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Biography

Dr Tatsuma Padoan is currently Lecturer in East Asian Religions, in the Department of Study of Religions at the University College Cork, and a Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Dr Padoan obtained his PhD in Religions and Anthropology of Japan (Languages, Cultures and Societies) in March 2011 from Ca' Foscari University of Venice. He has been research student in Cultural Anthropology at Tokyo’s Keio University, carrying out research activities on mountain asceticism and pilgrimage in Japan. While in Venice, he trained in semiotics under the guidance of semiotician Paolo Fabbri, then becoming a member of LISaV (International Semiotics Laboratory of Venice). After his PhD, he taught Japanese Religions at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and Cultural Anthropology at the Free University of Bolzano, where he conducted an ethnographic and semiotic study of learning processes in design. He has then been Newton Postdoctoral Fellow (British Academy) in the Department of Religions and Philosophies at SOAS, University of London, for two years in 2014 and 2015, and Temporary Lecturer in Japanese Religions in the same department in 2015-2016. In 2017-2018, he conducted further research on the relationship between learning, ritual and ethics, through 10 months of additional fieldwork among ascetics in Katsuragi, central Japan, thanks to a JSPS fellowship based at Osaka University, Anthropology Department. Dr Padoan’s research areas cover the study of ritual – including asceticism, ritual apprenticeship, pilgrimage, religious materiality and spirit possession – as well as the study of design practices and the politics of urban space. In terms of methodology, he is particularly interested in the relationship between Paris School semiotics, linguistic anthropology and actor-network-theory, as a set of models for the practical analysis of local discourses in religion, material culture, and science and technology studies.‍

Research Interests

• Anthropology of Buddhism
• Paris School Semiotics
• Actor-Network-Theory
• Anthropology of Pilgrimage
• Japanese Religions
• Japanese Mountain Asceticism, Katsuragi Shugen
• Urban Pilgrimage and Tourism in Tokyo, Shichifukujin no meguri
• Spirit Possession, Subjectivity and Somatic Efficacy
• Memory, Ritual Enunciation and Religious Materiality
• Religious Syncretism and Combinatory Practices
• Science and Technology Studies
• Anthropology of Design and Material Culture

Research Grants

	Project	Funding Body	Start Date	End Date	Award
	A semiotics of sacred geography: understanding pilgrimage and holy sites in a comparative perspective	British Academy	01-JUL-17	30-JUN-21	€28,000.00

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Publications

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Books

	Year	Publication
	(2020)	Towards a Semiotics of Pilgrimage: Ritual Space, Memory and Narration in Japan and Elsewhere. Padoan, Tatsuma (2020) Towards a Semiotics of Pilgrimage: Ritual Space, Memory and Narration in Japan and Elsewhere. Berlin and Boston: DeGruyter. [Details]

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Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2018)	'Etnografia e semiotica: su divinità, asceti, pietre, e altri soggetti recalcitranti' Padoan, Tatsuma (2018) 'Etnografia e semiotica: su divinità, asceti, pietre, e altri soggetti recalcitranti' In: Ferraro, Guido, Finocchi, Riccardo, and Lorusso, Anna Maria (eds). Il metodo semiotico. Rome: Edizioni Nuova Cultura. [Full Text] [Details]
	(2018)	'Sémiotique et anthropologie' Padoan, Tatsuma, and Sedda, Franciscu (2018) 'Sémiotique et anthropologie' In: Biglari, Amir and Roelens, Nathalie (eds). Sémiotique en interface. Paris: Kimé. [Full Text] [Details]
	(2017)	'Per una semiotica della possessione oracolare: sensi e discorso sul monte Kiso Ontake' Padoan, Tatsuma (2017) 'Per una semiotica della possessione oracolare: sensi e discorso sul monte Kiso Ontake' In: Tarca, Luigi V., and Raveri, Massimo (eds). I linguaggi dell’assoluto. Milan: Mimesis. [Full Text] [Details]
	(2015)	'Buddhism' Padoan, Tatsuma (2015) 'Buddhism' In: Laycock, Joseph (eds). Spirit Possession around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion Across Cultures. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. [Full Text] [Details]
	(2014)	'Hinter den Zeichen. Über Strategien der Verordnung und Verhandlung von Verhaltensregeln in der Tokioter U-Bahn' Padoan, Tatsuma (2014) 'Hinter den Zeichen. Über Strategien der Verordnung und Verhandlung von Verhaltensregeln in der Tokioter U-Bahn' In: Gleiter, Jörg H (eds). Symptom Design: Vom Zeigen und Sich-Zeigen der Dinge. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag. [Details]
	(2012)	'Dei treni e dei riti. Politiche ferroviarie e memoria estetico-rituale nella Tokyo contemporanea' Padoan, Tatsuma (2012) 'Dei treni e dei riti. Politiche ferroviarie e memoria estetico-rituale nella Tokyo contemporanea' In: Mangano, Dario, and Mattozzi, Alvise (eds). La ricerca semiotica. Rome: Aracne. [Full Text] [Details]
	(2007)	'The Hybrid Power of the kami mandara. Polythetic Classifications and Anthropological Perspectives on the Combinatory Religion of Medieval Japan' Padoan, Tatsuma (2007) 'The Hybrid Power of the kami mandara. Polythetic Classifications and Anthropological Perspectives on the Combinatory Religion of Medieval Japan' In: International Shinto Foundation (eds). Shinto – In Search of Sincerity (Essays on Shinto, vol. 4). Tokyo: International Cultural Workshop. [Details]
	(2007)	'Sacred Economy and Transactional Religion: Dynamics of Power, Economics and Religion from Pre-modern to Contemporary Japanese Society' Padoan, Tatsuma (2007) 'Sacred Economy and Transactional Religion: Dynamics of Power, Economics and Religion from Pre-modern to Contemporary Japanese Society' In: International Shinto Foundation (eds). Shinto – In Search of Sincerity (Essays on Shinto, vol. 4). Tokyo: International Cultural Workshop. [Details]

