Dr. Tomomi Ito

Japan

Dr. Tomomi Ito of Japan is a profoundly talented woman and a brilliant research scholar. She conducted her doctoral research on The Intellectual Pursuits of Thai Buddhists in the Mileau of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. Her research reveals a pluralism of interpretations of Buddhist doctrines – beyond Thai Buddhist orthodoxy. In the process of her research she interviewed over 150 Thai intellectuals in contact with Buddhadasa Bhikkhu’s life and work.

She traveled extensively throughout Thailand , and is an expert on Thai society, culture and Buddhism. Dr. Tomomi Ito earned her doctorate in Australia at Australian National University in Canberra . She teaches Thai language and culture, and has done so at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan .

Currently, she teaches at Kobe University , Japan in the Faculty of Cross Cultural Studies. Dr. Tomomi Ito’s current research interests focus on the Buddhist women’s movement in Thailand about which she has written conference papers and has been published in the Journal of Sophia Asian Studies, Vol. 17, 1999 of Sophia University, Japan.