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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. He is also affiliated as a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, and as a Research Fellow at Osaka University, Department of Anthropology. 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 |
Publications
Books
| Year | Publication |
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| (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] |
Book Chapters
| Year | Publication |
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| (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] |
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication |
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| (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] [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] |
Other Journals
| Year | Publication |
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| (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] |
Book Reviews
| Year | Publication |
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| (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] |
Translations
| Year | Publication |
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| (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] |
Professional Activities
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. |
Professional Associations
| Association | Function | From / To |
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| European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) | Member | / |
| Italian Association for Semiotic Studies - Associazione Italiana Studi Semiotici (AISS) | Member | / |
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 |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject |
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| 2011 | Ca' Foscari University of Venice | Doctor of Philosophy | Religions and Anthropology of Japan (Languages, Cultures and Societies) |
Languages
| Language | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
---|
| Italian | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent |
| Japanese | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent |
Teaching Activities
Modules Taught
| Term (ID)) | Title | Link | Subject |
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| 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 |