Considering People and Society in Early Modern Japan

2019/04/01

I believe that Keio University has continually questioned the nature of people and society in the modern era from a broad perspective. The Faculty of Letters, in particular, directly confronts these themes of humanity and society, developing a diverse range of research across its 17 majors.

Within this context, the Major in Japanese History conducts research in line with the history of Japan, primarily using written historical materials as sources. The faculty members of the major specialize in various periods, including the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern eras, as well as the Kirishitan (Christian) period.

My specialty is the early modern history of Japan. I cover a span of about 300 years, from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the Edo period. This era was a society with a unique status system and can be considered a traditional society, so to speak, that formed the premise for the modern society in which we live.

Using early modern Buddhism—a topic that has not necessarily received much attention—as a lens, I am examining the nature of people and society during this period. This is the work I am engaged in under the banner of "socio-religious history."

My starting point was to question the relationship between the common people (those of the ruled class) living in local communities and Buddhist ideas of salvation. More recently, I have been examining the relationship between Buddhist organizations and the feudal lords of the shogunate and domains—in other words, the relationship between religion and state in the early modern period. I am also interested in the order surrounding Shinto and Buddhist deities. By deciphering historical materials that remain in various regions, I aim to construct a new historical narrative.

When studying history up to high school, one is often forced to memorize a great number of names, terms, and dates. However, studying history at the university level is different. While we learn from past research, we also go back to the source materials that serve as evidence and re-examine them. We then acquire our own new insights and, through discussions with others, work toward a shared, more complete historical narrative. In this process, you will likely come to recognize that you yourself are a historical being living in modern society.

The ability to seek out each piece of evidence, interpret high-quality information, and logically construct the progression of humanity and society based on it should prove valuable in your life as a working member of society. This belief is shared by the faculty members of the major, including myself.