To read with accuracy and pleasure requires a sure grasp of both the language and literary techniques used. Classics students will become acquainted with the best ideas and genres the Greco-Roman world has to offer: from Homer’s epic poems through drama, rhetoric and philosophy of Classical Greece down to the more private and learned genres of the Hellenistic culture. It will be equally fascinating to observe how Rome adopted and reshaped Greek ideas and culture under the Republic and later under the imperial rule. Equally fascinating is the impact this vast civilization has had on the cultural history of Europe and, ever more increasingly, the whole world. And this not only in the imaginative appropriation of Greek mythology: whenever we discuss such key concepts as, say, beauty, justice, courage, virtue, moderation, history, education, even economy or politics, we are in direct dialogue with Greeks and Romans, indebted to what they had to say about these things.

At graduate level we expect our students to have a mastery of Greek and Latin grammar, as well as a working knowledge of modern European languages (English, German, some French and/or Italian). Although many students choose to go on to study in more detail canonical text (esp. by Homer, Vergil and Ovid), there is much scope for personal tastes and interests. Some lectures and seminars are conducted in English.

Apart from the teaching done by the faculty staff, each year we invite a few part-time lecturers to give seminars on a variety of topics (from Homer to Seneca) and to teach the language classes.

Our department is also home to the office of the Classical Society of Japan, a nation-wide association of classicists established in 1950. We oversee the activities of the Society, such as the annual general meetings and the publication of two academic journals: the annual “Journal of Classical Studies” and the triennial “Japan Studies in Classical Antiquity” (JASCA).

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• http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/greek_latin_classics/glc-top_page/ (in Japanese)

Slavistics in Japan has developed around Russian literature studies ever since its birth in the Meiji period. Meanwhile, studies of fields outside of Russia, or even studies of Russian literature before the 19th and 20th centuries have a relatively short history in Japan. In view of the history of Slavistics in Japan as such, the department aspires to cover, in addition to Russian literature, a broader spectrum of the languages and literatures of Slavic nations from all regions and times. To that end, we offer courses on themes that are important for understanding the entirety of Slavic culture, and which are uncommon in other Japanese universities, such as Polish literature, Old Church Slavonic or Old Russian. Typically, courses on the following themes are offered, although there may be some variations between academic years: “Introduction to Slavic Linguistics”, “Topics in Russian Grammar”, “Old Church Slavonic”, “Polish Grammar”, “Russian Literature in the 19th century”, “Reading Russian Literature”, “Seminar in Polish Literature”, “Russian Language Practice”.

Students follow diverse reaearch interests, although Russian literature tends to be the most popular theme for graduation theses. Graduate students pursue an even great variety of interests.

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Currently, some 20 graduate and undergraduate students are enrolled in our programs. Many study sessions and reading circle meetings are held at the common studies room, sometimes also involving students from outside the department. In recent years, an increasing number of students have had a chance to study at institutions in German-speaking parts of the world under inter-university academic exchange agreements, and many students have earned their doctorate upon completing the doctoral program. In addition, graduate students play key roles in publishing the department’s annals, Kenkyū hōkoku.

Ever since its inauguration more than one hundred years ago, the department’s education and research pursuits have been characterized by a consistent emphasis on the close and exact reading of original texts — a tradition that has survived strongly into the present. At the same time, in recent years, we have endeavored to cultivate a broad vision covering a wide spectrum of Western culture, thought and society in general, reaching beyond the framework of German language and literature studies in their narrower sense.

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• http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/german_lang_lit/gll-top_page/ (in Japanese)

We offer, with the help of various part-time instructors, lectures and seminars on a broad range of subjects in the fields of English literature and linguistics. While we take care to teach the historical and cultural background so that students can fully appreciate literary works written in English, it bas been the tradition of our department to lay stress on careful reading of the text itself. We, therefore, expect students to use dictionaries constantly. Students are to write their graduation theses in English. They are encouraged to choose their own area of pursuit for themselves and may write their theses on any subject, from Shakespeare to Sherlock Holmes in the field of literature, and from Old English to Present-day English (including World Englishes) in linguistics. This department and that of American Literature are closely connected, most of the courses being common to both departments which merge into one at the graduate school level.

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AMERICAN LITERATURE

Our department offers a variety of courses on American literature — American fiction, drama and poetry, especially of the nineteenth century onward — with the help of part-time instructors from the Faculty of Integrated Human Studies and from other universities. Lectures and seminars are basically conducted in Japanese (except those by American and other English native instructors), and although their subjects, focuses and approaches may differ, most of them put special emphasis on careful and analytic reading of texts themselves, which should be the basis for any critical treatment of literary works. Students, therefore, are expected to make extensive use of dictionaries, pay close attention to textual details, and think out each interpretive difficulty they encounter, while developing, through lectures and seminar discussions, their interest in and understanding of broader issues concerning American literature and culture. They are also encouraged to cultivate their knowledge of English and other European literature, since the main body of classic American literature derives from Western literary tradition. Finally, students are to write their graduation theses in English, on subjects of their own choice; for which they should prepare themselves by acquiring sufficient English-writing skills — Academic Writing course is provided for this purpose — as well as by reading a wide range of literary and critical works to enrich their individual studies.

This department and that of English Language and Literature are closely connected, most of the courses being common to both departments which merge into one at the graduate school level.

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• English/American Language and Literature Web Site (in Japanese)

Take for example, the reading of L’Etranger by Camus: through an analysis of its style and narrative, and by an understanding of the author’s ideas and an examination of its relationship with other works and its historical context, we consider how and why L’Etranger develops and concludes in the way it does. Students may focus not only on novels and novelists but may deal with poets, such as Rimbaud and Baudelaire, with thinkers, such as Pascal and Rousseau, and with the works of playwrights, such as Racine and Molière. Art criticism of various French writers as well as writings on French music and films also come under the purview of our field.

