On November 2 and 3, sponsored by the East Asian Cultural Research Center and organized by the Graduate School of Letters/Faculty of Letters KokugakuinUniversity, the 6th Nankai-KokugakuinUniversity Graduate Academic Forum and International Symposium on East Asian Cultural Studies was held in the CFL. 10 teachers and students from KokugakuinUniversity and the Department of the Japanese of the NKU attended the meeting.
On the first day, Associate Prof. Wang Kai, Vice President of the CFL, and Prof. Jinzi Xiuyi, Chairman of the Graduate School of Letters at KokugakuinUniversity, addressed at the opening ceremony. The outstanding achievements of cultural exchanges between China and Japan since the founding of New China and the development of this forum were reviewed. Besides, they expressed their wishes to the in-depth cooperation between the two universities for the next centenary.
Associate Prof. Wang Kai presented to Prof. Xiaochuan Zhizhi the commemorative medal for the 100th anniversary of the NKU and took a group photo with him.
Afterwards, Xiaochuan Zhizhi, the professor of the Graduate School of Letters at KokugakuinUniversity and honorary professor of the NKU, and Wu Yan, professor the Department of Japanese delivered keynote speeches on「結び」の精神史——アジアの視点からand清末民初の天津日本租界における日本語教育とその影響——日出学館（共立学校）の場合.
From the perspective of folklore and cultural inheritance, Prof. Xiaochuan Zhizhi expounded the cultural and spiritual implications of the “knotting （結び）” in terms of the shape and role. Based on the Kyoritsu Elementary School, Prof. Wu Yan explained the situation and impact of Japanese education within Japanese Concession in Tianjin by virtue of historical documents. With novel argument, they gave to the students a broader picture of the research methods and angles.
According to the following schedule, the Graduate Academic Forum was announced to start. There were 5 sub-forums. Seven postgraduate and graduate students from Japanese counterpart and 11 postgraduate and graduate students from the NKU together with Prof. Sasaki Sasaki addressed their academic reports. The host of these forums were Profe. Jinmu Xiuyi, Prof. Jingshang Mingfang, Prof. Wang Xinxin, Prof. Wu Yan, and Associate Prof. Sun Xuemei.
Lihua Kawasaki, Naoko Fukuda, Li Shengzhi, Makoto Matsui, Natsuko Maeda, Natsuko Maeda, and Ishiko Shibasaki from the Japanese counterpart explored the interpretation of East-Asian cultures in some Chinese and Japanese literal works featuring local customs from the perspective of folklore, literature, and religion. The reports covered topics such as oral hygiene in the Edo era, Buddhist sutras and temples in Japan, Japanese and Chinese funerals, Morito literature, and the enlightening education in the Analects of Confucius.
Chen Qian, Sun Yuan, Cui Xueting, Wang Mengxuan, Tang Xuan, Li Xiaoling, Hu Xiaohui, Chen Honghong, Du Mingrui, Li Weizhuo, and Shao Ruochen from the Department of Japanese at the NKU, respectively, on Japanese classical literature, contemporary and modern literature, social thoughts and national psychology, food culture. And Mr. Sasaki gave a report on the popular culture in the seminar of the Japanese Academy. The lectures demonstrated objectively and innovatively the diversity in the studies of the East-Asian literatures and cultures.
In the comment section of each forum, the hosts gave some comments of each one from the research methods, problem awareness, the angle of analysis, and historical documents. In addition, the teachers also analyzed the trends of the East Asian cultural studies to give a clear picture for the postgraduates.
At the closing ceremony, Associate Prof. Wang Kai, director of the East Asian Cultural Research Center, expressed his gratitude to the teachers and students present. Prof Han Lihong and Prof. Xiaochuan Zhizhi respectively addressed speeches and announced that the seventh forum would be held in Tokyo next year.
The meeting was arranged orderly with a lot of inspiring knowledge. It was believed that the future cooperation and exchange between the two universities will be closer and the results will be more fruitful.
