Events

The Graduate School of International Cultural Studies is hosting a workshop featuring two distinguished scholars who will present cutting-edge anthropological research on the contemporary aspects of Shinto.

Kaitlyn Ugoretz will delve into the global impact of the pandemic on Shinto practices, while Ben Grafstrom will explore how recent mass depopulation in rural Japanese communities has influenced the Shinto landscape.

By examining these different dimensions, the presenters will provide fresh insights into how present-day challenges have reshaped what was once known as Japan's "indigenous faith."

Date: November 10, 2023 (Friday)
Time: 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Venue: Tohoku University, Kawauchi Campus, Faculty of Arts and Letters, Conference room 2F

This English language event is free, and registration is not required. For more information, please visit the homepage.

About the speakers:

• Kaitlyn Ugoretz is an assistant professor and the associate editor of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. She is an anthropologist of religion, researching the globalization of Shinto through digital media and popular culture. Ugoretz is also the host of the award-winning educational YouTube channel "Eat Pray Anime."

• Ben Grafstrom is a PhD research fellow at the University of Oslo. For his thesis research, he is examining the effects that mass depopulation in rural Japan is having on the ways residents interact with their local folk religious festivals. He is part of the "Religious Festivals in Asia: Power, Aspirations, and Play" research group.