On Wednesday, October 19, IAFOR will be hosting a cultural visit to Kiyomizu-dera, one of the most famous and celebrated temples in Japan. Founded in 778 AD, the temple is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site, and is considered a must-see location for those visiting Kyoto for the first time. The temple contains buildings from the 17th century, including a main hall designated as a National Treasure, and its wooden stage offers an incredible panoramic view of Kyoto. The visit will be led by plenary speaker Brian Victoria of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, whose in-depth historical and cultural knowledge of the site will bring an academic edge to this already unique and exciting experience.
This exclusive experience is only available to delegates attending The 13th Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film (MediAsia2022) and The 3rd Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture (KAMC2022). If you are interested in participating in cultural visits that take place alongside IAFOR conferences, please consider submitting an abstract. A full list of locations can be seen by following the link below.
Speaker Biography
Brian Victoria
Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, United Kingdom
Brian Victoria is a native of Omaha, Nebraska and a 1961 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. He holds a MA in Buddhist Studies from Sōtō Zen sect-affiliated Komazawa University in Tokyo, and a PhD from the Department of Religious Studies at Temple University.
In addition to a second, enlarged edition of Zen At War (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), Brian's major writings include Zen War Stories (RoutledgeCurzon, 2003); an autobiographical work in Japanese entitled Gaijin de ari, Zen bozu de ari (As a Foreigner, As a Zen Priest), published by San-ichi Shobo in 1971; Zen Master Dōgen, coauthored with Prof. Yokoi Yūhō of Aichi Gakuin University (Weatherhill, 1976); and a translation of The Zen Life by Sato Koji (Weatherhill, 1972). In addition, Brian has published numerous journal articles, focusing on the relationship of not only Buddhism but religion in general, to violence and warfare.
From 2005 to 2013 Brian was a Professor of Japanese Studies and director of the AEA “Japan and Its Buddhist Traditions Program” at Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. From 2013 to 2015 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, Japan. His latest book, Zen Terror: The Death of Democracy in Prewar Japan was published by Rowman & Littlefield in February 2020. Brian is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and a fully ordained Buddhist priest in the Sōtō Zen sect.
