Institute of Humanities
Institute of Humanities
In April 2019, the Faculty College of Literature established the Institute for Humanities, an organization that will operate the education and research of each department in a more global, interdisciplinary, and organic manner. College of Literature Institute aims to strengthen the international orientation that has been the faculty's goal since its establishment and to generate interdisciplinary research. In addition to academic activities among faculty members, we hope to provide students with educational experiences that transcend the boundaries of departments and graduate schools, and a place to support interdisciplinary research.
“Humanities Research Institute Essays attached to College of Literature”
Issues 1 to 3 were published as "Reports of the Institute of Humanities, Faculty College of Literature"
2025 activity report
"It's Back!! First Steps in Kodan: Classical Literature for the Future," sponsored by the Institute for Humanistic Studies, Faculty College of Literature Aoyama Gakuin University
On Friday, November 28, 2025, with the support of the Institute of Humanities affiliated with Aoyama Gakuin University College of Literature, we held a symposium titled “It’s Back!! My First Kodan: The Future of Classical Literature” at the Aoyama campus. This event serves as the second installment, following the symposium “My First Kodan: The Future of Classical Literature” held in fiscal year 2024.
摆碍ō诲补苍闭
Iori Kanda (Kōdan Storyteller)
[Moderator/Coordinator]
Miyuki Fukuda (Aoyama Gakuin University, Department of French Language and Literature, Professor)
Yoshihiko Nakano (Aoyama Gakuin University Department of French Language and Literature, Associate Professor)
Katsura Sato (Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University Department of Comparative Arts)
[Part 1]
“Lecture on the Tale of the Akō Loyalists”
Session 1: “The Tale of the Akō Loyalists: Farewell in the Snow at Nanbu-zaka”
"Les Misérables" Lecture
Second Session: “Fantine’s Fall” from *Les Misérables*
[Part 2]
“Panel Discussion: The Future of the Classics”
2024 activity report
"First Storytelling: The Classics of the Future" sponsored by the Institute for Humanities College of Literature of Letters, Aoyama Gakuin University
On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, a symposium titled "Introduction to Kodan: Classical Literature for the Future" was held at Aoyama Campus, sponsored by the Institute for Research in Humanities, Faculty College of Literature Aoyama Gakuin University. For details, please refer to the "2024 Symposium Report" published in the Journal of the Institute for Research in Humanities, Faculty of College of Literature, No. 7.
[Kodan (traditional Japanese storytelling)]
Iori Kanda (storyteller)
[Master of Ceremonies/Coordinator]
Miyuki Fukuda (Professor, Department of French Language and Literature Aoyama Gakuin University)
Katsura Sato (Professor Department of Comparative Arts Aoyama Gakuin University)
Part 1 Lecture
Mini-storytelling lecture
① "The fan target" (from "The Tale of the Heike")
② "Les Misérables (1)" (based on the novel by Victor Hugo)
Part Two: Free Talk
"Let's talk to Professor Iori!"
Storytelling, literature, language, career paths, university life, work, etc.
2023 Activity Report
Symposium "Cultural Exchange through Theatre: Welcoming Mr. Benjamin Lazare and Ms. Ikuko Sawada" hosted by the Institute for Humanities, Faculty of Letters, College of Literature Aoyama Gakuin University
On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Institute of Humanities at Aoyama Gakuin University College of Literature hosted a symposium titled “Cultural Exchange Through Theater: Featuring Benjamin Lazar and Ikuko Sawada” at the Honda Memorial International Conference Hall on the Aoyama campus.
Part 1: Tracing the Careers of Mr. Benjamin Lazar and Ms. Ikuko Sawada as Theater Artists
Part 2: A Baroque Theater Performance by Mr. Benjamin Lazar
[Symposium Speakers]
◆Shotaro Terakura (Opera Critic)
◆Benjamin Lazare (Director, Actor; recipient of the French Order of Arts and Letters)
◆ Ikuko Sawada (Actress, Playwright, Director; Artistic Director of the theater company “good morning No 5”)
◆Nobuko Akiyama (Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University Department of French Language and Literature)
◆Tomoko Nozawa (harpsichordist, director of Studio Trianon)
She has been involved in Renaissance and Baroque opera as a continuo player for early music orchestras in Japan and Europe.
[Greetings]
Thanks to the large turnout, both Part 1 and Part 2 of the symposium were a great success. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated.
2022 Activity Report
On December 7, 2022, the Institute hosted a symposium in a hyflex format entitled "The Challenge of the Humanities: Exploring Modern and Contemporary Minority Cultures - Understanding the Shadows of the World from Five Perspectives."
[Symposium speakers]
Teppei Kuruma (Associate Professor, College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University)
“After Hours”—Queer Poetic Time
Miyuki Fukuda (Associate Professor, College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University)
19th Century French Journalism: The Dreyfus Affair
Manabu Tozuka (Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Musashi University)
A negative image of a girls' novel: Sui Ozaki's "Wandering in the Seventh Official World"
Haruki Inagaki (Associate Professor, Faculty College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University)
Minorities and the Law in the 19th Century British Empire
Hiromi Matsui (Associate Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, The University of Tokyo)
Women as Artistic Subjects and Realism
2021 Activity Report
On March 12, 2022, we held a lecture entitled "How 'War Chronicles' Come to Be" by Professor Shinichi Saeki of the College of Literature Aoyama Gakuin University. Please refer to the PowerPoint presentation materials used in Professor Saeki's valuable lecture, given by the first director of the research institute and a leading authority on war chronicle literature, who will be retiring this year.
2019 Activity Report
On December 21, 2019, the Institute for Research Studies and the Institute for Humanities, attached to College of Literature, jointly held a symposium entitled "The Sacred in the East and West: Opening up Comparative Cultural Studies." Traditionally, the "sacred" of the world has tended to be confined to individual research fields such as Japan, the East, and the West, or to literary studies, history, art history, or religious studies. This symposium aims to open up new perspectives in the humanities through the comparison and contrast of each culture by shedding light on the "sacred" of the world from various perspectives, such as Japanese Buddhist literature, Buddhist art, Christian art, and Islamic studies.
[Symposium speakers]
Ayako Ninomiya (Associate Professor, Department of History College of Literature of Letters, Aoyama Gakuin University University, Oriental History)
"Veneration of Muhammad: Aspects of the Sacred in Islam"
Akira Akiyama (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, History of Western Art)
"The Agency of Icons and Sacred Objects: An Attempt at Comparative Religious Art History"
Yasuro Abe (Professor of Japanese Literature, Department of Buddhist Studies, Ryukoku College of Literature)
"Exploring the Religious Textual Cultural Heritage of Prince Shotoku"
Kazuharu Asai (Professor Emeritus, Aoyama Gakuin University, History of Japanese Art)
"The Great Buddha of Todaiji Temple as a Sacred Object: Considering its Art and Historical Significance"