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Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2019)	'Reassembling the Lucky Gods: Pilgrim Economies, Tourists, and Local Communities in Global Tokyo' Padoan, Tatsuma (2019) 'Reassembling the Lucky Gods: Pilgrim Economies, Tourists, and Local Communities in Global Tokyo'. Journeys (Berghahn Journals, 20 (1):75-97 [DOI] [Full Text] [Details]
	(2014)	'Drawn by Images: Control, Subversion and Contamination in the Visual Discourse of Tokyo Metro' Padoan, Tatsuma (2014) 'Drawn by Images: Control, Subversion and Contamination in the Visual Discourse of Tokyo Metro'. Lexia: Journals of Semiotics, 17-18 ('Effective images'):554-574 [Full Text] [Details]

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Other Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2014)	'The Lucky Gods of Tokyo' Padoan, Tatsuma (2014) 'The Lucky Gods of Tokyo' SOAS Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions Newsletter, 26-27 :8-9. [Details]
	(2008)	'Kami in Fabula: A Tentative Analysis of a Mediaeval Mythological Text' Padoan, Tatsuma (2008) 'Kami in Fabula: A Tentative Analysis of a Mediaeval Mythological Text' SOAS Centre for the Study of Japanese Religions Newsletter, 16-17 :24-27. [Details]
	(2008)	'Ryōbu Shintō and Shugendō in Medieval Japan' Padoan, Tatsuma (2008) 'Ryōbu Shintō and Shugendō in Medieval Japan' Bulletin of the European Association for Japanese Studies, 78 :9-14. [Details]

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Book Reviews

	Year	Publication
	(2017)	'Review of Stefania Consigliere (ed.) (2014) Mondi Multipli voll. I-II, Naples: Kaiak', in Tecnoscienza. The Italian Journal of Science and Technology Studies, 8, 1. Padoan, Tatsuma (2017) 'Review of Stefania Consigliere (ed.) (2014) Mondi Multipli voll. I-II, Naples: Kaiak', in Tecnoscienza. The Italian Journal of Science and Technology Studies, 8, 1. Book Reviews [Details]
	(2012)	'Un pensiero tutto curve: François Jullien (2011) L'ansa e l'accesso. Strategie del senso in Cina, Grecia, a cura di Paolo Fabbri, Milan: Mimesis', in Alfalibri (supplemento mensile di Alfabeta2), no. 17. Padoan, Tatsuma (2012) 'Un pensiero tutto curve: François Jullien (2011) L'ansa e l'accesso. Strategie del senso in Cina, Grecia, a cura di Paolo Fabbri, Milan: Mimesis', in Alfalibri (supplemento mensile di Alfabeta2), no. 17. Book Reviews [Details]

