Latest renewal April 8, 2010
Department of Indological Studies
Kyoto University
Introduction
to Department of Indological Studies
Japanese Here
The 14th World Sanskrit Conference
At Kyoto University, the Department of Indian Philosophy was founded
in 1906, and four years later, in 1910, the Department of Sanskrit
Language and Literature was established as the unique chair in Japan.
After 2004, the two were integrated into the Department of Indological
Studies in order to advance still more the studies in the field of
Indology from pure language study to religion and philosophy.
The Department of Indological Studies
is responsible for research and education
in Classical Sanskrit, Vedic, Pali, Middle
Indic languages as well as in the philological, philosophical, and cultural-historical
study of the ancient Indian literature. Elementary
Sanskrit is a prerequisite for those who
major in Indological Studies.
Students are trained in undergraduate courses
to master a solid philological discipline
for advanced research of Sanskrit.
Both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in Indian
philosophy are trained to read treatiese of philosophy
(darzanas), and to acquire proficiency in the philological and
thought-historical methods of research.
Also, they are required to obtain a reading knowledge
of German and French, in addition to that of English,
during the undergraduate period. Seminars
are arranged primarily for graduate students
on subjects such as phonology,
morphology, syntax, epic meter,
indigenous grammatical theory, rhetorical
theory, style of classical literature, Indian logic,
philosophy of language, Indian medicine, and others.
Every year several lecturers are invited from institutions
in and out of the Graduate School of Letters
to give courses on subjects that are
not covered by the staff members of the Department.
Besides the courses for Ancient and Middle
Indo-Aryan languages, annual courses are offered
annually for the study of Modern Indic languages
such as Hindi, Bengali, or Tamil.
The chairperson, Prof.
Akamatsu, is a specialist of the Logic, Epistemology and Linguistic Philosophy
in classical India. Professor Emeritus Tokunaga, author of a new critical edition
of The BRhaddevatA, is specialized in Sanskrit epics and the
exegetical tradition of the Rgveda. Associate
Prof. Yokochi is working on the PurANa and
the Classical Sanskrit Literature. Dr. Diwakar Acharya
is well versed in Sanskrit language, Manuscriptology and Paleography.
Prof. Fujii, member of Institute for Research in Humanities, is teaching
on Vedic studies.
Thus, members of staff teach a wide range of topics in the field of
indology from pure language study to Philosophy and Religion.
This Department is managed
in a close relationship with the
Department of Buddhist Studies. The two
Departments form the Association of Indological
and Buddhist Studies, Kyoto University.
Foreign applicants to the
Department of Indological Studies are required to present,
apart from the usual documents, a recommendation
letter written by an established scholar
of Indology or humanistic studies.
Staff Members (2010 academic year)
Professor & Chairperson AKAMATSU Akihiko, Ph.D. (Paris), Indian Philosophy
Associate Professor YOKOCHI Yuko, Ph.D. (Groningen), Classical Sanskrit and PurANic literature
Instructor ACHARYA Diwakar Nath, Ph.D. (Hamburg), Indian Philosophy and Religion