- Tuesday 25 February: 10:00-18:00
- Wednesday 26 February: 9:30-1230
Music is an essential component of ritual practices and plays a central role in many religions, both historically and in contemporary contexts. The relationship between music (and related artificial expressions) and religion is shaped by a variety of often contradictory transcendent artistic concepts, normative functional claims, and theological expectations introduced by scholars, believers, religious and spiritual leaders, and musicians over time. This dialectical nature of music reflects the culture and musical perceptions of its respective era in diverse ways.
By examining music, literature, and ritual within the traditions of Sufi Islam/Tasawwuf and Japanese culture (Buddhism, Shintoism, Hidden Christianity), the workshop aims to highlight both unique and shared elements across metaphysical concepts, religious practice, and artistic expression.
Basic info
- Yoshida Campus
Meeting Room (AA447), 4th Floor, Research Building No 2 (34 on the Main Campus Map), Kyoto University
- Current Students & Staff
- Visitors
- Corporations & Researchers
Everyone interested in religion in general, including Islam, and its artistic expressions is welcome to attend.
Details
Program
25 February 2025 (Day One: Meeting of East and West)
- Tuba Işık: Singing as a Sufi Performance and its Impact on Character Cultivation
- Michael Conway: Shinran’s Japanese Language Hymns in Contemporary Shin Buddhist Ritual
- Arzu Eylül Yalçınkaya: Sufi Literature, Ritual, and Music/The Dynamics of Spiritual Awareness: Exploring Buddhist and Sufi Pathways through Text, Practice, and Sound
- KOIZUMI Yurina: Reception of Christianity in Japan and its Influence on Various Arts
- Vasfi Emre Ömürlü: Flow of a Least Known Zikir Example of Istanbul Tekke: Rifâî Kelîme-i Tevhîd Zikir
- FUJITA Takanori: Sound patterns for invocation to the supernatural in kagura, the Shinto ritual and Noh drama of Japan
Performance Workshop
- Vasfi Emre Ömürlü: Experiencing the Least Known Sûfî Practice of Rifâî Kıyam Kelîme-i Tevhîd Zikir
- FUJITA Takanori: Yuri ("to Sway"), the Sound Symbol Used to Revive the Solar Deity in Noh Drama
26 February 2025 (Day Two: Artificial Expressions in between Practice and Meaning)
- SUZUKI Manami: Melody and Lyrics in Cem Rituals of Alevi-Bektaşi: Music as a Form of Islam that Accompanies People
- Birhan Gencer: Rifai Qiyâm Dhikr in the Tradition of Ümmü Kenan Lodge
- YAMAGUCHI Takumi: Corporeality of Otherness: A Typology of Bodily Reactions at Sufi Ritual of Spirit Possession in Morocco
- Hatice Dilek Güldütuna: Mânâ of Sema Mukâbele and Mevlevî Âyin: Example Through Various Composed Pieces
Language
English
Registration
Register online via this form.
Other info
Organizing institutions
- Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies at Kyoto University
- Berlin Institute of Islamic Theology at Humboldt University
Co-organizing institution
Institute for Sufi Studies at Üsküdar University
Supporting research projects
- Research on Moderate Islam in the Non-Arab World: From the Cases of Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), JSPS)
- Comprehensive Study of Sufism: Through Metaphysics, Literature, Music and Rituals (Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research(B) [International Collaborative Research] JSPS)
Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies (ASAFAS), Kyoto University
Email: inq-kr*asafas.kyoto-u.ac.jp (replace * with @)
