« [MJHA] New Books from Japan #8: "The Publishing Empire at War: A Cultural History of Defiance" Friday, January 17, 2025 | 7:00-8:30 AM ET | 9:00-10:30 PM JST | Main | 【Reminder: JF-GJS Fellow Talk Series】 "Southeast Asian Can Think Outside Southeast Asia" (January 9, 2025) »

January 21, 2025

Unexplored Crossways of Antiquarianism in Japan's Long Nineteenth Century：Symposium at Sophia University

From: Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Office <i-comcul@sophia.ac.jp>  
Date: 2025/01/08

Unexplored Crossways of Antiquarianism in Japan's Long Nineteenth Century
International Hybrid Symposium hosted by the Institute of Comparative Culture, Sophia University, and supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 22K00863. 
 
Date: 18 January 2025 (Saturday), 14:00-18:00 
Place: Room 509, Building 2, Sophia University 
(Meeting ID: 987 0459 7170 / Passcode: UCA2025) 
Language: English (questions and comments in Japanese are welcome) 
 
The early modern vogue in antiquarianism (kōko 好古and kōshō 考証) has recently attracted considerable attention, with researchers finding in it the seeds of modern humanistic studies and a mentality typical of the era. But what is antiquarianism after all? Who were antiquarians and what did they study? How did their exchanges resonate across societal, regional, and national borders? In what ways did antiquarian investigations influence contemporary fields of inquiry and creative activities? 
 
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, interest in antiquities and the ancient period indeed intensified. Yet this trend sprung from multiple scholarly traditions, and what scholars envisioned as "ancient" was diverse, including Confucian classics, Japanese Heian court culture, and seventeenth-century Edo culture. Antiquarianism was also part of the salon culture of the time. Antiquarian circles overlapped with other types of gatherings, and many participants displayed an insatiable curiosity towards almost everything under the sun. Much is still to be unearthed about the specific features of the enthusiasm for antiquities and curiosities, including the part women played in this movement and how antiquarians recorded and studied things related to women and ethnic minorities. 
 
Seeking to open new lines of approach, this event invites speakers from Europe, Korea, and Japan to explore some of the less-studied dimensions of this kaleidoscopic phenomenon and its impact. 
 
Program 
  • 14:00-14:05 Opening remarks (Maki Nakai) 
  • 14:05-14:25 André Linnepe, "Antiquarianism as Scholarly Practice: A Material Analysis of Nakai Riken's Paper Model of the Confucian 'Long Robe'" 
  • 14:25-14:45 Yoshitaka Yamamoto, "Shibano Ritsuzan's Investigation of Heian-Period Palace Screen Paintings" 
  • 14:45-15:05 Maki Nakai, "In Pursuit of Hosonaga: Debates on the Forgotten Heian Court Robe" 
  • 15:05-15:25 Bettina Gramlich-Oka, "Crossways of Knowledge in the Collection of a High-Ranking Woman in Nineteenth Century Japan" 
  • 15:25-15:45 Discussion 
  • 15:45-16:00 Break 
  • 16:00-16:20 Francois Lachaud, "A Tale of Two Norths: Antiquaries and Japan's Septentrional Regions (1700-1900)" 
  • 16:20-16:40 Fumiko Kobayashi, "Historicizing the Yoshiwara Brothel Quarter: Investigating the Past, Documenting the Present by People around Ōta Nanpo and Santō Kyōden" 
  • 16:40-17:00 Margarita Winkel, "Interpreting Objects and Ancient Traditions: The Example of Santō Kyōden" (online) 
  • 17:00-17:20 Mijin Kim, "Ryūtei Tanehiko's Antiquarianism of Early Modern Japanese Customs in the Nineteenth Century" (online) 
  • 17:20-17:45 Discussion 

Approved by ssjmod at 06:55 PM