Andrew Macomber

Andrew Macomber is an Assistant Professor of East Asian Religions at Oberlin College, affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of East Asian Studies and Religion. His research focuses on intersections of Buddhism, medicine, and the body in premodern Japan. He holds a PhD from Columbia University (2019) and has conducted extensive archival research in Japan, supported by grants from the Japan Foundation and Takeda Science Foundation.

• Education: PhD, Columbia University (2019); MPhil (2014), MA (2013), BA (2010)

His research explores Buddhist responses to disease and ritual healing in medieval Japan, including his monograph Cadaverous: Treating Corpse-Disease and the Demonic Patient in Medieval Japanese Buddhism. He co-edited Buddhist Healing in Medieval China and Japan (2020) and has published in leading journals like the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. Recent work includes analysis of corpse-vector diseases, aromatic substances in religious practice, and moxibustion rituals.

Publications span 2019–2025, emphasizing medieval Japanese medical and religious practices. His 2025 grant supports a book on postmortem contagion and ritual immunity. He presents widely, including at conferences like the 2024 Zombie Apocalypse Medicine Meeting and international venues like the University of Venice.

• Awards: Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Subvention Grant (2025)

Teaching includes courses on Japanese religion, Buddhist healing, and East Asian religious rituals. He has been affiliated with Nagoya University’s Research Center for Cultural Heritage and Texts and contributed to projects at Kyōu Shooku library in Osaka.