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Journal of Korean Religions, vol. 2, no. 1 (2011)

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RESEARCH ARTICLES

In Search of “Korean-ness” in Korean Religions through Border-crossing: A Comparative Approach
Nam-lin Hur, 5

What elements make Korean religions distinctive? This is an issue that has attracted a lot of attention from many scholars in the field. What would be an effective avenue to approach the ways in which external religions are adapted or transformed to Korean society and culture? In this article, Hur suggests that the task of tackling this question can benefit from a border-crossing approach, particularly through comparison with Japanese religions that offer a range of contrasting features. In order to illustrate this, Hur offers two examples that sharply distinguished Korean religions from Japanese religions in early modern times. One is the value of filial piety which dominated Korean Confucianism but was almost invisible in Japanese Confucianism. The other is Buddhism’s role in funerary rituals and ancestor worship: Buddhism in Chosŏn Korea was kept at bay from the dominant ritual arena of ancestor-related rituals; in contrast, Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan was the central agent of funerary rites and ancestor worship rituals. Hur suggests that border-crossing, comparative approaches that involve Japanese cases can contribute to de-localizing Korean religions and, at the same time, to localizing Korean-ness found in Korean religions in the context of society and culture.
Keywords: filial piety, ancestor worship, funerary rituals, Confucianism, Buddhism
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Journal of Korean Religions, vol. 1, nos. 1&2 (2010): Problematizing ‘‘Korean Religions’’

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Editors’ Preface
Seong-nae Kim & Don Baker, 5

Korea offers both challenges and opportunities for scholars of religion. The opportunity it presents comes from its religious diversity. The Republic of Korea is the only country in the world in which both Buddhists and Christians each claim between 20% and 30% of the population. It also has what may be the most visible community of practicing shamans in the industrialized world. There are more Confucian shrines per capita in Korean today than in any other nation on earth. And Korea is home to a large assortment of new religious movements, ranging from the Unification Church to Daesoon Jinrihoe. In addition, close to half of the South Korean people say they have no particular religious affiliation. There is, therefore, much for a scholar of religion to study in Korea.
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Philosophy East and West, vol. 62, no. 2 (2012)

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ARTICLES

The Existential Moment: Rereading Dōgen’s Theory of Time
Rein Raud, 153

This article argues for a new way to interpret Dōgen’s theory of time, reading the notion of uji as momentary existence, and shows that many notorious difficulties usually associated with the theory can be overcome with this approach, which is also more compatible with some fundamental assumptions of Buddhist philosophy (the non-durational existence of dharmas, the arbitrariness of linguistic designations and the concepts they point to, the absence of self-nature in beings, etc.). It is also shown how this reading leads to an innovative treatment of the concept of selfhood, viewing the self as the active openness of an existent to the surrounding world, with which it is able to identify through a mutual relation with other existents within the existential moment. This argument is supported by an alternative translation in the “momentary mode” of those extracts of the fascicle that introduce or elaborate on Dōgen’s key concepts.

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Asian Perspectives, vol. 49, no. 2 (2010)

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Special Issue: New and Emergent Trends in Japanese Paleolithic Research

ARTICLES

Introduction
Peter Bleed, 227

This serves as an introduction to eight articles on Japanese Palaeolithic archaeology that illustrate the types of research issues recently addressed and the kinds of archaeological data currently available on Pleistocene deposits in Japan. The articles also show how Japanese researchers are setting out to explain Palaeolithic variability at various scales, including the regional level. Perhaps, most importantly, given the recriminations following the relatively recent exposure of faked “early and middle Palaeolithic” artifacts in Japan, these papers show how Palaeolithic archeologists working in Japan have recognized the importance of presenting reliable archaeological and paleoenvironmental data in the context of clear research methodology.
Keywords: Palaeolithic, Japan, Pleistocene, lithic technology.

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China Review International, vol. 17, no. 2 (2010)

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FEATURES

A New Study of Peasants without the Party (reviewing Lucien Bianco, Wretched Rebels: Rural Disturbances on the Eve of the Chinese Revolution)
Reviewed by Xiaorong Han, 197

Speaking of Cao Cao (reviewing Rafe de Crespigny, Imperial Warlord: A Biography of Cao Cao 155–220 A.D.)
Reviewed by David A. Graff, 201

China and Russian Literature in Historical Perspective (reviewing Mark Gamsa, The Reading of Russian Literature in China: A Moral Example and Manual of Practice; Mark Gamsa, The Chinese Translation of Russian Literature: Three Studies) 
Reviewed by Alison Dray-Novey, 204
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China Review International, vol. 17, no. 1 (2010)

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FEATURES

Jay Taylor Finds Rehabilitating Chiang Kai-shek’s Reputation No Small Task (reviewing Jay Taylor, The Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the Struggle for Modern China)
Reviewed by David D. Buck, 1

Being What We Read: Perennialism in Chinese Islamic Studies (reviewing Sachiko Murata, William C. Chittick, and Tu Weiming, The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms) 
Reviewed by James D. Frankel, 8

Eternal Questions (reviewing Yuri Pines, Envisioning Eternal Empire: Chinese Political Thought of the Warring States Era) 
Reviewed by Dennis Grafflin, 13
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World Premiere of Oshiro Tatsuhiro's The Cocktail Party

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Oshiro TatsuhiroThe Cocktail Party, a play by Oshiro Tatsuhiro based on his Akutagawa Prize–winning book, will have its world premiere in Hawai‘i this week.

The first performance is on Wednesday, October 26, at 7 pm at the Hawai‘i Okinawa Center (in Waipio). Regular admission is $15; admission for seniors (65 or over) and students is $10. For ticket information, call 676-5400 or e-mail info@huoa.org. The second performance is on Thursday, October 27, at 7:30 pm at Orvis Auditorium (University of Hawai‘i–Mānoa campus). Admission is free. For ticket information, call 956-8246. Copies of Living Spirit: Literature and Resurgence in Okinawa and Voices from Okinawa will be available for purchase at $20 each at both performances. The Cocktail Party was published in Living Spirit, and Mr. Oshiro will be on hand to sign copies of the book.

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