Ryuto SHIMADA

South Asian History, Southeast Asian History, Global History

1) Research on the History of Intra-Asian Trade

My research focuses on the history of intra-regional trade in maritime Asia from the sixteenth century onwards, spanning from East Asia to West Asia and East Africa. While this region has had a thriving maritime trade since ancient times, the globalization that began at the end of the fifteenth century led to further development of intra-regional trade. My primary research goal is to uncover the realities of this trade by utilizing Western-language sources such as the records of the Dutch East India Company, as well as local sources, including Japanese material. In addition, I work on the history of intercultural coexistence in port cities across maritime Asia that served as transit hubs for international trade.

2) Global History Research

I have a keen interest in historical research methodologies and historical narrative techniques, which extend into the field of global history. My first focus is on the global networks and transformations from the sixteenth century to the present, particularly through the lenses of economic history, environmental history, and cross-cultural history. Second, I am engaged in improving comparative methodologies as a framework for global history. For example, instead of the conventional comparative history approaches commonly seen in Japanese academia, such as comparisons between Japan and the West or Japan and East Asian countries, I aim to introduce novel comparative perspectives and present new historical interpretations.