Events Believing and Thinking in the Age of Pluralism: The Search for New Modes of Expression
February 27th, 2026. 10:00 ~ February 28th, 2026. 18:00 JST
NIRC 1F Meeting Room, online
The Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture was founded in 1975 with the aim of cultivating dialogue among religious professionals and scholars both from within Japan and abroad. Half a century later, the institute has become a leading center for the study of religion and intercultural philosophy.
To celebrate this milestone, we will host a two-day symposium featuring panels on topics that have been the focus of NIRC research activities over the years: interreligious dialogue, intercultural philosophy, and translation. We invite friends and colleagues, both past and present, as well as anyone interested in the research of the NIRC to join us in celebrating fifty years of collaboration, publications, and friendship. Participation, in person or online, is open to all. A reception will follow the first day of events. Please RSVP here if you wish to attend.
To celebrate this milestone, we will host a two-day symposium featuring panels on topics that have been the focus of NIRC research activities over the years: interreligious dialogue, intercultural philosophy, and translation. We invite friends and colleagues, both past and present, as well as anyone interested in the research of the NIRC to join us in celebrating fifty years of collaboration, publications, and friendship. Participation, in person or online, is open to all. A reception will follow the first day of events. Please RSVP here if you wish to attend.
To receive a zoom link to join online, please register in advance.
Day 1 (27 February)
Special Session 10:00–12:40 A Time for Expressing Gratitude
▪ 10:00–10:30 Greetings and Ceremony (Nanzan University President Robert Kisala and Dean of Institutes Watanabe Shinya 渡部森哉)
▪ 10:30–11:50 Past, Present, and Future of NIRC ( James W. Heisig and Paul L. Swanson)
▪ 12:00–12:30 A Roche Chair Lecture (Kawahashi Noriko 川橋範子)
Lunch Break (RSVP required)
Session One 14:30–17:30 Interreligious Dialogue and Expression
Lunch Break (RSVP required)
Session One 14:30–17:30 Interreligious Dialogue and Expression
▪ 14:30–15:20 How do all Religions Lead to God? (Joseph O’Leary)
▪ 15:30–16:20 Hidden Altars, Living Rituals: Embodied Faith among Kakure Kirishitan Practitioners (Roger Munsi)
▪ 16:30–17:10 ポール・リクールにおける「宗教間の和解」について (Yamada Tomoaki 山田智正)
▪ 17:20–18:00 Discussion
Fiftieth Anniversary Reception (RSVP required)
Day 2 (28 February)
Session Two 10:00–12:30 Intercultural Encounter
▪ 10:00–10:50 The Secret of the “Moss” in the “Rock Garden”: An Intercultural Phenomenological Observation (Ryōsuke Ōhashi)
▪ 11:00–11:50 「西洋独占主義的な哲学観の生成と終焉—ドイツから日本へのメタ哲学的な物語」(Bret Davis ブレット・デイヴィス)
▪ 11:50–12:30 Discussion
Lunch Break (RSVP required)
Session Three 14:00–17:00 Translation and the Study of Religion
Lunch Break (RSVP required)
Session Three 14:00–17:00 Translation and the Study of Religion
14:00–14:45 Reflections on Instrumentalism in Translating Buddhist Texts (Alexander O’Neill)
▪ 14:50–15:35 Making Shinto Legible for Audiences at the Margins (Christopher Mayo)
▪ 15:40–15:50 break
▪ 15:50-16:35 Translating the "Untranslatable": Pure Experience and the Use of Onomatopoeia in Japanese (Yoko Arisaka with Leon Krings)
