Katja Triplett

Katja Triplett is a Research Associate and Private Lecturer at the Institute of Religious Studies, Faculty of History, Arts and Regional Studies at Leipzig University. She has held academic positions at several prestigious institutions including Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Philipps-Universität Marburg, and SOAS, University of London. Her current research focuses on Japanese religious history, particularly the intersection of religion and medicine in East Asia.

Dr. Triplett completed her habilitation in Religious Studies in 2020 at Marburg University following doctoral studies from 1996-2002. Her academic journey includes significant research periods in Japan through fellowships at the Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien in Tokyo and the Ōtani Universität in Kyoto.

Her research interests span religion and society in Japan, religion and medicine, Buddhism in East Asia, and translation policies in religious contexts. She has made significant contributions to understanding how religious worldviews interact with medical practices in historical Japanese contexts, particularly examining the complex relationship between Buddhist traditions and healing practices from 500-1600 CE. Her current DFG-funded research project "Mission as Laboratory" investigates how Jesuits and Japanese converts navigated competing worldviews through translation during the early modern period.

Her scholarly output demonstrates consistent focus on religious healing practices, translation dynamics in religious contexts, and the interplay between religious worldviews and medical systems in East Asia. Her publications reveal a deep engagement with historical religious texts, manuscript cultures, and the material dimensions of religious practice. She has particularly examined how religious traditions conceptualized and addressed health, disease, and healing through ritual, textual, and institutional frameworks.

Dr. Triplett serves on the Board of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) since 2015, reflecting her standing in the international scholarly community. She has successfully secured multiple research grants, including DFG-funded projects on Japanese religious translation and intercultural perspectives on religion and dietary practices.

Her teaching portfolio encompasses diverse courses on Japanese religions, Buddhist traditions across Asia, religious systems in modern Japan, and specialized topics like ritual medicine and religious innovation. She has taught at multiple German universities including Marburg, Göttingen, and Hannover, demonstrating her commitment to training the next generation of scholars in religious studies with a focus on East Asian traditions.