European Association of Japanese Studies

European Association of Japanese Studies
Name	European Association of Japanese Studies
Formation	1973
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Europe
Region served	Europe
Language	English
Leader title	President

European Association of Japanese Studies is a scholarly association that promotes research and teaching on Japan across Europe, fostering networks among scholars, institutions, and cultural organizations. The association brings together academics, librarians, museum curators, and policy analysts from universities and research centers to advance study of Japanese history, literature, politics, law, and arts. It connects with major European and Japanese institutions to support conferences, publications, and collaborative projects in Japanese studies.

History

The association emerged in the early 1970s in the context of growing postwar academic links between United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Japan and alongside institutions such as London School of Economics, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bologna, University of Amsterdam and University of Tokyo. Founding members included scholars associated with centers like SOAS University of London, Maison franco-japonaise, Max Planck Society, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Leiden University. Over subsequent decades the association expanded as Japanese studies programs grew at universities such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Helsinki University, Charles University, University of Warsaw and Universität Wien, and in tandem with global organizations including the Japan Foundation and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. The association’s trajectory intersected with major events such as the postwar reconstruction of Japan, the 1970s oil crises impacting European scholarships, the rise of Japanese popular culture in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the bolstering of EU-Japan academic exchanges following agreements like the Japan–EU Economic Partnership Agreement.

Organization and Governance

The association is governed by an elected board comprising officers often drawn from institutions such as University College London, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Freie Universität Berlin, Sapienza University of Rome, Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society and Trinity College Dublin. Committees coordinate activities related to conferences, publications, doctoral fellowships and outreach with partners like the British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, National Diet Library, Rijksmuseum and Museo Nazionale del Prado for exhibitions. Governance processes resemble practices at learned societies such as the Modern Language Association, American Historical Association, and European Association for Asian Studies with codified statutes, annual general meetings, and rotating presidencies often hosted by university departments including University of Edinburgh and University of Barcelona.

Membership and Chapters

Membership draws individuals affiliated with universities and research centres such as University of Helsinki, University of Copenhagen, Stockholm University, University of Oslo, University of Geneva, KU Leuven, Universidade de Lisboa, Trinity College Dublin, Charles University in Prague, Jagiellonian University and Eötvös Loránd University. National chapters and affiliated organizations include groups connected to the British Association for Japanese Studies, French Association for Japanese Studies, German Association for Japanese Studies, Italian Association for Japanese Studies, Netherlands Association for Japanese Studies and regional centers such as the Scandinavian Association for Japanology and the Iberian Association for Japanese Studies. Institutional members often include libraries and museums like the Bodleian Libraries, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and university presses including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Brill Publishers and Routledge.

Conferences and Events

The association convenes biennial European conferences hosted in cities that previously included London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Leiden, Barcelona, Prague, Helsinki, Vienna, Stockholm and Budapest. These conferences feature keynote lectures by scholars affiliated with Harvard University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Kyoto University, Waseda University, Keio University and Tsukuba University, panel sessions with participants from institutes such as the Asia-Europe Meeting and the European Commission research directorates, and collaborative symposia with cultural partners like the Japan Society and the Japan Foundation. The association also organizes doctoral workshops, summer schools in collaboration with the European University Institute and online webinars co-sponsored by centers such as the Ditchley Foundation and Chatham House.

Publications and Research Activities

The association supports publication of conference proceedings and edited volumes with academic publishers such as Brill Publishers, Routledge, Springer, Palgrave Macmillan and Bloomsbury. Members publish in journals affiliated with institutions including the School of Oriental and African Studies, Japan Foundation Review, Monumenta Nipponica, European Journal of East Asian Studies, Japan Forum, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan and Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. Research activities encompass projects on topics linked to notable works and figures such as Murasaki Shikibu, Natsume Sōseki, Yukio Mishima, Hayao Miyazaki, Naoki Prize, Genpei War and the Meiji Restoration, often in collaboration with archives like the National Archives (UK), the Biblioteca Nacional de España and the Archivio di Stato di Firenze.

Awards and Grants

The association administers travel grants, dissertation prizes and research fellowships drawing on funds and partnerships with organizations such as the Japan Foundation, Yokohama National University, European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Fulbright Program and national research councils like the British Academy and the CNRS. Prizes recognize early-career monographs and doctoral theses alongside awards named after eminent scholars and collections linked to institutions such as SOAS University of London, University of Oxford, École pratique des hautes études and Hokkaido University.

Partnerships and Outreach

The association partners with governmental and cultural bodies including the Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom, Embassy of Japan in France, EU Delegation to Japan, Japan Foundation, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Instituto Cervantes, Royal Danish Embassy and museums such as the British Museum and Musée Guimet. Outreach includes public lectures, school programs in cooperation with institutions like the British Council and joint research with think tanks such as Chatham House, Bruegel, Centre for European Policy Studies and the Jacques Delors Institute.

Category:Japanese studies organizations Category:Learned societies in Europe