The “Gaijin Henro” : Outliers, Discrimination, and Time Variability with Pilgrimage in Shikoku

The diaries of foreign pilgrims on the Shikoku henro provide us with exceptional data to understand the experience of the pilgrimage. These narratives feature unique approaches, religious interpretations, and social interactions while walking the 1200 km journey. In particular, they curiously shed light on perceptions of discrimination while navigating the henro trail. I argue that the accounts of foreign pilgrims, like many of those by Japanese pilgrims, demonstrate that time-related factors are primary drivers of the pilgrimage experience. Time features of these lengthy religious journeys offer a potent area of analysis for the global field of pilgrimage studies

Selecting Books for School-Age Children.

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Black swans in white clothing : outliers and social scientific theory considered through a case study of the Shikoku Henro

At a basic level, this article considers the construction of social scientific theory. In particular, drawing from the ideas of Taleb (2007), I examine the place of outliers, or "black swans," in the analysis of a long-standing and evolving social system. Pondering the role of outliers with respect to Japan\u27s most famous pilgrimage, the Shikoku henro, I argue that rare behaviors and/or beliefs either cause pilgrimage theories to fail outright or force descriptions to become so open-ended and vague that they no longer fulfill the function of reductive analysis. I conclude that historical methodologies, though limited in producing a more niversal description, are better suited to preserve the diversity, even extremity, found with respect to pilgrimage

Vertical Pilgrimage : Japanese Mountain Religious Experience and American Big Wall Climbing

Looking carefully at the most popular contemporary pilgrimage in Japan, the Shikoku henro, and Japanese mountain ascetic traditions more generally, we can probe an intriguing mode of sacred travel that I characterize as“ vertical pilgrimage.” I demonstrate that religious training centered on holy mountains and rocks can be seminal in the making of a Japanese Buddhist saint and is instrumental in the formation of long-standing pilgrimage institutions. I argue that vertical pilgrimage in Japan, which is structured on ascetic emphasis, repetition, and risk-fueled concentration, can offer theoretical orientations that have real utility in other mountain pilgrimage contexts. To illustrate this analytical efficacy, I introduce the case of vertical pilgrimage on El Capitan in Yosemite, California

Books for children under six

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AK002, a Humanized Sialic Acid-Binding Immunoglobulin-Like Lectin-8 Antibody that Induces Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity against Human Eosinophils and Inhibits Mast Cell-Mediated Anaphylaxis in Mice.

INTRODUCTION: Pathologic accumulation and activation of mast cells and eosinophils are implicated in allergic and inflammatory diseases. Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec)-8 is an inhibitory receptor selectively expressed on mast cells, eosinophils and, at a lower extent, basophils. When engaged with an antibody, Siglec-8 can induce apoptosis of activated eosinophils and inhibit mast cell activation. AK002 is a humanized, non-fucosylated IgG1 anti-Siglec-8 antibody undergoing clinical investigation for treatment of allergic, inflammatory, and proliferative diseases. Here we examine the human tissue selectivity of AK002 and evaluate the in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo activity of AK002 on eosinophils and mast cells. METHODS: The affinity of AK002 for Siglec-8 and CD16 was determined by biolayer interferometry. Ex vivo activity of AK002 on human eosinophils from blood and dissociated human tissue was tested in apoptosis and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assays. The in vivo activity of a murine precursor of AK002 (mAK002) was tested in a passive systemic anaphylaxis (PSA) humanized mouse model. RESULTS: AK002 bound selectively to mast cells, eosinophils and, at a lower level, to basophils in human blood and tissue and not to other cell types examined. AK002 induced apoptosis of interleukin-5-activated blood eosinophils and demonstrated potent ADCC activity against blood eosinophils in the presence of natural killer cells. AK002 also significantly reduced eosinophils in dissociated human lung tissue. Furthermore, mAK002 prevented PSA in humanized mice through mast cell inhibition. CONCLUSION: AK002 selectively evokes potent apoptotic and ADCC activity against eosinophils and prevents systemic anaphylaxis through mast cell inhibition

AK002, a Humanized Sialic Acid-Binding Immunoglobulin-Like Lectin-8 Antibody that Induces Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity against Human Eosinophils and Inhibits Mast Cell-Mediated Anaphylaxis in Mice

INTRODUCTION: Pathologic accumulation and activation of mast cells and eosinophils are implicated in allergic and inflammatory diseases. Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec)-8 is an inhibitory receptor selectively expressed on mast cells, eosinophils and, at a lower extent, basophils. When engaged with an antibody, Siglec-8 can induce apoptosis of activated eosinophils and inhibit mast cell activation. AK002 is a humanized, non-fucosylated IgG1 anti-Siglec-8 antibody undergoing clinical investigation for treatment of allergic, inflammatory, and proliferative diseases. Here we examine the human tissue selectivity of AK002 and evaluate the in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo activity of AK002 on eosinophils and mast cells. METHODS: The affinity of AK002 for Siglec-8 and CD16 was determined by biolayer interferometry. Ex vivo activity of AK002 on human eosinophils from blood and dissociated human tissue was tested in apoptosis and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assays. The in vivo activity of a murine precursor of AK002 (mAK002) was tested in a passive systemic anaphylaxis (PSA) humanized mouse model. RESULTS: AK002 bound selectively to mast cells, eosinophils and, at a lower level, to basophils in human blood and tissue and not to other cell types examined. AK002 induced apoptosis of interleukin-5-activated blood eosinophils and demonstrated potent ADCC activity against blood eosinophils in the presence of natural killer cells. AK002 also significantly reduced eosinophils in dissociated human lung tissue. Furthermore, mAK002 prevented PSA in humanized mice through mast cell inhibition. CONCLUSION: AK002 selectively evokes potent apoptotic and ADCC activity against eosinophils and prevents systemic anaphylaxis through mast cell inhibition