Research Activities

Report On November 7th, The 15th GJS lecture was held at IASA. Prof. Fabio Rambelli delivered a lecture about his semiotic approach to Shinto, in which symbols(signifier), signifieds, the code (that sets the simbol-signified relation), and the contexts (in which the symbols are interpreted) are analyzed, against the conventional approach that sees the Shinto as national ideology and neglects the elusiveness of Shinto symbols. Using this new approach, professor Rambelli shows that many symbols in Shinto, such as the names of gods and an unbroken line of Imperial House, are actually the “symbolic value zero” (Levi-Strauss), and this elusive nature of the symbols that make various interpretation possible, is actually

Report The first Global Japan Studies summer program “An Inquiry into Japan’s Postwar,” sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia and co-sponsored by the Division of International Affairs of the University of Tokyo, was convened from August 24-September 2, 2016. 9 undergraduate students from University of Hong Kong, University of Melbourne, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, University of Southampton, Leiden University, etc. joined 7 University of Tokyo undergraduate students in participating senior professors’ lectures in the mornings and field trips in the afternoons during the program. Students from overseas also took Japanese language classes. Lively discussions followed each day’s lecture and during field trips students visited the Sensoji

Report The 13th GJS lecture was held at IASA, the University of Tokyo on July, 7th, 2016. Associate professor Oka delivered a lecture on Nanban trade – trade between Nagasaki and Macao. She argued that as Japanese history merged with a great trends of global history in 16th and 17th century, Nanban trade caused deep social changes in Japan, the traces of which are still visible in our today\’s life. She explained this by picking up some familiar goods as kasutera cake — the name kasutera came from Portugeuse word Castela. After the lecture, many questions were raised from the audience and gave rise to a lively discussion. Picures Information

Report The twelveth Global Japan Studies Lecture was held on June 9, 2016. Jacques Hymans, Associate Professor of the University of Southern California gave a lecture titled “Explaining Japan\’s 50-year failure to exploit its vast geothermal energy resources.” He provided three main obstacles to exploit its vast geothermal energy, which he considered intriguingly a posible way to solve Japan\’s energy insecurity. Following Prof. Hymans\’ talk, a series of questions were raised from the audience and gave rise to a lively discussion. Information Title: Explaining Japan\’s 50-year failure to exploit its vast geothermal energy resources Speaker: Jacques E. C. Hymans, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Southern California Date and

Report By examining the use, conception and deployment of shingon or “true words” in Japanese history, this paper attempts to define the operation of a “discontinuous structure” which treats the relation between sound, speech and meaning in Japanese history. This paper begins with a presentation of the 17th century work Shikidô Okagami [The Great Mirror of the Way of Eros] and argues for a combinative theory of Eros that includes Buddhism, Shinto and popular social practices. It then expands into a broader discussion of the roles of language and meaning found in this discourse and provides an English translation, and analysis, of one example of the mature form of this

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Report As part of the building up of Strategic Partnership between the University of Tokyo and the University of Chicago, the second joint Todai-UChicago workshop titled “Japan Studies at the University of Chicago and the University of Tokyo” was held at the University of Chicago on October 8-9, 2015. This is part of a 3-year annual workshop series joined by UChicago graduate students and the Global Japan Studies program of Todai. This year four presenters from Todai: – Ikeda Maho (PhD student, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology), – Sakihama Sana and Hirai Yuka (PhD students, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences), – Kawamura Satofumi (Project Assistant Professor, University of

Report Information Title: Area and the Regime of Separation: For the Japanese Studies to Come Speaker: Naoki Sakai (Professor, Departments of Comparative Literature and Asian Studies, Cornell University) Date and time: October 15, 2015 (Thur.), 2:00-4:00PM Venue: Main Conference Room (3rd Floor), The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo Language: English

Annual Summer Workshop　“Studies of Asian Arts, Religion, and History”, sponsored by National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Fudan University, cosponsored by East Asian Studies Department and Program, Princeton University and Institute for the Advanced Study of Asia, the University of Tokyo, completed all of its courses on July 3, 2015. Professor Yasushi OKI (Institute for the Advanced Study of Asia) gave a 3-hour-lecture on June 27, titled “Publishing and Literature in Late Ming Dynasty”. Discussion among the participants lasted for two hours afterwards. This year’s Participants are 40 graduate students who are specialized in Asian studies. Some of the participants from Princeton University, Yale University, Heidelberg University and other universities

