My research has been guided by this question: how did Buddhists in Japan respond to the forces of modernization and globalization in the nineteenth century? My current project, “Making the Modern Priest: Clerical Education and Buddhist Universities in Meiji Japan,” explores the central role of a new educational institution, the modern university, in constructing new roles and identities for Buddhist priests.
I have also published research on the development of the Japanese new Buddhist movement, Shinnyo-en, which is best known for their high-profile interfaith rituals held around the globe.
Victoria Montrose