the historical phenomenon, the so-called Windigo Psychosis ceased to be reported by the end of the th century. The image of Windigo continues to be referred to by both the native people and the American-Canadian people. While this paper recognizes the contemporary native representation of Windigo as a proof of cultural creativity, it also sees historical changes in the religious perception of the image of Windigo with the recognition of etymological resemblance between the indigenous terms of owl and Windigo. In the fourth section, while admitting the importance of the moral interpretation of Windigo narrative, this paper tries to read the bodily experiential dimension as the location of religious fear of Windigo. Paying a special attention to the shamanistic narrative of Windigo, this paper attempts to read the religious meaning of personal transformation induced by the spiritual possession by Windigo.
In 2003, Jeremy Waldron addressed the issue of indigeneity by taking up the concepts of justice, ... more In 2003, Jeremy Waldron addressed the issue of indigeneity by taking up the concepts of justice, cultural right and sovereignty for indigenous peoples. 1 The Principle of First Occupancy and the Established Order are the two main political ideas in his treatment. From his argument, it is known that the issues of indigeneity and indigenous are highly political and legal, closely related to the serious issues of property and ownership. Waldron's article strongly points out that the notions of indigenous and indigeneity originate from the global political contexts. On the other hand, an unsatisfied voice regarding a contemporary application of the notion of "indigenous" in the study of religion is raised. Recently Bjørn Ola Tafjord critically examines the way the notion of an "indigenous religion(s)" is applied in the study of religion, and argues that it has been employed "uncritically in relationship to the indigenous peoples." The uncritical usage of the term would cause some intellectual problems and confusions. He proposes that the term of indingeous should be utilized as a relational concept, that is, as 'the opposite of foreign religion(s),' not restricted to indigenous peoples. 2 To illustrate the case, Tafjord refers to Shinto as one of indigenous Japanese religions. These reflections address a general theoretical question such as "How can a student of religion employ the same category to designate both different but similar religions within a context of one cultural society and similar but different religions beyond cultural and social borders?" In addition, we cannot avoid discussing implied political dimensions in studying something "indigenous." In applying the term of "indigenous" to the study of Japanese religious history, quickly an issue arises since Shinto as the indigenous religion of Japan and the Ainu who is usually referred to the indigenous people in Japan are historically antagonistic toward each other. In this paper, several different questions are asked while these old and new questions are dealt with in relationship to the category of "indigenous" by referring to one historical and cultural context of Japan with some references to North America and the Philippines. The reason why these two areas are referred to is that these foreign scholarly contexts provide a global context to locate the study of the notion of "indigenous" in the study of Japanese religion and a transnational framework to examine critically the way the term of indigenous is utilized in the study of Japanese religion. Then, the difficult predicament of applying a necessary term of indigenous to studying Japanese religious history as a part of general history of religion is examined.
Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly... more Masahiro Mori is a well-known Japanese robotics scholar whose notion of Uncanny Valley is worldly famous. Mori is also an initiator of the Robot Contest and a student of Buddhism and a practitioner of Zen. He constructs his original Buddhist philosophy of robotics throughout his career. His robotics work and his learning of Buddhism develop together side by side in an interesting intertwined manner. This paper will take up the issues such as the ethical personality, quality of minds, and experiences of engineers as key components in and for an "ethi-cal design" of robots by examining Mori's Buddhist philosophy of robotics. This paper is divided into four sections. After an introductory part, in the second section, we will explore Mori's view of Zen as aspiritual source for technological creativity. In Section 3, we will examine his view into a robot-contest as a location of a realized teaching of Buddhism, especially, in relationship to the Diamond S¯ utra, in order to see Mori's educational contribution. In Section 4, we will examine how Mori became engaged to learn and practice Buddhism and came to the realization of Buddhahood in relation to robotics. " We (humans) have become entangled with very strong co-habitants of machine and technology. We need to acquire a high spiritual status to control power originating from a combination of human power and mechanical power. To learn to do so, we need to learn religion. " (M. Mori, Mori Masahiro no bukky¯ o ny¯ umon [Mori Masahiro's introduction to Buddhism], K¯ osei Shuppan, Tokyo, 2003, 168-169)
The Journal of American and Canadian Studies, No.33 2015, Sophia University, Institute of America... more The Journal of American and Canadian Studies, No.33 2015, Sophia University, Institute of American and Canadian Studies
This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850A. Gibson ( -1912, t... more This essay attempts to construct and explore the life of John A. Gibson (1850A. Gibson ( -1912, the Seneca chief of the Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada, by referring to the historical sources which have hitherto not been used. I will show that as a social agent in history, Gibson can be seen as being "traditional" in relation to the narrative and ritual tradition, yet should also be seen as being "modern" in his active relation to the economic and political structure of his time. My historical study shows that Gibson narrated his Onondaga myth not only for the sake of conserving it, but also for the sake of claiming political authority and power of the hereditary chiefs' council in responding to the immediate political situation.
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