Scholars of history and religion, some of Japan in particular and some of East Asia more broadly, journeyed to Eugene, Oregon in 1997 for a bilingual conference. The nine papers presented here, though they emerged from that occasion, do not precisely reflect its compass: they have been reworked, sometimes extensively, to integrate not only the response to them by fellow conferees, but also the research that the authors have conducted over the intervening decade. On the other hand, many of the papers delivered were part of larger academic projects, and the authors have published them elsewhere rather than waiting for this volume. Among the topics are Jojin's discoveries in Song China, the Mongol invasions and the making of the iconography of foreign enemies as exemplified by Chikaumi jinja engi, Chinese books and 12th-century Japanese collectors, and Chinese and Arabic influences on medieval Japanese medicine. Annotation 2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
