Address by the Program Leader
Kobayashi Tatsuo
Kokugakuin University is an institution that – based on theschool’s founding Shinto spirit – has made solid achievements in research andeducation in the fields of Japanese history and Japanese literature in the 120 years
since its founding in 1882.
The present COE program is being given the highest importance within
Kokugakuin University’s 21st Century Research and Education Plan; our aim is toestablish an institute to further the study of the basics of Japanese culture and todisseminate our research results.
The present project seeks to further the already close co-operation between
Kokugakuin University’s Graduate School of Letters and the Institute for Japanese
Culture and Classics. Granting degrees in Shinto Studies, Japanese Literature, andJapanese History, the Graduate School possesses an impressive history of researchachievements, foremost in the fields of Shinto studies and religious studies, but also
in history, literature, ethnography, and archeology. In turn, the Institute forJapanese Culture and Classics has produced numerous noteworthy achievements in
the international cooperative study of Shinto and Japanese culture. At the sametime, the project also actively promotes the training of a new generation of young
researchers for the development and dissemination of future research.
“Shinto and Japanese Culture” is the research topic with which thisinstitute is concerned. This research seeks to illuminate the Japanese worldview
and Shinto as a symbol and core of Japanese culture, yet without being mere
apologetics for Shinto and Japanese culture. This necessitates an approach thatprobes the nature of Japanese culture by putting equal emphasis on theuniversality of human civilization as well as local characteristics, rather thanmerely viewing the culture found in the Japanese archipelago as an isolated modeland simply listing it alongside the various other cultures.
It goes without saying that Japanese culture and the Japanese worldview
are not simply transitional historical phenomena with no connection between
various historical periods. At the same time, history is conventionally divided into
periods according to such principal categorical elements as economics, politics,society, and culture. Each historical period is complete in itself and each period has
its own distinguishing traits. This means that Japanese culture consists of thewhole of the individual cultures that existed during these various historical periods.
However, the formation of these historically specific cultures is not grounded only indomestic conditions, but also in direct and indirect relations with surrounding
territories. With this in mind, we plan to first develop research within groups ofresearchers formed according to their academic specialties and then to synthesize
the findings of the various groups.
Following this approach, concrete research will be advanced in five fields: 1.) Shinto
studies, 2.) religious studies, 3.) Japanese history, 4.) ethnography, and 5.)archeology.
These five fields will independently establish research plans, continue conducting
domestic research, and periodically organize small research seminars, while also
engaging in overseas research and organizing international symposiums.
Each of these fields of research – working towards realizing the overall aimof this Institute – will be represented in the three overarching groups introduced in
the following pages and engage in a mutual exchange of ideas and the deepening of
our overall understanding of the various research issues based on accumulated
research results.
The three overarching research groups are as follows:
Group I.

Research on Japanese Culture and Shinto as Its CulturalFoundation

This group’s objective is to elucidate Japan’s cultural foundation, its elementary
beliefs and the Japanese world view by applying the different approaches taken in
Shinto studies, religious studies, history, literary studies, ethnology, and archeology
to the issues of the origin, essence, characteristics, and universal nature of Shinto.
Broadly taking the overall East Asian environment into account, fieldwork will beconducted on the diverse and complex aspects of the origin, historical development,and significance of Shinto and Japanese culture, paying particular attention toinsights derived from history and ethnology.
The Jōmon period with its hunter-gatherer culture, and the following Yayoi
period, with its rice farming culture, were of particular importance to the formationof Japan’s cultural foundation. Jomon culture is gaining increasing international

attention as an original cultural pattern of the Japanese archipelago. However, it isbelieved that exchange with the areas represented by modern-day Siberia andRussia was also an extremely important source of influence for Jomon culture.
Excavations are being carried out along the Russian coast in anticipation ofclarifying this matter. Additionally, results derived from the latest dating methods
have established that the Yayoi culture is some 500 years older than was previously
believed. This has raised the level of importance of Japanese and Russiancomparative research. Advancing concrete comparisons with China and Korea isalso considered a valuable field of research.
Group II.

Research on the Formation and Development of Shinto andJapanese Culture; Comparison with other Asian Cultures

Based on the research dealing with the formation of Japan’s fundamental culture
conducted by Group I, the aim of Group II is to elucidate various aspects pertaining
to the historical process of the emergence and concrete development of theoriginality of Japan’s Shinto-based culture. First, we will make clear the process bywhich folk culture gradually strengthened the establishment of agricultural rites,
based on the foundations already laid by Yayoi and Kofun period culture. Second,
we should be aware that wide-ranging interaction with other East Asian cultures
also played an important role from antiquity to the modern period.
Group III.

Dissemination of Information on Shinto and Japanese Culture andResearch into the Current State of Shinto

The main aim of this research group is to synthesize the results of domestic andforeign research on Shinto and related aspects of Japanese culture. Another task isto disseminate the Institute’s latest findings to domestic and foreign researchers of
Shinto and Japanese culture. At the same time, this group will promote theutilization of these research results and encourage future research in this area ofstudy.
In concrete terms, the group will create a scholarly database and further
work on the online publication of English translations of Shinto-related texts. Inregard to the translation of the Encyclopedia of Shinto and its online publication,
we are continuing our cooperation with the Center for Shinto Studies at theUniversity of California at Berkeley and hope to bring the translation project tocompletion in the near future through the formation of the National Learning
Institute for the Dissemination of Research on Shinto and Japanese Culture.
Our strategy to effectively accomplish the objectives of the COE program is theaccumulation and synthesis of the findings made by the above-stated researchgroups. Additionally, we seek to advance research through establishinginterdisciplinary research groups and by holding international conferences.
Kokugakuin University is giving its full support to the COE program. In particular,
Kokugakuin University is providing continuing financial assistance for theorganization of conferences and the English translation of the Encyclopedia of

Shinto, striving to bring the COE projects to fruition.