Previous Essay Competitions – International Shinto Studies Association

The ISSA organizes the Shinto Essay Competition in English. To inquire more about the Essay Competition, please contact the Tokyo Headquaters.

2012 English Essay Competition

We did not hold the Essay Competiton in 2012.

2011 English Essay Competition

7 contributors (from USA, Czech Republic, Canada, Holland, Slovakia, and 2 from India) participated the Shinto Essay Competition 2011. Their essays were carefully read and evaluated by 8 jurors of different nationalities from Congo, Germany, England, Japan, New Zealand and Norway who are distinguished scholars in Japanese cultural studies. We are pleased to announce the results of their judgments as follows. All of the winning essays will be published by the Shinto Kokusai Gakkai.

2011 year’s Topics:
1, Anime and their Kami
2, Shrines and Trees
3, Shinto Sanctuaries

Prize winners of 2011

First prize (US $1000)	Aike P. Rots (Holland) : “The Discourse on Chinju no Mori– Redefining Shinto and Shinto Sanctuaries in Contemporary Japan ”
Second prize (US $500)	Michael Zdan (Canada): “Shrines and their Trees – Pillar at the Heart of the Divine”
Thrid prize (US $300)	Matouš Vencálek (Czech Republic): “Shrines and Trees in the Occident, Adaptation of Jinja Shint? to the Western culture ”
Encouraging Award (US$100)	Joseph Baisch (USA): “Ise Grand Shrine: Architectural Purity and Ritual Renewal”

Congratulations to the prize winners! We hope that all of the entrants will strive to in their study in Shinto and Japanese cultural values.

Previous Prize Winners

Rights to submitted essays belong to and will be published by the Shinto Kokusai Gakkai. If you are interested in purchasing the publicactions, order here (Japanese only) or contact us.

2011	Aike P. Rots (Holland) : “The Discourse on Chinju no Mori –Redefining Shinto and Shinto Sanctuaries in Contemporary Japan ”
2010	N/A
2009	Justin Humphreys (U.S.A.) ” Shinto and Environment “
2008	N/A
2007	Katie Freund (University of Toronto, Canada) ” Violence and Sacrifice: The Role of the Heroic Victim in Greek and Japanese Mythology”
2006	Nicholas Van Sant (Brown University, Rhode Island, U.S.A.) ” A Tendentious Presentation of Details: Reviewing the Japanese Case in Maurice Block’s Prey into Hunter”
2005	Tatsuma Padoan (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy) “The Hybrid Power of the Kami Mandara ― Polythetic Classifications and Anthropological Perspectives on the Combinatory Religion of Medieval Japan”
2004	Tatsuma Padoan (University of Venice, Italy) “Shinto and Economy”
2003	Ngai, May-Ying Mary (University of British Columbia, Canada) “Harmony and Purification: A Brief Note on Religious Elements Shared by Shinto and Taoism”
2002	Baldin Marco (Italy) “Susanoo no Mikoto and the killing of the great snake”
2001	Daniel White (University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S.A.) “The Imperial Sponsorship of Shrines in the Heian Period: Rethinking the Narrative of Shinto Sudties”
2000	Alexei Batchourine (Russia) “The Shinto Concept of Kami”
1998	Crystal Chang “Amaterasu in Hiding : Shinto Mythology and Modern Concerns”
1996	Holly Folk “From the Kojiki to Kamidana”