A big day “climbing walls and building connections” in Kyoto

Reflections on a big day in Kyoto speaking at the 64th annual meeting of an interreligious organization called “CORMOS” (Conference On Religion and MOdern Society). This year’s theme for discussion was “Climbing Walls and Building Connections.”

We’re back in the magic of Kyoto! The sun is shining today and I’ve just finished a marathon two day conference on religion in modern Japan (the longest running religious research group in Kyoto, this was the 64th annual meeting!). I was honored not only to be invited but to speak as a panelist—it was probably the most nerve wracking experience of my life as a scholar, sharing my research in the heart of Japan and in Japanese! Of course I wish my Japanese was better than it is, but I think most importantly I went ahead and challenged myself despite feeling so scared. And I spoke on a controversial topic: Japan’s two World Heritage sites that ban women’s access as a condition of religious tradition, and how that tricky issue is navigated at the national and international levels (spoiler alert: it is ignored!). Everyone (a huge room full of polished scholars, priests, and businesspeople) was very kind and receptive to my work. Mr. Ohnishi, a young priest from Kiyomizudera, spoke after me about how his 1200-year-old temple that received more than 6 million visitors this year (maybe the most visitors of all temples in Japan except for maybe Sensōji in Tokyo) balances tourism and worship, doing all sorts of collabs with Pokky, rappers, and breast cancer awareness groups. Excited to visit him at “home” sometime soon