Department of Japanese History

e-mail:	fukushu(at)l.u-tokyo.ac.jp *Replace (at) with @.
Tel:	03-5841-3775

The Department of Japanese History offers a specialized field that examines the history of the Japanese archipelago in a multifaceted and comprehensive way. Researchers are trained to read documentary historical materials such as old documents, records, and history books; examine and analyze their contents; and develop arguments from them to construct a historical picture.

Teaching staff

Yoko KATO NOJIMA (Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Modern Japan's concept of national defense (sense of security) and its relationship with foreign policy formation, Diplomacy and military affairs in the 1930s, Relationship between the emperor and the military.
Courses taught:	In the undergraduate seminar, students closely read the proceedings of the postwar “Imperial” Congress using the “Imperial Congress Meeting Search System.” The lectures discuss the emperor and emperor system in modern Japan. In the graduate school, students read “The True Record of the Showa Emperors” in rotation and examine the historical documents used as sources for the descriptions from the Imperial Household Archives and other archives.

Research fields:

Modern Japan's concept of national defense (sense of security) and its relationship with foreign policy formation, Diplomacy and military affairs in the 1930s, Relationship between the emperor and the military.

Courses taught:

In the undergraduate seminar, students closely read the proceedings of the postwar “Imperial” Congress using the “Imperial Congress Meeting Search System.” The lectures discuss the emperor and emperor system in modern Japan. In the graduate school, students read “The True Record of the Showa Emperors” in rotation and examine the historical documents used as sources for the descriptions from the Imperial Household Archives and other archives.

Toru OTSU (Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Comparative study of the Japanese and Tang Dynasty Ritsuryo system, Ancient emperor system, Study of the state system during the Sekkan Period
Courses taught:	In the undergraduate seminar, students read the “Nipponshoki” as a foundation for the study of the Setseki period. In the graduate seminar, students read the “Ryo no Shuge” and consider the significance of the Ritsuryo system. The special lecture examines the structure of ancient states as a study of ancient legal history.

Jun SUZUKI (Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Social and economic history of the Meiji and Taisho periods, History of industrial technology, Great Kanto Earthquake
Courses taught:	In the first half of the undergraduate seminar, research papers on the Meiji period are read, and in the second half, participants present their research. The lectures focus on issues of the Meiji and Taisho periods, discussing them from multiple perspectives to provide a broad understanding of research methods and the image of the period. In AY2024, Michitsune Mishima will be discussed. The graduate seminar involves reports of participants' research. This includes a report on a specific historical source and another on a specific issue. If there is room, a doctoral dissertation or equivalent research book will be reviewed.

Research fields:

Social and economic history of the Meiji and Taisho periods, History of industrial technology, Great Kanto Earthquake

Courses taught:

In the first half of the undergraduate seminar, research papers on the Meiji period are read, and in the second half, participants present their research. The lectures focus on issues of the Meiji and Taisho periods, discussing them from multiple perspectives to provide a broad understanding of research methods and the image of the period. In AY2024, Michitsune Mishima will be discussed. The graduate seminar involves reports of participants' research. This includes a report on a specific historical source and another on a specific issue. If there is room, a doctoral dissertation or equivalent research book will be reviewed.

Noriyuki TAKAHASHI (Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Research on the Kamakura shogunate, History of dynastic relations, Civil wars of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Paleography, History of Estate system
Courses taught:	In the undergraduate course, students read basic historical documents on medieval Japanese history, such as “Azuma Kagami” and “Gyokuyo.” In the graduate course, students elucidate medieval society based on historical documents of Estate system. The lectures examine various issues in medieval political history and provide an overview of paleography.

Shigeyuki MAKIHARA (Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Social and economic history and regional history of the early modern period, the Land system, Status system, Circulation
Courses taught:	In the undergraduate exercises, he explores methods of assembling historical images by searching for historical documents from municipal histories and other sources throughout Japan. The lectures introduce the empirical methods of early modern social history. In the graduate school, students deepen their knowledge of theories of early modern society based on their own research reports.

Akiko MIEDA (Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Medieval status system research, Medieval urban social history research, Medieval temples and shrines research
Courses taught:	The undergraduate seminar deepens the understanding of medieval temple society through the reading and understanding of historical documents on Enryakuji Temple on Hieizan. The lectures aim to elucidate the social structure of the Middle Ages, focusing on cities and status. In the graduate seminar, students analyze historical documents on the Tokugawa shogunate during the Warring States period to gain a deeper understanding of the realities of politics and society in medieval Kyoto.

Research fields:

Medieval status system research, Medieval urban social history research, Medieval temples and shrines research

Courses taught:

The undergraduate seminar deepens the understanding of medieval temple society through the reading and understanding of historical documents on Enryakuji Temple on Hieizan. The lectures aim to elucidate the social structure of the Middle Ages, focusing on cities and status. In the graduate seminar, students analyze historical documents on the Tokugawa shogunate during the Warring States period to gain a deeper understanding of the realities of politics and society in medieval Kyoto.

Kazuaki MURA (Associate Professor), Japanese History

Research fields:	Theories of early modern emperors and the imperial court, the Management of merchant houses, Historiography
Courses taught:	In the undergraduate exercises, students read historical documents on political history in a broad sense. In the graduate courses, students deepen their understanding of early modern states and societies from various perspectives. The lectures introduce various issues in political history.

Kento SUGITA (Research Associate)

Research fields:	Ancient Japanese History