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The gathas or hymns used in Japanese Buddhist temples today date back to the early 1920s and are no longer appealing to younger generations, who regard these gathas as old-fashioned and boring. While English gathas were pioneered here in Hawaii a century ago, we are no longer producing new Buddhist music in contemporary styles: hip-hop, jazz, ballad, and rock. A few Buddhist groups in Asia and the U.S. mainland, however, are producing new Buddhist music, and this workshop will explore some examples, such as the Heart Sutra performed gospel style to the tune of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, popularly known as the Ode to Joy.
Professor George Tanabe
Professor George Tanabe
George Tanabe was born and raised in Waialua, Hawaii. He graduated from University High School, Willamette University (B.A.), Union Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Columbia University (M.A. and Ph.D.). From 1977 to 2006, he taught in the Department of Religion at the University of Hawaii and is currently Professor Emeritus. He is President of BDK Hawaii and Chairman of BDK America, which publishes Buddhist books, including translations from the Chinese Buddhist Canon. He is a specialist on the religions of Japan and has published with university presses at Harvard, Hawaii, Columbia and Princeton. The Japanese government honored him with Foreign Minister's Award (2007) and the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun (2012). George and his wife Willa (Professor Emerita of Japanese Art History) published Japanese Buddhist Temples of Hawai'i: An Illustrated Guide (UH Press). His first novel, Miki’s Mad, was published in March, 2024 by Deuxmers Publishing. He still lives in Waialua.
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