Research Activities

On Monday, November 13th, a workshop entitled "Sharing the Knowledge" was held at the University of Naples "L'Orientale," which has an exchange agreement with the Institute for the Advanced Studies on Asia. Three IASA members took part and presented the following papers: Shoko Watanabe, "Muhammad al-Fasi (1908–91) and Transformations of Knowledge in Morocco under the French Protectorate"; Norihisa Baba, "Againt Sansrit: How Buddhaghosa Created Language Ideology of Pāli"; Yuki Tanaka, "Science and Aesthetics in Chinese Music." The workshop attracted about 20 participants, including Professor Patrizia Carioti, Professor Francesco Sferra, and Professor Claudia Iazzetta, and there was a lively discussion following the presentations.    　 　

Report Global Asian Studies (GAS) Program at IASA, University of Tokyo, hosted online conference Sumitomo Conference 2023: Japan Studies in Asia (1): Approaches from History and Comparative Studies from 2 pm to 5 pm on 15th of October, 2023, in collaboration with the Sumitomo Foundation, which has been supporting Asian scholars on Japan studies through their Grant for Japan-related Research Projects. In the conference, four former recipients of the grant presented their research findings and two Japanese scholars who somehow contributes(ed) to the management of the Grant for Japan-related Research Projects made comments on them. More than 300 people pre-registered in this conference, and more than 80 audience constantly listened

Report On the afternoon of Friday, July 7, 2023, ASEAN Secretary-General H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, who came to Japan to attend the ASEAN-Japan Special Justice Ministers Meeting, was invited to give a special lecture and dialogue with the students at the University of Tokyo. The event was sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia and co-sponsored by the Institute for Future Initiatives and Graduate School of Public Policy. Approximately 70 participants (primarily students) attended this event.The event began with President Teruo Fujii's opening message (via video), followed by a lecture by Dr. Kao on "ASEAN-Japan Cooperation: the Next 50 Years.” As this year marks the 50th anniversary

Report On April 3, 2023, the Tobunken Seminar "The Ottoman Postal System: An Infrastructural History" was held at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. Dr. Koh Choon Hwee of the University of California, Los Angeles, gave a lecture on the Ottoman postal system, based on her book in preparation for publication. Dr. Koh energetically made a 168-slide presentation on the Ottoman postal system, elucidating its transformation from an exclusive system for government use to a public service catering to common subjects. During the Q&A session, a lively discussion ensued, with questions about why the change occurred in the early nineteenth century, the transition from oral to written transmission of

Report IJAS holds its first outreach workshop at Chulalongkorn University 29 th March 10:00 – 12:00. Members of the International Journal of Asian Studies (IJAS) editorial team introduced thejournal at the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The workshop was chaired by assistant professor Pattajit Tangsinmunkong with opening remarks by the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science Prakorn Siriprakob. Professor Jin Sato articulated the vision and scope of the journal, associate professor Michihiro Ogawa provided an overview of contributors and readership, associate professor Shoko Watanabe outlined special issues and procedures, Dr Sam Bamkin spoke about book reviews, and associate professor Chris Gerteis (online) explained the criteria for

Report With the theme of “Exploring Asian Connectivities: Topics, Methods, and Implications”, the first GAS joint workshop with CLASS/CoHASS in NTU Singapore was held in-person at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. It was aimed at exchanging scholarly knowledge and research experience on global Asian studies as well as discussing the possibilities of research collaboration in both individual and institutional levels. As the notion “Global Asian Studies” (GAS) was influenced by the objective of Global Asia Research Cluster at CoHASS(College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences) in NTU Singapore, this joint workshop was a meaningful first step for GAS program to start intellectual conversations and networking with our new initiative of global

On March 22 and 23, the Pacific Rim Ottomanists' Conference was held at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo. This international conference was designed to bring together scholars of Ottoman history from the western regions of the United States and East Asia to share their ongoing research. It was supported by JSPS Grants-in-Aid No. 20H01322 and 20H05827. Speakers are Baki Tezcan of University of California, Davis, Nora Barakat of Stanford University, Koh Choon Hwee of University of California, Los Angeles, Eunjeong Yi of Seoul University, Satoshi Kawamoto and Madoka Morita of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Masato Tanaka of the Graduate School of Humanities and

The Tobunken Seminar, "Japonya'da Sohbet-i Osmaniye-6" was held on Monday, March 6, 2023. This workshop has been held with the aim of promoting research exchange and development through dialogue between emerging researchers specializing in the study of Ottoman history in Japan and leading scholars from abroad. This time, Professor Michael Talbot, a specialist on Ottoman diplomacy from the University of Greenwich, was invited to provide comments and ask questions in response to the papers presented by three young scholars. Dr. Nagashima's paper analyzed the structure that led to violence against Bulgarian civilians during military counterinsurgency operations in Ottoman Macedonia on the eve of the Young Turk Revolution. Dr. Suzuki's paper

