Members

Kiyokazu OKITA　Assistant ProfessorAlumni

Period

4th（Term: from Apr. 2013 to Mar. 2018）
グローバル型
Research Interests

Classical Sanskrit Literature
Research Topic

God as Paramour: Ethic and Aesthetic of Emotion in Early Modern South Asia

Kiyo visited India for the first time when he was seventeen. Since then, he has been fascinated by the history and the literature of the subcontinent. During his undergraduate years, he studied religious pluralism and interreligious dialogue, being inspired by Gandhi. In his doctoral thesis he focused on Classical Indian philosophy. His current research examines the faith tradition centered on God Krishna, who is very popular in South Asia. He is particularly interested in the religious idea of seeing this God as one’s lover. In the Hakubi project he plans to take an interdisciplinary approach to this Krishna tradition from the perspective of emotion. In addition, while his research has been mainly done from Hindu viewpoints, in the current project he plans to incorporate more of the Islamic perspectives.

Related News

2017.08.10 Events

Kiyokazu Okita will organize an international workshop “The Building of Vrndavana” at Trinity College, University of Oxford (September 2nd and 3rd). For more details please see the workshop website

2017.04.03 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ‘From Rasa to Bhaktirasa: The Development of a Devotional Aesthetic Theory in Early Modern South Asia’ in Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies Vol. 65, No. 3, 1066-1072.

2017.03.21 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ‘A Vedāntic Refutation of Buddhism in 18th Century North India: The Tattvadīpikā of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’ in Journal of Vaishnava Studies 25.1, 153-162.

2017.03.21 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ‘Quotation, Quarrel, and Controversy in Early Modern South Asia: Appayya Dīkṣita and Jīva Gosvāmī on Madhva’s Untraceable Citations’ in “Adaptive Reuse: Aspects of Creativity in South Asian Cultural History (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2017)”, 255-280.

2017.03.21 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “The Number of Bhaktirasa-s: Jīva Gosvāmī’s Prītisandarbha on Bhāgavatapurāṇa 10.43.17.” at Workshop “Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia: Cross-Linguistic Comparative Studies of Literary and Religious Texts” (7th January, University of Madras, 2017)

2017.03.21 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “Vaiṣṇava Perceptions of Muslim Authority in Early Modern South Asia: Based on Bengali Hagiographies of Caitanya” at Workshop “Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia: Cross-Linguistic Comparative Studies of Literary and Religious Texts” (11th December, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 2016)

2016.10.03 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “Transcultural Dynamics in South Asian Religions” at Transcultural Dynamics of Asia and Europe: Mobility, Negotiation, and Transformation (26th September, Kyoto University, 2016)

2016.10.03 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “Hindu-Muslim Encounters in Early Modern South Asia: According to Bengali Hagiographies of Caitanya” at The 29th Annual Session of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies (25th September, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, 2016)

2016.10.03 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “From Rasa to Bhaktirasa: The Development of Devotional Aesthetic Theory in Early Modern South Asia” at The 67th Annual Conference of The Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (3rd September, Tokyo University, 2016)

2016.06.13 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on ” Singing in Protest: Early Modern Hindu-Muslim Encounters in Bengali Hagiographies of Caitanya” (14th May, Yale University, USA).

2016.06.13 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ‘The Influence of Singabhupala II on Bengali Vaisnava Aesthetics’ in Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies Vol.64, No. 3 1081-1087.

2016.01.13 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita gave an invited lecture titled, “Sanskrit Religious Poems in Early Modern South Asia: From the Perspective of Bengal Vaishnavism” (7th January, 2016, The Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho University, Tokyo, Japan).

2015.12.22 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on ” A Middle Class Construction of Neo-Vaiṣṇavism in Nineteenth Century Bengal: Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Commentary on the Brahmasaṃhitā” at The 4th International Congress of Bengal Studies (23rd December, Tokyo, Japan)

2015.12.22 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ‘Trialogue Between Gauḍīya Vaishnavism, Deep Ecology, and Catholicism’ in Journal of Vaishnava Studies, 191-204.

2015.10.06 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “Court, Conflict, and Controversy in Early Modern South Asia: The Svakīyā-Parakīyā Debate in Bengali Vaiṣṇavism” at The 28th Annual Session of the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies (27th September, University of Tokyo, Japan).

2015.09.25 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “After Kashmir: Early Modern Sanskrit Aesthetic Theories in Andhra and Bengal” at International Workshop on Pre-Modern Kashmir 2015 (24th September,Kyoto University, Japan).

