My academic career has always combined Japanese and the Study of Religions, more specifically a smattering of philosophy, critical theory, Islam, Shinto, and more. The intersection of these topics is a longstanding interest of mine, and I’m always keen to find new ways to look at this.
Many of my essays focused on religion in Japan. As an undergraduate, I primarily focused on how the ‘foreign’ concept of religion manifested itself over the years. My essay promoting the use of the word kami 神 was used as an example paper for the Advanced Theory in the Study of Religions course at SOAS, as well as at Akita University.
As a postgraduate, I wrote one dissertation on the availability of halal food in Tokyo and how this might affect Muslims living in the city, and another on the image of shōjin ryōri Japanese Buddhist food in Tokyo and how it was being promoted outside of classic temple settings. I presented revised papers based on both of these at the Oxford Food Symposium, and have published articles on these topics for the independent magazine Sankaku.
Religion in Tokyo
Post-university, I found ways to write about religion in an accessible manner, either through food, etiquette guides, or infographic-type articles. My work includes articles on understanding the difference between shrines and temples (spoiler: they used to be combined), and some of Tokyo’s more unorthodox shrines. Besides this, I wrote the first Japanese cuisine-focused halal food guide for Time Out Tokyo.
I also have a rather curious connection with Meiji Jingu, Tokyo’s largest shrine. As part of the Time Out Tokyo team, I appeared as a guest speaker on Tanken Bakumon, a TV show on NHK, to highlight the diversity of visitors at Meiji Jingu in recent years. I was also asked to create text for the new English signboards and infoboards inside the shrine precincts, in collaboration with JTB and the Japanese Ministry of Tourism. If you spot them, do send me a signboard selfie.
