The 18th century is to all appearance an important period in world history. In the Western World, the invention of the steam engine by James Watt and the subsequent development of the industrial revolution brought forth the sudden rise of a modern capitalistic system, and in the field of political philosophy, the flourishing of natural law theories and the philosophy of enlightenment caused the formation of civil revolution and eventually modern society. Even in the field of music, the classical music of the Baroque and Rococo periods, until then church music or entertaining art for the nobility, was brought to an apotheosis by Beethoven and was established as music for the modern civil society. In this way, the 18th century corresponds with the starting period of the formation of modern civil society in Europe, and its cultural tendencies are being studied from various angles. This even resulted in the creation of a specific Society for Eighteenth Century Studies. In East Asia too, the 18th century was all the same a productive period. In China, the order of the Ch’ing dynasty became stable and through the stable regime of the three great emperors K’ang-hsi, Yung-Cheng and Ch’ien-lung together with the compiling effort on a nationwide scale of the K’ang-hsi dictionary and of a state geography among others, the cultural progress reached its zenith. Also in Yi Dynasty Korea Chu Hsi Confucianism was at its heyday, and especially since China was under the rule of the Manchus, the Yi Dynasty Korea considered itself the legitimate heir of Chinese civilization, resulting in the development by the yangban bureaucracy class of Confucianism in its most pure form, with the Chu Hsi school as its basic axis. In Japan also, during more than hundred years of sustained peace, the 18th century showed cultural development full of originality in various aspects of society. In the field of socio-economic activities, a nationwide economic network was created with Osaka at its center, and together with the development of production and distribution of merchandise, a securities market and a system of futures transactions were emerged in a pioneering way in Osaka, bringing forth rapid progress in economic activity. In the field of politics, remarkable evolution was seen in communal ideology; on the one hand the meticulous construction of an administrative governing structure, and on the other hand the sovereign-as-organ political theory namely “the sovereign for the nation and the people” was becoming popular. In the field of learning, the Confucianist Ogyu Sorai advocated the Ancient Rhetoric School and while criticizing the Chu Hsi School, he formed the basis for the growth of modern and scientific thought in later academic branches through the establishment of a methodology for philological positivism. Moreover the series of national projects undertaken in the Kyoho reforms under Tokugawa Yoshimune (policy for domestic production of medicinal plants, nationwide general investigation of domestic products, nationwide census etc.) stimulated the study of economics for the sake of domestic product development and the study of natural history, in which the observation of nature was being refined. At the same time it brought forth an inclination towards a united people’s nation as a political form, due to the fact that it was an undertaking extending towards the whole of the Japanese archipelago, surpassing the feudally separated spheres of influence of the Bakufu and the various fiefs. In addition to this, Japan’s 18th century can boast of a cultural achievement of dazzling gorgeousness in the field of literature and the arts, as well as in such fields as the performing arts, namely bunraku and kabuki. And from all this, one may well state that these aspects of the 18th century shaped the various conditions necessary for the successful development of the genuine modernization after the Meiji revolution in the next century. In what way were the cultural conditions in 18th century Japan formed? What kind of influence did they receive in a global environment, comprising not only the East-Asian World but also the Western World, and what kind of independent developments do they reveal? And further, how was it possible for Japan to achieve modernization on her own in the 19th century? In this team research project, these questions will be explored on a comprehensive basis.

Research Representative	笠谷 和比古	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Organizer	フレデリック・クレインス	国際日本文化研究センター・准教授
Team Researcher	伊藤 奈保子	広島大学大学院文学研究科・准教授
〃	岩下哲典	明海大学ﾎｽﾋﾟﾀﾘﾃｨ･ﾂｰﾘｽﾞﾑ学部・教授
〃	上村敏文	ルーテル学院大学・准教授
〃	魚住孝至	国際武道大学体育学部・教授
〃	加藤善朗	京都西山短期大学・教授
〃	川勝平太	静岡文化芸術大学・学長
〃	小林善帆	徳川美術館・非常勤研究員
〃	佐伯順子	同志社大学社会学部・教授
〃	佐藤次高	早稲田大学文学学術院・教授
〃	高橋博巳	金城学院大学文学部・教授
〃	武井協三	国文学研究資料館文学形成研究系・教授
〃	竹市明弘	京都大学名誉教授
〃	武内 恵美子	秋田大学教育文化学部・准教授
〃	竹村英二	国士館大学21世紀アジア学部・教授
〃	谷口　昭	名城大学法学部・教授
〃	辻垣晃一	京都府立東舞鶴高等学校・教諭
〃	芳賀　徹	京都造形芸術大学名誉学長
〃	長谷川 成一	弘前大学人文学部・教授
〃	林　淳	愛知学院大学文学部・教授
〃	平石直昭	東京大学名誉教授
〃	平木　實	京都府立大学文学部・非常勤講師
〃	藤實 久美子	ノートルダム清心女子大学文学部・准教授
〃	ﾍﾙﾍﾞﾙﾄ.プルチョウ	城西国際大学人文学部・教授
〃	前田　勉	愛知教育大学教育学部・教授
〃	真栄平 房昭	神戸女学院大学文学部・教授
〃	松田　清	京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科・教授
〃	松山壽一	大阪学院大学経営科学部・教授
〃	水田 かや乃	園田学園女子大学近松研究所・研究員
〃	宮崎修多	成城大学文芸学部・教授
〃	森田 登代子	桃山学院大学文学部・非常勤講師
〃	横田冬彦	京都橘大学文学部・教授
〃	横谷一子	大阪医療福祉専門学校・講師
〃	脇田　修	大阪歴史博物館・館長
〃	和田光俊	独立行政法人科学技術振興機構文献情報部・資料書誌課長
〃	落合 恵美子	京都大学大学院文学研究科・教授
〃	上垣外 憲一	帝塚山学院大学文学部・教授
〃	佐野 真由子	静岡文化芸術大学文化政策学部・准教授
〃	稲賀繁美	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	白幡 洋三郎	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	早川聞多	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	新井 菜穂子	国際日本文化研究センター・准教授
〃	山田奨治	国際日本文化研究センター・准教授
〃	パトリシア・フィスター	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	平松隆円	国際日本文化研究センター・機関研究員