Charting a New Cource in Humanities Scholarship.Charting a New Cource in Humanities Scholarship.

Objectives

In conjunction with international Japanese studies network initiatives at Tohoku University including the Hasekura League, the International Graduate Program in Japanese Studies, and the Digital Archive of Integrated Knowledge, the last of which is being built to coordinate the cultural and academic resources of the University with international standards, the Center for Integrated Japanese Studies aims to become the heart of the world’s largest cross-disciplinary “Japanese Studies” community.

In concrete terms, it will bring together Japanese studies scholars from top-ranked universities in North America and other regions at Tohoku University and will assume a leading role in the setting of a new standard in international academic excellence in the humanities.

Deepening and evolving.

Two Types of Integration

  • Integration of research methods in Japanese studies

    The Center and its scholars will deepen Japanese studies by integrating research methods that emphasize detailed empirical findings with those that focus on originality in theory and conceptual understanding.

  • Integration of data-driven research and the humanities

    The Center and its members will promote the integration of data-driven research using large-scale digital archives with the humanities, bringing innovation to research in the humanities.

Introduction

Bringing together domestic and
foreign researchers to chart a new course
in humanities scholarship.

Hiroaki AdachiCenter Director

It is my distinct pleasure to assume the post of Center Director from October 1st, 2024. It has already been one year since the Center’s inception, and organizational work continues to progress as we welcome our new full-time and cross-appointed faculty members.

At our Center, we have maintained a focus on broad-based interdisciplinary research while striving to deepen the basic fields representative of Japanese Studies, particularly those focused on Japanese society, politics, economy, history, culture, and language. By doing so, we establish a position for Japanese studies that finds universal significance throughout the world for Japan’s uniqueness and create new value for the field. It is our objective to create an ‘integrated Japanese studies’ by incorporating two types of ‘integration’: one bringing together different research methodologies, and one integrating a humanities- and social sciences-based approach with data-driven science.

Structure