Field
Concluded Laboratory 2015/03/31
Director : Tokio SHINKAWA
Professor,Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Research theme
Research on historical differences and coexistence in East Asia, from the perspective of “Buddhism” as a form of civilization movement
Overview of research
This research attempts to question and redefine issues revolving around the ways of the society and culture in East Asia in modern times of globalization. However, the review does not look directly at modernity; rather, through a review of the ways of the pre-modern East Asian world, the research aims to gain a long-term understanding and outlook that can contribute to modern times. Hence, relativizing the Chinese civilization to self-contained East Asia world theories, the spotlight is placed on the pre-modern phenomenon of repeated civilization movements of Buddhism, seen as a foreign civilization to the East Asian world, toward the east of India. This phenomenon is then regarded as gglobalizationh in pre-modern times, and is considered an effective perspective from which to capture and reconsider the East Asian world in a relative, objective, and non-static manner.
With the research issues described above in mind, this research will comprise three projects. The first, world order, studies the types of world (secular) order triggered by the eastward movement of gBuddhisth civilizations. The second, figurative expression, is a research project that looks at the types of image-based and written language worlds created through the eastward movement of Buddhist civilizations. The third, complex religions, studies the types of religions, faiths, and customs that arose from the eastward movement of Buddhist civilizations. These research projects aim to bring into sharp relief the differences and conditions of coexistence in the pre-modern East Asian world, and to draw up complex theories based on the research.
Adviser
Katsuaki Ohashi
Researchers
Tokio SHINKAWA (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Sungsi LEE (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Ryoshun OKUBO (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Akio KAWAJIRI (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Kimiko KONO (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Motoo KUDO (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Ryuzaburo TAKAHASHI (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Romi HIDA (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Yuria MORI (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Masayoshi JOKURA (Associate professor , Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences)
Contact
Floor 8, Bldg.No.36 Toyama Campus, Waseda University
1-24-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8644, JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-5286-3945
E-mail:[email protected]
