D.T. Suzuki Documentary Project collection, 2002-2005

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Summary

Creator:
Goldberg, Michael
Abstract:
D.T. Suzuki was a scholar of Zen Buddhism, often attributed with introducing Zen to the West. He was born in Japan in 1870, and after working as a translater in the United States, began writing books and essays about Zen. He spent much of his life traveling around the United States speaking about Eastern religions and teaching at Columbia University. An enormously influential figure, he is cited by artists and thinkers as disparate as Carl Jung and John Cage as an important influence on thier work. The D.T. Suzuki Documentary Project Collection is comprised of taped material, amassed by Michael Goldberg in the making of his documentary A Zen Life - D.T. Suzuki. It consists of a series of interviews conducted between the years 2002 and 2005, as well as a lecture given at Tokyo University by Prof. Brian Victoria.
Extent:
4.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes, 35 digibeta tapes, DVD user copies)
Language:
English
Collection ID:
RL.10036

Background

Scope and content:

The D.T. Suzuki Documentary Project Collection consists of 35 Digital Betacam (Digibeta) cassette tapes, along with DVD use copies, of interviews and one lecture concerning the life and work of D.T. Suzuki.

The tapes are arranged alphabetically by name of the individual granting the interview or delivering the lecture. The interviews were conducted between the years 2002 and 2005 by Michael Goldberg in the making of his film, A Zen Life - D.T. Suzuki. The subjects of the interviews include Suzuki's professional colleagues, family members of friends of Suzuki, Zen religious leaders and thinkers, and those who have been influenced by Suzuki's work. They were conducted primarily in the United States and Japan. The lecture, entitled D.T. Suzuki and Japanese Militarism, was given by Brian Victoria, a professor of Buddhist studies at Tokyo University in 2004.

Biographical / historical:

Daisetz Teitaro (D.T) Suzuki was a Japanese author often credited with introducing Zen Buddhism to the west. Born in 1870, he was not himself a monk, but he had a deep understanding of Eastern and Western religions. He began as a translator, working with Dr. Paul Carus to translate the Tao Te Ching from ancient Chinese, but it was not long before he began writing his voluminous body of work. In his life he published over a hundred books and had a profound impact on a wide range of thinkers and artists, such as Carl Jung, John Cage, and Gary Snyder. His most famous work, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, was published in 1934. He died in 1966, after having spent years giving lectures around the United States and Europe and teaching at Columbia University from 1952 to 1957.

Processing information:

Processed by Kevin Modestino, July 2010

Encoded by Kevin Modestino, July 2010

Updated by Craig Breaden, September 2013 and June 2021.

Accession 2009-0237 is described in this finding aid.

Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and our local Style Guide.

This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

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Subjects:
Zen Buddhists -- Japan.
Zen Buddhists
Documentary films
Buddhist scholars -- Japan.
Format:
Audiovisual materials
Digital Betacam (TM)
Names:
Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

Original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use; however, MP4 access files are available for reading room use.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48-hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], D.T. Suzuki Documentary Project Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University