2015.09.25 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “The Karṇāṭaka Connection: Siṅhabhūpāla II’s Influence on Bengali Vaiṣṇava Aesthetics” at The 66th Annual Conference Conference of the Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (19th September, Koyasan University, Japan).

2015.09.02 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “Salvation through Colorful Emotions: Aesthetics, Colorimetry, and Theology in Early Modern South Asia” at XXI. World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions (27th August, Erfurt, Germany)

2015.07.24 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “The Karṇāṭaka Connection: Siṅgabhūpāla II’s Influence on Bengali Vaiṣṇava Aesthetics” at 12th International Conference on Early Modern Literatures in North India (19th July, Lausanne, Switzerland)

2015.07.24 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “The Karṇāṭaka Connection: Siṅgabhūpāla II’s Influence on Bengali Vaiṣṇava Aesthetics” at Asien-Afrika-Institut, Abteilung für Kultur und Geschichte Indiens und Tibets (10th July, Hamburg, Germany)

2015.06.30 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita gave a paper on “The Karṇāṭaka Connection: Siṅgabhūpāla II’s Influence on Bengali Vaiṣṇava Aesthetics” at the 16th World Sanskrit Conference (29th June, Bangkok, Thailand)

2015.06.30 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita gave a series of Sanskrit reading sessions titled “Hindu Theology for a King: Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s Tattvadīpikā” at Oxford Center for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford (29th April ~ 17th June, Oxford, UK)

2015.06.06 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita gave a presentation on “Emotions in Hinduism: The Bhakti Traditions” at Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, Rothley Street, Leicester LE4 6LF, UK, 6 June 2015.

2015.03.28 Presentation

Okita, Kiyokazu. “When a Royal Pandit is Refuted: Court, Conflict, and Controversy in Eighteenth Century Bengal” a presentation given at Bengali Vaishnavism in the Modern Period Workshop, University of Oxford, UK.Mar 28th, 2015.

2014.12.01 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita presented a paper at a conference ‘No Entry Unless Authorized: Hindu Theology and the Question of Qualification’, at the 12th Annual DANAM Conference 2014, San Diego, California, Nov 21st, 2014

2014.12.01 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ‘Devotion and Poetry in Early Modern South Asia’ in Journal of Indological Studies, pp. 187-202

2014.10.14 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita presented a paper at a conference “Sex in the Margins: Commentaries and the Histories of Sexuality and Gender”

2014.10.06 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita gave a talk at “The Twenty-Seventh Annual Session for The Japanese Association for South Asian Studies, 27-28th September”

2014.10.06 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published “Hindu Theology and the Question of Qualification: A Study of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism” in International Journal of Hindu Studies

2014.08.02 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published ”Hindu Theology in Early Modern South Asia: The Rise of Devotionalism and the Politics of Genealogy” from Oxford University Press

2014.06.24 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita gave a talk at “31st Annual STIMW (Sanskrit Tradition in the Modern World) Symposium” (at Martin Harris Centre, University of Manchester, UK on May 23rd, 2014)

2014.06.24 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita gave a talk at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford, UK on May 22nd, 2014

2014.04.15 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published “The Bhāgavata Purāṇa in Four Verses: Jīva Gosvāmī’s Kramasandarbha” (trans.) in Caitanya Vaisnava Philosophy: Tradition, Reason and Devotion, ed. by Ravi M. Gupta (Ashgate)

2014.04.15 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published “Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism on trial: Continuity and Transformation in the Eighteenth Century” in Caitanya Vaisnava Philosophy: Tradition, Reason and Devotion, ed. by Ravi M. Gupta (Ashgate)

2013.11.14 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita presented ‘Quotation, Quarrel and Controversy in Early Modern South Asia: Appaya Diksita and Jiva Gosvami on Madhva’s Untraceable Citations’ at Deutscher Orientalistentag 2013

2013.11.14 Presentation

Kiyokazu Okita presented‘Was Krsna Married? An Early Modern Controversy Surrounding the Bhagavata Purana Book X’at the Workshop: Translating the Bhagavata Purana (October, 2013 at South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg)

2013.11.14 Publications

Kiyokazu Okita published “From Ontology to Aesthetics: A Bengal Vaisnava Interpretation of an Upanisadic Passage So ’ham” in Bhakti beyond Forest: Current Research on Early Modern Literatures in North India, 2003-2009 (Delhi: Manohar Publishers)