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| Japanology | |
|---|---|
| Name | Japanology |
| Specialization | Japanese studies |
| Institutions | University of Tokyo, SOAS University of London, Harvard University, Columbia University |
| Notable scholars | Ernest Fenollosa, Ruth Benedict, Edward Said, Donald Keene |
| Languages | Japanese language |
Japanology
Japanology is the academic and cultural study of Japan encompassing history, language, literature, art, religion, and society. It examines periods such as the Heian period, Edo period, and Meiji period and engages with sources from Kojiki to modern manga and anime. Researchers draw on archives from institutions like the National Diet Library and museums such as the Tokyo National Museum.
The field centers on the study of Nihon, including political transformations like the Meiji Restoration, diplomatic episodes such as the Treaty of Kanagawa, cultural productions exemplified by The Tale of Genji, and social movements such as the Anpo protests. It covers linguistic analysis of Classical Japanese and Modern Japanese, literary criticism of authors including Murasaki Shikibu and Natsume Sōseki, art history spanning ukiyo-e and Nihonga, religious studies of Shinto and Zen Buddhism, and performance studies of Noh and Kabuki. The scope reaches into legal history with the Meiji Constitution and industrial history involving firms like Mitsubishi and Toyota Motor Corporation.
Early Western engagement involved figures such as Philipp Franz von Siebold and William Adams (sailor), while nineteenth-century collectors included Ernest Fenollosa and Ralph Waldo Emerson's contemporaries who popularized Japanese art in Britain and France. Academic institutionalization occurred with chairs at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Columbia University, and University of Tokyo and was shaped by twentieth-century scholars such as Ruth Benedict, whose study drew on ethnography from sites like Aomori Prefecture. Postwar developments involved comparative work with scholars like Donald Keene and debates influenced by Edward Said's theories of Orientalism and critiques from Postcolonialism.
Researchers employ philology to analyze texts such as the Man'yōshū and Genji Monogatari, archival research in repositories like the National Archives of Japan, ethnography in locales such as Okinawa Prefecture and Hokkaidō, and art-historical methods for objects by artists like Hokusai and Hiroshige. Interdisciplinary connections link to comparative studies with China and Korea via sources like the Ritsuryō system and the Goryeo–Japan relations; legal historians engage with documents such as the Treaty of Kanagawa and the San Francisco Peace Treaty; and media studies analyze anime studios like Studio Ghibli and creators like Hayao Miyazaki.
Scholars focus on political transformations including the Sengoku period and the Meiji Restoration, cultural continuity in court literature and popular culture, religious syncretism among Buddhism and Shinto, modernization driven by industrial conglomerates like Mitsui and Sumitomo, urbanization in Tokyo and Osaka, and wartime memory connected to events such as the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Pacific War. Literary studies examine authors like Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Yukio Mishima, while art historians study movements including Yōga and Sōsaku-hanga. Studies of identity address topics like Burakumin discrimination, the Ainu people, and migration patterns involving Zainichi Korean communities.
Influential scholars include Ernest Fenollosa, Ruth Benedict, Donald Keene, Edward Said (for his influence on critique), Marius Jansen, C. W. Nish, Henry Smith (Japanologist), Peter Duus, Andrew Gordon, Masanori Naito, Haruo Shirane, Kobayashi Hideo, Yukiyoshi Tokugawa, Kunikazu Yahiko, Okakura Kakuzō, Motoori Norinaga, Taira no Masakado (as subject), and Tanaka Heihachirō (as subject). Major centers include SOAS University of London, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Leiden University, Australian National University, University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University, Waseda University, Keio University, Yale University, University of Michigan, University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Seinjun Suzuki (as film subject), NHK (as media institution), National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and private foundations like the Japan Foundation.
The study of Japanese literature and culture influenced Western modernism through figures such as Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and James McNeill Whistler who collected ukiyo-e. Film reception involved directors like Akira Kurosawa and festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, while academic exchange was promoted by organizations including the Fulbright Program and the Japan Foundation. Economic and technological admiration focused on corporations like Sony Corporation and Nintendo, and cultural soft power spread via exports like manga and anime to institutions such as the British Museum and Museum of Modern Art.
Current debates center on historiography involving interpretations of events like the Nanjing Massacre and legal memory under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, censorship controversies linked to creators such as Osamu Tezuka and publishers like Shogakukan, heritage preservation of sites like Himeji Castle amid tourism, and language policy debates involving Japanese language education for migrant communities in cities like Nagoya. Scholars address decolonial critiques referencing Orientalism and engage with digital humanities projects using datasets from the National Diet Library Digital Collections. Contemporary film, literature, and pop culture studies analyze works by Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, Haruki Murakami, and corporate practices at Toho Co., Ltd..