We have been doing this for decades. Thanks to the foresight of our predecessors, our journals and books were made available open access online back in the 90s. Having a long history of online availability, allowed us to be listed in indices and databases like JSTOR.

Authors, read this thread!

The nail in the coffin for print publications.

KDPAmazon is now telling us that our book is in Dutch, so we should change the metadata to Dutch and select “Dutch” in the language options. Dear Readers, our book doesn’t include a single word in Dutch. AI customer service in action.

Absolutely losing my mind trying to deal with @awscloud.bsky.social support. There doesn’t seem to be any humans working there anymore.

It’s August! Which means we are on summer break. Which means we can finally get some work done. Spoiler alert: we will be too busy to get any work done.

How it feels to finish a journal issue.

In case anyone else asks: Yes, the date of the issue is 2024. Yes, we are late. Yes, we are now back on schedule, and the next publication will be the 2025 volume.

The Japanese Journal of Religious Studies @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social ✨50th anniv issue✨ abt past, present, & future of 🇯🇵 religious studies is out! 🙏Paul Swanson, Hayashi Makoto, Kawahashi Noriko, Keller Kimbrough, Emi Foulk Bushelle, @orionklautau.bsky.social @jolyonbt.bsky.social @aikerots.bsky.social

💯

A couple years ago we received a message about an article posted on the site discussed below. The chair of a hiring committee wanted to confirm that an applicant had published an article with us, as they claimed on their CV. The CV included a link to the applicants account on that site.

The Bulletin of the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Vol. 49 has been published on our website. The complete issue as well as individual articles can be accessed free of charge. The volume includes both English and French language articles.

We have been trying to publish a multilingual journal issue through KDP Amazon. They will not allow it because they say it is not the correct language. But, the issue is in multiple languages so there is not ONE correct language. Anyone encounter a similar problem?

Yet another reason why the pay-to-publish model in academic journals is immoral. Access can be bought by individuals or political groups with an agenda.

Ultimate end point of this: we all get to submit to the REF every book that is hallucinated in our name by AI

Editors, are you double checking those references?

1) If you have to pay for “open access,” it’s not really openly accessible. 2) Collecting such high fees from authors so people can read their work is unethical.

The Edward Bailey Keynote for the 47th Implicit Religion UK Conference will be delivered by Dr Monique Moultrie. Further information: www.implicitreligion.co.uk/ir-uk/implic... Registration is open, conference is free of charge and online: www.ticketsource.co.uk/edward-baile...

The picture above is a Ukiyoe depicting Minamoto no Yoritomo holding a Hōjōe ceremony at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine On the 15th day of the 8th month, 1187 (Bunji 3). The ritual was held for the salvation of animals.

The use of masks in religious performances, both historical and contemporary, highlights how performance served to navigate and transcend physical and symbolic borders in Kamakura. nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/journal/6/is...

Fantastic article by Abe Yasurō in JJRS. Abe examines Kamakura’s formation through its ritual border zones, particularly around the central shrine-temple complex of Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. This site served as both a religious and performative hub, hosting major ceremonies like the Hōjōe.

New job: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Japanese Buddhism University of California - Berkeley www.h-net.org/jobs/job_displa...

The most recent issue of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (JJRS) @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social is now available! A special issue edited by Michael Como & Haruo Shirane at @columbiauniversity.bsky.social on the broad themes of "Borders, Performance, Deities." nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/journal/6/is...

Yo twas a good time. Check it out. 是非日本語なのでご覧ください。

Proud to have contributed to this volume in several ways, including the cover design. You can get a copy of the book from the University of Hawai'i Press here! I hear the digital version will be available soon 👀 uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-ne...

Over the weekend, @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social hosted a book talk on "The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions" (2025) with editor Matthew D. McMullen & OG Nanzan Guide editor Paul Swanson. The event was held in Japanese. The recording is now available on the NIRC YouTube channel! youtu.be/Q0r7ZgensPo

I'm giving a series of public lectures on Japanese Buddhism this fall. The registration website is in Japanese, but the lectures will be in English. Please share with anyone who might be interested in premodern Japanese Buddhism or learning about Buddhism in English.

Happening tomorrow!

We are hosting a book talk on March 22 10:30am~noon (JST) for our recent publication The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions. The lecture will be in Japanese, but Q&A in English is welcomed. The event is online and registration is required. You can register at the link below or the QR code.

東洋大学　⽂学部日本文学文化学科専任教員（教授・准教授）の公募（募集分野：日本近現代文学）（2025年03月03日~2025年04月15日 必着） jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekJor...

開智国際大学 教育学部教育学科　講師・准教授の公募 （文学）（2025年03月04日~2025年05月09日 必着） jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekJor...

We are excited to announce the publication of a special issue ": Searching for Legitimacy: Tenrikyo, Omoto, and 'Marginalized' Religions of Modern Japan." The complete issue as well as individual articles can be accessed free of charge on our website.

If you are in the DC area, you don't want to miss this screening and discussion at the GW Sigur Center and East Asia National Resource Center. Please share! "Mark--A Call to Action" with Director Ron Small and Paul Bookman, Mark's father. www.eventbrite.com/e/mark-a-cal...

Thanks again to @kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social and Rev. Takafumi Kawakami on this story. Kyoto is such a fascinating place and I hope to make it back there some day. theworld.org/stories/2025...

Our Journals Publishing Assistant job vacancy closes tomorrow! Find out more about applying here: liverpooluniversityp... #WorkInPublishing #PublishingJobs

CFP Deadline Extension: February 17th Media, Religion and Crisis @mpcaaca.bsky.social shorturl.at/eZNsR

Here’s a couple of dope memes we rescued from the old site.

16 new job ads in East Asian Studies for 2024-2025! See the details of this week's postings below or visit the filter database to search by category/keyword. 🌏📊 Now 774 entries. prcurtis.com/projects/job...

The JJRS and NIRC Twitter have also been deactivated. Please follow us here. And happy Birthday Caleb.

For my birthday, I’m ‘ungifting’ myself a Twitter/X account. After 13 years, I’ve just deleted it—cathartic 🤩. I’m salvaging this one 🧵, which introduces my book from 2022.

Best advice for folks joining Bluesky right now is FILL OUT YOUR PROFILE before you follow a bunch of people. And ideally follow some friends who know it's you first. There's a bot influx as people realize this is the place to be and it's going to be difficult to tell automated from real for a bit.

Early bird registration for the #AASInAsia2025 conference in Kathmandu is now open! Our best rates are only available until *February 14, 2025* Don't delay—register and save today! buff.ly/3ClqGYo

My copy of The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions arrived yesterday. Many congratulations to the editors, @mcmullen.bsky.social and @jolyonbt.bsky.social, and the stellar collective of the contributors. @kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social The cover photo is truly fab! Feels like a good start to 2025!

Our book The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions is now available for order from the University of Hawai'i Press website. A digital version will soon be available as well. uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-ne...

Video from the Karl Jaspers in Dialogue with Japan Workshop is now available on our YouTube channel.

Former NIRC associate editor and Nanzan Library author Thomas Yūhō Kirchner will give a talk tomorrow about life in a Rinzai Zen monastery. See H-Buddhism for details.

We passed the bookshelf test. Perfect match in size and the colors are perfectly complementary.

It’s officially real.

Stop by if you’re in the area. We’ve got swag to handout.