Martial arts obsession inspires Japanese research focus
Studying martial arts and teaching English as a second language as a young man in Japan provided a strong foundation for the teaching and research interests of Dr. Stephen Covell, Mary Meader Associate Professor of Comparative Religion, chair of the Department of Comparative Religion at Western Michigan University.
Since 2003, Covell has been teaching courses in Japanese religion, religion and education, death and dying, pedagogy, and religion and ethics, as well as leading the University’s Japanese religion and culture study abroad program. That course offers advanced students a short-term, for-credit opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of Japanese religious and cultural life.
"I appreciate the opportunity in the classroom to push students to think beyond their current boundaries and to get them excited about learning about Japan or studying religion," said Covell, who earned his Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University in 2001. “It’s important for students to be exposed to foreign cultures and religions to gain a better understanding of the world they live in. They can then make more fully informed decisions about how they choose to live their lives.”
In 2006, Covell was recognized for his dedication to studies related to Japan at the University and for his integral role in the launching of the Michitoshi Soga Japan Center when he was named as the center’s first director. Founded to honor the contributions of Dr. Michitoshi Soga, a retired physics professor and advocate for international education at WMU since 1968, the center’s mission is to continue his work, including the expansion of Japan-related study to advance knowledge of Japanese history, culture, business, science and technology, to support and increase research and relationships in Japan, as well as to serve as a community resource.
As a result of more than 10 years of experience living, studying, and teaching in Japan, Covell’s research focus became contemporary Japanese Buddhism. His body of work is enhanced by his former positions as a research associate at Taisho University, the Institute for Asian Cultural Studies at International Christian University, and as a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Tokyo. He is the author of several publications, including the book, “Japanese Temple Buddhism” (University of Hawaii Press, 2005) and editor of works such as the special issue of the “Japanese Journal of Religious Studies” titled Traditional Buddhism in Contemporary Japan (2004). He is currently working on a biography of the Tendai priest Yamada Etai and plans on authoring a book on contemporary Buddhist teachings in summer 2011.
Covell said his interest in Japan is a long-standing obsession and curiosity, which greatly increased when he was a student in the mid-1980s at the University of California, San Diego. He began studying Japan while at UCSD and eventually enrolled in a martial arts class, which inspired him to study abroad in Japan in summer 1987.“Back then, I was practicing a lot of martial arts, so my goal was to be in Japan to learn more about martial arts,” he said.
After graduating from UCSD in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Covell applied to the JET program, a government initiative run by the Japanese Ministry of Education that brings college graduates to teach English at Japanese K-12 schools.
"While in Japan, I lived in a small rural town that had never before had any foreigners living in it," he said. "I taught at one junior high school four days a week and in a neighboring town at their junior high one day a week. These assignments provided me with a great opportunity to make close connections with the students."
Covell lived in the only apartment building in town, where he would occasionally find rice and vegetables left on his door step by local farmers. "It was a great time and I met real close friends that I still keep in touch with," he said.
While in Japan teaching in the JET program, Covell honed his Japanese-language skills, which greatly improved, though locals said he spoke with the accent of a martial artist, bar-hopping, 13-year-old-Japanese girl. "I had a very weird vocabulary, but that soon got polished…I hope," he joked. "If you really want to improve your ability to speak a foreign language you have to visit the country where it is spoken."
During his free time, Covell admits that he spent all his time and money visiting martial arts dojos. "When you’re focusing on studying martial arts, the religious aspects pop up a lot so that really motivated me to pursue my interest in Japanese religion,” he said.
After completing his commitment to the JET program, Covell attended the University of Hawaii to earn a master’s degree in Asian studies, which he completed in 1993. He was recognized for his graduate work with the prestigious Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Emperor and Empress of Japan. He studied at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language. "It's a great scholarship with good funding, and you’re invited to have tea with the Emperor and Empress," he said.
That honor was followed up in 1994, when Covell received a Ministry of Education Fellowship for a two-years of research at Taisho University. The award gave him the opportunity to complete field work with Japanese professors, attend courses on Japanese religious law and the practice and precepts of Buddhism, as well as begin training to become a Buddhist priest.
The connections Covell made at Taisho University while working on his master’s degree have evolved into that campus becoming the “home” of the 16-day Japanese Religion and Culture study abroad course that Covell leads every couple years. The experience allows students to witness that which they only know from textbooks before they visit Japan with Covell. The group visits temples, shrines, lay Buddhist movement, and museums, and attend lectures presented by Covell and Japanese scholars.
"It's an experience I don't get teaching in the classroom at WMU," he said. "Because our undergraduate student body is mainly from the Midwest, most have very little experience studying or traveling abroad and may have not had much exposure to thinking outside of their cultural boundaries. It's a lot of fun introducing Japan to students who have never been abroad.”
Covell also works hard to ensure that the Southwest Michigan community is also learning more about Japan through community outreach supported by the Soga Center. By garnering support of Japanese alumni and the Japan Foundation, Covell was able to hire an outreach coordinator for the center, Michiko Yoshimoto.
“Michiko visits Portage, Kalamazoo, and Mattawan schools, public libraries and museums and other places to give presentations on Japanese culture, kimono wearing, food making, origami, calligraphy, and other topics," he said. “On campus, the center sponsors talks and seminars by Japanese scholars, Japanese film screenings and other cultural events, as well as supporting student initiatives related to Japan. The Soga Center is becoming a central place to help get the word out about anything related to Japan going on in our region.
Learn more about the Japanese religion and culture study abroad program.
Story by Nate Coe