Graduate students in the master’s program are expected to acquire advanced linguistic skills in French and learn practical approaches to research in the seminar guided by all members of the faculty. The Master’s Thesis shall be written in French. Those students who wish to become professional academics will proceed to the doctoral program to develop their research into a doctoral dissertation.

The department encourages students to study abroad in French-speaking regions, and many of our undergraduate and graduate students have studied at universities in France and Switzerland. An assistant professor from France teaches the traditional methodologies of text interpretation and paper writing. The department also maintains active interactions with institutions from French-speaking regions, inviting researchers to give lectures and organizing international symposia.

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• http://media-lang.net/souko/souko/souko/dep_fr_new/ (in Japanese)

The department has the honor of being Japan’s oldest institution to train specialists in Italian language and literature. Against the backdrop of a tradition dating back to the pre-war period, students now pursue their research interests in an open, liberal atmosphere, on works that are not confined to literary study defined in terms of poetry or novels but may include the works of political figures such as Machiavelli, librettos of operas, or the lyrics of madrigals. Courses are conducted in a seminar format in which students are given instruction tailored to their individual needs and levels of ability, allowing novices unfamiliar with Italian literature to move smoothly into the world of academic research.

Because, as noted above, the Italian studies community in Japan is still a fledgling one, the department continually seeks talented new students. Discovering the secrets of Italian genius from ancient and modern times is in fact so fascinating that it is not unusual for students to switch to our program from some other faculties at Kyoto University, or for graduates of other universities to enroll in our undergraduate program. Why don’t you join us to take part in this challenging endeavor?

To get the feel of what it is like to study in the department, please visit our website ITALOMANIA at http://www.kyoto.zaq.jp/italomania/. We welcome your visit.

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• http://www.kyoto.zaq.jp/italomania/ (in Japanese)

The prime focus of the Department of Buddhist Studies lies in elucidating the roots and origins of Buddhism through philological studies. Hence, our goal is above all else to understand the philosophy and history of Buddhism through reading primary source texts from India (in Pali or Sanskrit) and also Tibetan literature, which inherited those original Indian (particularly Sanskrit) sources while maintaining linguistic fidelity. Courses are thus designed primarily around reading Indian and Tibetan texts. Although the prime research interests of full-time faculty members lie in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, specialists from the Institute for Research in Humanities and part-time lecturers from outside the department cover other fields, such as Buddhism in China and Japan.

Students are expected to have reading skills in Sanskrit and Tibetan. Reading Chinese Buddhist materials is an important requisite, and often Middle Indic languages like Pali are also required in addition to Sanskrit. Because we deal with classic Indian literature, some of the courses we offer are shared with the department of Indological Studies. The two departments also cooperate in evaluating graduation theses, master and doctor dissertations, and even hold a joint farewell party for graduating students at the end of each academic year.

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You may be familiar with the drama Śākuntala by Kālidāsa, the most famous example of classical Sanskrit belles-lettres. In the field of Indological studies, we deal not only with belles-lettres, but also with philosophical treatises as vestiges of the speculations of the ancient Indians, with the epics and heroic/romantic narratives, with the religious scriptures of Hinduism, with books of law and politics, and with medical, astronomical, astrological and other sciences and arts. We also recently started studying mediaeval cook books.

We have talked about Sanskrit, but this is not the only language important for learning about Indian civilization. The history of India we can learn from written source starts with a text called the Ṛgveda Saṃhitā, which is dated to around BC 1200. This literature is composed in a language we call Vedic, which preserves an earlier form of Old Indo-Aryan than Sanskrit and is indispensable in tracing the history of the Indo-European languages. A variety of languages that belong to the Middle Indo-Aryan are also important because they are closer to the spoken languages, and therefore much early Buddhist and Jain literature is composed in one of these languages.

All the same, the Indians have often regarded ‘language’ not as a mere tool of communication, but as a powerful entity in its own right. Scholarship concerning language, such as grammar, metrics, poetry, and linguistic philosophy, has always played a vital role in their intellectual traditions. Indological studies are also, above all, for students who love languages and who wish to investigate the cultural heritage of the Indian civilization by wrestling with classical literature.

In addition, about half of the classes in our department are held in English and some others can be at participants’ request. Foreign students can study in an English medium from the elementary to the advanced level.

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People may associate the term “Chinese philosophy”, above all, with Confucian thought, typically that of Confucius and Mencius, or Taoism.

In truth, Confucianism and Taoism constitute the most important themes for students of Chinese philosophy, and are indeed pivotal parts of the department’s research and education activities. However, Chinese philosophy covers a much broader spectrum; it can encompass all philosophical endeavors undertaken in China’s hisrory, or we may even venture to say, all spheres of Chinese culture. Thus, aside from courses in Confucianism and Taoism, students are offered classes on religion, art and science in China.

There are a few things that should be noted by prospective students.

First, since the department has traditionally focused on pre-modern China (from the Spring and Autumn period to the early 20th century), our programs may not meet the needs of those students who are interested solely in modern China. Furthermore, China as the object of study here mainly refers to regions and peoples using Chinese characters and the Chinese language. Hence, an essential part of students’ daily work consists of reading classical texts written in Classical Chinese and Chinese characters. Indeed, our curriculum places the greatest emphasis on developing students’ skills in reading Classical Chinese.

Finally, we might add that being a “book-lover” is one of the minimum qualifications for students of the history of Chinese philosophy even though becoming one requires no special talent.

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• http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/chiphil/ (in Japanese)