Research Highlights

I am responsible for teaching Chinese Classical Literature in the Major of Chinese Literature and spent many years at the Keio Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko). My area of focus is bibliographic research that spans Japanese-Chinese classical texts in general, including their history, circulation, collection, and preservation. For students of Chinese literature, I will be lecturing on the history of printing in China, Chinese bibliography, philology in Chinese literature, the history of collections of classical texts, and other subjects. For instance, Confucius’s Analects is undoubtedly China’s best-known classical text, but few quality manuscripts exist in China today. Many of the best texts, which closely resemble the original manuscripts, are ones transcribed in Japan between the Kamakura period (c. 1185 – c. 1333) and the Muromachi period (c. 1336 – c. 1573). My job is to research and discover such classical Chinese documents in libraries, literary collections, temples and shrines, and other locations across Japan. Texts of literary value can be found among printed books in China and old manuscripts in Japan.

The Mita Media Center of the Keio University Library has one of Japan’s foremost collections of these manuscripts. Additionally, though the Song dynasty (960–1279) is widely considered the golden age for printed texts in China, most have been lost to time. Many texts were, however, brought to Japan long ago through trade with the Song dynasty, and many of these precious materials still survive today. Uncovering and investigating these valuable classical writings is part of my research as well. During China’s Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12), which corresponds roughly to Japan’s Edo period (1603–1867), a large number of classical Chinese texts were published in Japan along with an increase in literacy and readership. Organizing and analyzing these common materials is another one of my research objectives. There are thousands of people in China who loved and collected literature throughout history. I believe that introducing these individuals in Japan is an important academic pursuit that deepens our understanding of Chinese culture. In that sense, I am engaged in research on Eastern culture by reading and studying works of classical Chinese literature. Keio founder Yukichi Fukuzawa was a pioneer in introducing Western civilization to Japan, but at his core was the outstanding education in the Chinese classics he received from Sinologist Shozan Shiraishi in his younger years. He writes about this in his autobiography, which I always encourage my students at Hiyoshi Campus to read.