Inaugural lecture: Tantric Buddhism and its influences on Japanese culture hand-out Main topics of the lecture: 1. How I came to be interested in Buddhist mythology and questions of Tantric influence on Japanese culture. 2. Outline of subsequent lectures. 3. Mythological variation on the theme of King Kalm¯ as . ap¯ ada and some ´ Saiva deities in India and Japan. 4. Hypothesis on the common ground between ´ Saivism and Tantric Buddhism. *** Some personal bibliographical data: - “Daijizaiten 大 (Mahe´ svara)”, H¯ ob¯ ogirin VI, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles- Lettres, Institut de France, Paris, Tokyo, 1983, p. 713-765. - “Récits de la soumission de Mahe´ svara par Trailokyavijaya”, M. Strickmann ed., Tantric and Taoist Studies in honour of R. A. Stein, III, [Mélanges Chinois et Bouddhiques, XXII] Bruxelles, 1985, p. 633- 745. - “Daikokuten 大 (Mah¯ ak¯ ala)”, H¯ ob¯ ogirin VII, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles- Lettres, Institut de France, Paris, Tokyo, 1994, p. 839-920. - Daikokuten hens¯ o: Bukky¯ o shinwagaku I 大 変 ――― 学・１ [Metamorphoses of Mah¯ ak¯ ala: Buddhist Mythology I], Kyoto, H¯ oz¯ okan , 2002 - Kannon hen.y¯ otan: Bukky¯ o shinwagaku II 変 ――― 学・２, [Transformations of Aval- okite´ svara: Buddhist Mythology II], Kyoto, H¯ oz¯ okan , 2002 (Of these two volumes, you will find a detailed Table of Contents in English at: <http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~n-iyanag/buddhism/mythbuddh/vol1_contents_ e.html> and <http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~n-iyanag/buddhism/mythbuddh/vol2_contents_ e.html>) And you will find other bibliographical data at: <http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~n-iyanag/bibliography.html> Works by Prof. R. A, Stein: “Bouddhisme et mythologie. Le Problème”, in Yves Bonnefoy, dir., Dictionnaire des Mythologies et des Religions des sociétés tradiotionnelles et du monde antique, Paris, Flammarion, 2 vol., 1981, I, p. 127-129. “Porte (Gardien de la) : un exemple de mythologie bouddhique, de l’Inde au Japon», in Yves Bonnefoy, dir., Dictionnaire des Mythologies et des Religions, II, p, 280-294. (These two are translated into English in: 1