Marta Sanvido became fascinated with Japanese culture while a student in high school in Padua, Italy. An avid fan of Japanese anime, she also fell in love with Japanese literature, especially contemporary and modern novelists like Yasunari Kawabata and Haruki Murakami.
"I began studying Japanese during my first year of college, and at first it was very challenging because the classes were just in Japanese and I had no background," she said. "But it was also very rewarding. What drove me at first was that I wanted to be able read the novels I was interested in in Japanese."
That love of culture and language eventually led to her current work: Sanvido is now a scholar of Japanese Buddhism, and a newly appointed assistant professor of religious studies in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Sanvido received her Ph.D. from Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Before joining Yale, she was affiliated with the University of Hamburg, in Germany, where she was a post-doctoral fellow in Buddhist studies, as well as with Komazawa University in Tokyo, where she was a visiting research scholar.
In the latest edition of Office Hours, a Q&A series that introduces new Yale faculty members to the broader community, Sanvido talks about her first eye-opening trip to Japan, her research into ancient Buddhist documents, and the hunt for a perfect cup of coffee.
| Title | Assistant professor of religious studies |
|---|---|
| Research Interest | Japanese Buddhism |
| Prior Institution | University of Hamburg/Komazawa University |
| Started at Yale | July 1, 2025 |
What drew you to the study of Japanese Buddhism?
Marta Sanvido: When I got to college, I majored in Japanese and East Asian studies, and during my first year, I took an introductory class in Japanese Buddhism. That changed everything. I was struck by how deeply Buddhism was part of pretty much everything in pre-modern Japan, from literature to the arts to culture in general. I also had the opportunity to spend a full semester in Japan and that really piqued my interest because I had the opportunity to visit temples and museums and see firsthand the material and textual culture. Eventually I became more interested in Zen Buddhism specifically, which is what I study now. What convinced me to pursue this path was connecting with scholars in Japan, who've always been very kind and generous to me, because it really opened up new research paths.
What is the focus of your current book project, which I understand is based on three years of archival research in Japan?
Sanvido: I'm writing a book on secret documents that were produced between the 15th and 18th centuries at Japanese peripheral temples that were affiliated with the Sōtō Zen school. These secret documents offer a unique window into the everyday lives of Buddhist communities. The temples I study were located in rural or peripheral regions of Japan, where the Buddhist monks at the time established close ties with the villagers, offering what we might call religious and spiritual care. The unpublished manuscripts that I study and am translating reflect this role because in the documents the monks interpreted a wide range of Buddhist teachings in relation to the world around them - for example, about the meaning and implications of death and the afterlife, the human body, the salvation of women and the presence of non-human agents.
What drew you to Yale?
Sanvido: The Department of Religious Studies is amazing. The possibility to connect with people who work on religions from so many different areas and from different periods of time was very appealing to me. And the Buddhist studies initiative at Yale is growing and there are always interesting events happening.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Sanvido: I love cooking and baking. And I do love coffee! I enjoy exploring new cafes and hunting down the perfect cup. I'm still researching the New Haven coffee scene. I also love going to museums. I love art history. I feel very lucky that we have the Yale University Art Gallery, and I hope to take my students there during the spring semester to see some Japanese material culture.