Director Akio Takahashi visited the University of Naples, L'Orientale, an important partner for the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, and delivered a lecture entitled "A comparative study of the social structure of Japanese and Southeast Asian villages" on November 28, 2022. Andrea Manzo, Dean of the Department of Asian, African, and Mediterranean Studies, made the opening remarks, and Professor Patrizia Carioti, who is in charge of the exchange with the IASA, introduced the speaker. The lecture was followed by many questions and discussions. We would like to thank L'Orientale for hosting this wonderful opportunity for exchanges of ideas where the interests of both sides clearly resonated.During his stay in

The Global Asian Studies (GAS) program was established in 2022. The GAS website provides an overview of the program and will be updated regularly with information on academic events, research and educational activities organized by the GAS and JF-GJS Initiatives. https://gas.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/

The Tobunken Seminar "Workshop Series on Ottoman History 2: Corporate bodies and status groups in the Ottoman Empire" was held online on November 5, 2022, attended by 26 participants from Japan and Turkey. Professor Nalan Turna (Yıldız Technical University, Turkey) gave a presentation entitled "Artisans and Janissaries of Istanbul Before and After the Auspicious Event, 1808–1839" and discussed the transformation of the artisans after the abolition of the Janissaries in 1826. Professor Eunjeong Yi (Seoul National University) gave comments and questions on the presentation, followed by a lively discussion over the issues such as the relationship between artisans and Janissaries and the concept of "economic Tanzimat." This workshop was supported

The Tobunken Seminar "Workshop Series on Ottoman History I: New Readings of Ottoman Sources" was held online on October 22, 2022, attended by 27 participants from Japan, Turkey, and Germany. Doctor Nil Tekgül from Bilkent University gave a presentation entitled "Tracing Emotions in the Ottoman Archives: What it meant and how it felt like to be an Ottoman subject in the early modern era?" She first demonstrated the methodology of the history of emotions and then discussed the issues such as emotion codes and emotional communities in early modern Ottoman society based on archival documents. This workshop was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 20H01322. Date and time: October 22,

The Tobunken Seminar "Asiatic Imperial Constitutional Making – Legal Borrowings from the Ottomans by the Asiatic World" was held both in person and online on August 4, 2022, attended by 6 in-person participants and about 20 online participants. Doctor Yakoob Ahmed, visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo, gave a lecture on the interconnectedness between the constitutional making in the Ottoman Empire, Japan, China, and Johor and discussed how the latter three saw the Ottoman experience and whether there were "Asian" features in the constitutional process in these states. Date and time: August 4, 2022 (Thu) 15:30~17:00 Venue: Large meeting room (3rd floor),

1st Tobunken Staff Seminar in AY 2022 "Connecting East Asia to Europe via the Caspian Sea, Caucasus and Russia: Iran's plan to open a new Silk Road during the Safavid era (17th century)" (Lecturer: Prof. Mansur Sefatgol) was held online on June 16, 2022, attended by 45 people.   The establishment of the Safavid Empire (1501-1736) was the beginning of a relatively new structure in Iran. At the same time there were dramatic changes in West Asia and global conditions. The rise of the Ottomans, Mughal India, Uzbek Khanate, Russian Tsardom, and the presence of the Portuguese in the Persian Gulf led to the decline of traditional trade network and route

At 3:00 pm, on 13th of May, 2022, Director Takahashi of our institute signed MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Japan Foundation at their headquarter in Yotsuya, Tokyo. Under the banner of “JF-GJS Initiatives,” we decided to jointly organize (1) meetings for Japanese Studies Fellows invited by the Japan Foundation, (2) seminars and workshops which will contribute to the fruitful dialogue between Japanese studies in Asia and Asian studies in Japan, (3) educational programs for next generations of Japanese studies in Asia as well as Asian study experts in Japan, and so on from 2022 to 2025 (possibly to 2027).“JF-GJS Initiatives” will start under the supervision by GAS (Global Asian Studies)

The Global Japan Studies (GJS) Research Networkin the Institute for Advanced Studies in Asia at the Universityof Tokyo has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Japanese Studiesin the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and Japan AirlinesCo.,Ltd.(JAL), with the aim of enhancing collaborative opportunitiesfor both staff and students. For details, check the following URL.  https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202001/005448.html