Title: How to describe Chinese Administrative Law as a system under the Principle of Gesetzmaessigkeit der Verwaltung or Rule of Law in Administration Lecturer: TAKAMZAWA, Osamu,Professor ,Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia Time and Placd::15:15-16:40 on 15 June,2015 at the Meeting Room2, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia,the University of Tokyo Report The conclusion of the report was that the Principle is still under the forming process, because LAW,　promulgatede by National People\’s Congress(including its Standing Committee) can not satisfy the system. Participants also discussed on the sub-system(or main system?) of authorizing the State Council\’s legislation in taxation ,formed in 1980\’s. It is still an ongoing system. New Legislaion Law of

Title: The application of International Jaw in late Qing Dynasty:Preventing Japanese Buddhist Missionaries from Propagation Lecturer: YAN Liyuan,Renmin University of China,Reserch Fellow of Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia,the University of Tokyo Time and Place: 15:15-16:40 on 1 June,2015 at the Meeting Room2, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia,the University of Tokyo Report The historical process on the title was intorcuced and then, mainly two questions were discussed by the particepants. 1, Were there any special probems on Otani-School? They were most active at that time. 2, Through the fact of using International Law,tyipically on some articles of treaties, we can see the progress of dipomatic activity. However ,we should

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The Japanese-French architectural dictionary Vocabulaire de la spatialité japonaise [The Vocabulary of Japanese Living Space]（CNRS Editions）, in which our Research Fellow, Atsuko Ukai was responsible for the entries for “Japanese paper” and “play,” received a prize from the l’Academie d’architecture in France (Prix du Livre de l’Académie d’Architecture 2014). This dictionary is an ambitious work with about 200 keywords for understanding Japan from an architectural and cultural point of view, including special terms used in Japanese architectural space such as karesansui [rock garden] and tsuboniwa [inner (small) garden] as well as terms such as madori [house plan/layout] and buruu sheeto [blue sheet (tarp)] with deep connections to everyday Japanese life.

Report As an event in the series of Tobunken Seminar/Global History Collaborative Seminar, Associate Professor Xaver Paulès at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales gave a talk with the title of ”A Reconsideration about the Reasons for the Success of Opium in China in the XIXth Century” on Friday 12 December 2014.Professor Paulès explained, in a convincing way, reasons of the success of opium in the XIXth century China from political, economic and social points of view. At the Q&A session after the talk, there were many comments and questions on characteristics of Qing China society, terminology, comparison with Japan and Southeast Asia in global history’s context, etc.

Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), UTokyo Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile(Chile) Date: October 8th, Wednesday, 2014 Place: 2nd conference room, 3rd floor, IASA, UTokyo Speakers: Ikemoto Yukio Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia(IASA), UTokyoSato Jin Professor, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia(IASA), UTokyoJohannes Rehner Professor, Center for Asian Studies (CEA UC) & Institute of Geography, Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileRaimundo Soto Professor, Department of Economics, Universidad Católica de ChileSebastián Baeza Professor, Institute of Geography, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Program 10：00～11：00 Johannes Rehner, “Resource driven export boom, economic growth and employment in Chile´s Regions – impacts of trade with Asian countries” 11：00～12：00 Ikemoto Yukio, “On Japanese Economy”

The Tobunken seminar on September 8 invited Dr Chrysi Kotsifou as a speaker. Dr Kotsifou, Polanski fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, gave a talk under the title of “Life in a 10th-century Egyptian Monastery and the Scribal Practices at the Monastery of St. John the Little”.Dr Kotsifou’s presentation was based on her findings at the excavation site of the Monastery of St John the Little, Wadi al-Natrun, Egypt, as part of the Yale Monastic Archaeology Project. The main focus of her talk, the inscriptional material found at the monastic site, demonstrated the rich, vibrant world of the monks in living in tenth-century Egypt, and their literary skills.The seminar

Title: Research on Counterbalance of Two Elements: Legislation Model of Land Law in Variation Period of Tang and Song Dynasty Lecturer: HAN, Xiao, China University of Political Scince and Law, Research Fellow of Institute for Adbanced Studies on Asia Date: 16/June/2014 Time and Place: 3pm-5pm at the Meeting Room 2, 3rd floor of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo Language: Chinese( without interpretation) Abstract：There is obvious inheritance between tang and song dynasties on legislation model of land law. Counterbalance of two elements, which is called legislation model, had always been carried out by tang and song’s land legislation. One element was that land legislation safeguards

On 25 April, a Tobunken seminar was held. Jean-Frédéric Schaub, directeur d’etudes at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, gave a talk under the title of “Encountering the \’Non-European\’ and Defining \’Europeanness\’”. The seminar was planned as the memorial first event of Global History Collaborative funded by the JSPS for the next five years. It is an initiative for creating a close network which serves as leading international base for the research of new world history/global history. A series of seminars, workshops, conferences and joi nt summer programs are planned in addition to the exchange of researchers and PhD students among four institutions. The development of joint