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Translations

	Year	Publication
	(2009)	'The Medieval Cult of Gyōki and Ise Shrines: Concerning the Narratives of Gyōki’s Pilgrimage to Ise', in Rethinking Medieval Shinto. Special issue of Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie vol. 16. Itō Satoshi (2009) 'The Medieval Cult of Gyōki and Ise Shrines: Concerning the Narratives of Gyōki’s Pilgrimage to Ise', in Rethinking Medieval Shinto. Special issue of Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie vol. 16. Kyoto: Translations [Details]
	(2009)	'On the Formation of Shinto Icons', in Rethinking Medieval Shinto. Special issue of Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie vol. 16. Kadoya Atsushi (2009) 'On the Formation of Shinto Icons', in Rethinking Medieval Shinto. Special issue of Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie vol. 16. Kyoto: Translations [Details]

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Professional Activities

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Honours and Awards

	Year	Title	Awarding Body
	2019	CACSSS Research Support Fund	College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, UCC
	2017	Newton International Fellowship Alumni Follow-on funding scheme	British Academy
	2017	JSPS International Postdoctoral Fellowship (Short-Term)	Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
	2015	JSPS International Postdoctoral Fellowship	Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
	2014	Newton International Postdoctoral Fellowship	British Academy
	2014	STS Italia Conference Scholarship	Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies
	2012	STS Italia Conference Scholarship	Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies
	2011	Early Fall School of Semiotics (EFSS) Scholarship	Interdepartmental Center for Research on Communication (CIRCe) of the University of Turin, and the Southeast European Center for Semiotic Studies
	2011	STS Italia Summer School Scholarship	Italian Society of Science and Technology Studies
	2011	Graduate Student Grant	International Centre for Semiotic Sciences "Umberto Eco", University of Urbino
	2010	Graduate Student Grant	International Centre for Semiotic Sciences "Umberto Eco", University of Urbino
	2009	Canon Foundation in Europe Fellowship	Canon Foundation in Europe
	2009	Research Funding	Venice for Peace Research Foundation, Inc.
	2008	Scholars Travel Grant	Toshiba International Foundation
	2008	Graduate Student Travel Grant	Columbia Center for Japanese Religion, Columbia University of New York
	2007	Graduate Student Travel Grant	Columbia Center for Japanese Religion, Columbia University of New York
	2007	Toshiba International Foundation Scholarship	European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS)
	2007	Postgraduate Scholarship	Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
	2005	First Prize in the Shinto Essay Competition	International Shinto Foundation, Inc.
	2004	First Prize in the Shinto Essay Competition	International Shinto Foundation, Inc.

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Professional Associations

	Association	Function	From / To
	European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA)	Member	/
	Italian Association for Semiotic Studies - Associazione Italiana Studi Semiotici (AISS)	Member	/

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Employment

	Employer	Position	From / To
	Osaka University, Anthropology Department	JSPS Visiting Fellow	30-MAR-17 / 13-JAN-18
	University College Cork	Lecturer in East Asian Religions	26-SEP-16 /
	SOAS, University of London	Lecturer in Japanese Religions	28-SEP-15 / 27-SEP-16
	SOAS, University of London	Newton International Postdoctoral Fellow	31-JAN-14 / 27-SEP-15
	Free University of Bozen – Bolzano	Senior Teaching Fellow in Cultural Anthropology	27-FEB-12 / 31-MAR-14
	Ca’ Foscari University of Venice	Senior Teaching Fellow in Japanese Religions	01-MAR-10 / 30-SEP-13
	Ca’ Foscari University of Venice	Teaching Fellow in Japanese Language	01-MAR-10 / 30-SEP-12

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Education

	Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
	2011	Ca' Foscari University of Venice	Doctor of Philosophy	Religions and Anthropology of Japan (Languages, Cultures and Societies)

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Languages

	Language	Reading	Writing	Speaking
	Italian	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent
	Japanese	Fluent	Fluent	Fluent

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Teaching Activities

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Modules Taught

	Term (ID))	Title	Link	Subject
	2020	Religions of East Asia	RG2304	Religions of East Asia
	2020	Religions in the Contemporary World: An Introduction to the Study of Religions	RG1001	Religions in the Contemporary World: An Introduction to the Study of Religions
	2020	Contemporary Approaches in The Study of Religion	RG6010	Contemporary Approaches in The Study of Religion
	2020	Buddhism in Practice	RG2301	Buddhism in Practice
	2020	Religions and Memory	RG6095	Religions and Memory