Mirrors in a reflection? Asian Buddhists from colonial Ireland

This paper reflects on some issues of historiography, biography, race, class, identity, and colonialism over a 50-year period in relation to two remarkable individuals originally from Ireland who made Buddhism their religion and Asia their home; Charles J W Pfoundes who came to Japan in 1863 and U Dhammaloka who died probably in Bangkok in 1913. Both men, despite being well-known in their time, bear the distinction of being almost completely omitted from modern Asian and Western histories of modern Buddhism. They have only recently been reintroduced into the historical narrative through international research collaboration relying heavily on new digital resources. In both cases, some remarkable new findings have emerged which suggest a 'rewriting' of the conventional 20th-century account of the development of modern global Buddhism.