On July 29, 2023, the 9th International Symposium on East Asian Cultural Studies organized by the Department of Literary Research, Faculty of Letters, Kokugakuin University and sponsored by the East Asian Cultural Research Center, the College of Foreign Languages, Nankai University, was held in Tokyo, Japan. The event marks the first face-to-face exchange after 4 years since 2019, with over 60 faculty members and students from the two universities.
Representatives from both universities
On the morning of July 29, Prof. Yasuo Oishi from Kokugakuin University hosted the opening ceremony, where remarks were delivered by Prof. Michiaki Ishimoto, representative of the Kokugakuin University, and Prof. Liu Yuzhen, Director of the East Asian Cultural Research Center, Nankai University. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the International Symposium on East Asian Cultural Studies. For that, Prof. Liu Yuzhen quoted Chinese poet Gao Shi’s poem to express his gratitude for the decade-long academic exchanges and cooperation that was made possible through the efforts of the faculty team and students.
Prof. Nagato Sato from Kokugakuin University and Prof. Liu Yuzhen delivered separate keynote speeches that broadened the academic perspectives of the attendees. Later, Prof. Liu Haiyu, a professor at the Institute of Cultural Heritage at Shandong University and a short-term research fellow at Kokugakuin University made a well-received academic report.
In the afternoon, the Graduate Academic Forum was held, where 15 graduate and doctoral students from both universities delivered their academic reports in 4 sub-forums encompassing linguistics, ancient literature, modern and contemporary literature, history study, folk customs and cultural exchanges between China and Japan. The lively discussion received guidance from experts, including those from Kokugakuin University: Prof. Ogawa Naoyuki, Prof. Norio Ishikawa, Prof. Nagato Sato, Prof. Michiaki Ishimoto, Prof. Yasuo Oishi, Prof. Jun Endo, Prof. Hisashi Matsumoto, Prof. Hidemi Higuchi, Prof. Yoshiyuki Iikura, Prof. Ryohei Ito, Prof., Associate Prof. Hiromi Hattori, Associate Prof. Yuya Araki, Associate Prof. Kazumasa Dairaku, Associate Prof. Okusu Suzuki from Soka University, Prof. Liu Haiyu from Shandong University and those from Nankai University: Prof. Liu Yuzhen, Prof. Wang Xinin, Associate Prof. Jiang Yundou and Associate Prof. Yu Jun. The students found their instructions very rewarding.
At the closing ceremony, Prof. Michiaki Ishimoto and Prof. Liu Yuzhen made the concluding remarks. Prof. Liu Yuzhen was delighted by the 8 graduate and doctoral students from Nankai University, who are all exchange students in Japan, including a doctoral student from the Faculty of History of Nankai University. Closing remarks were also given by Prof. Wang Xinxin, deputy director of the Japanese Department of the College of Foreign Languages at Nankai University, and by Prof. Norio Ishikawa, Vice President of Kokugakuin University, where they expressed hopes for the young students. Prof. Norio Ishikawa spoke highly of the academic performance of the attending students and looked forward to the development of academic exchanges and cooperation between the two universities. The meeting ended with thunderous applause, and the 9th issue of East Asian Cultural Studies, which features academic exchanges between students and faculty from both universities, will also be released in September this year.
The 10th International Symposium on East Asian Cultural Studies will be organized by Nankai University in September 2024, when faculty members and students from both universities will gather in Tianjin.
Faculties and students from Nankai University
