Dr. Gaynor Sekimori

Dr. Sekimori received her education at the Australian National University and Sophia University, and took her doctorate at the University of Cambridge. She worked as an academic translator and editor, specializing in history and religion, and is presently an associate professor in the Institute of Oriental Culture at the University of Tokyo, where she also acts as Managing Editor of the International Journal of Asian Studies, published by Cambridge University Press. Her research interests centre on Japanese religious history, particularly early Meiji government religious policy and Shugendô. She spoke to the Society in 1995 on the separation of Buddha and kami worship at the Shugendô mountain of Hagurosan, and has since published on the subject. She continues to take part in the ritual of the Autumn Peak at Hagurosan each year. Since 2004 she has also been making a close study of Nikko Shugendô and its revival.

Lectures available: 1995-02, 2006-04